Of Chad Orzel’s “How To Teach Physics to Your Dog”
An upperclassman explained this to me when I was ranting about my fear of physics—after all, I’m a biochemistry major!—one of my subjects in the upcoming semester: to study biology, one must understand chemistry; in the same way, one needs physics in order to grasp chemistry. But then, studying physics is (and always has been), to me, a frustrating cycle:
1. I dislike it, so I don’t understand it well.
2. I don’t understand it well, so I dislike it.
3. Rinse and repeat.
But stumbling upon an open copy of this book in National Bookstore today was my moksha. Running on a single premise—that dogs, due to their unabated, constant marveling at the world, are more akin to understanding modern physics than humans are—the book proceeds to explain things to us humans from a dog’s perspective. Cute analogies, elegant explanations, and a very conversational tone make venturing into quantum physics much more interesting than I could ever have thought. Not to mention, dabbling into all the philosophical implications of the most recent, baffling physical discoveries (the limits of knowledge, what it means to study the world, and the fun little paradoxes that govern our lives).
It’s a little expensive, but give it a shot. I can’t assure you the remaining two copies are still there, though—you never know with these quantum mechanical laws.
