Something Deeply Hidden
by Sean M. Carroll · first published 2019
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A readable, clear overview of quantum mechanics, covering its interpretations, history and philosophy. It serves as a good starting point for non-physicists and interested amateurs.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2019–2022Three Roads to Quantum Gravity
Lee Smolin
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2015–2022About time
Paul Davies
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2009–2022Hyperspace
Michio Kaku
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2019–2025Einstein's Unfinished Revolution
Lee Smolin
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 53 recommend · 5 mention3 recommend · 53 recommend
2015–2025The First Three Minutes
Steven Weinberg
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 98 recommend · 9 mention8 recommend · 98 recommend
I love Sean Carroll (Something Deeply Hidden and From Eternity to Here are the root of my fascination with physics and endless pondering of the nature of time) but I have to disagree with his take on this. Hypothesis - a proposed explanation for…
on “Tiny Black Holes May Be Exploding Stars Across the Milky Way” ↗Talking about Sean Carrol, I'd also recommend his latest book, Something Deeply Hidden - a fascinating, and very readable, exploration of the theories, history and even philosophy of modern quantum mechanics.
on “The Gravitational-Wave “Revolution” Is Underway” ↗…mainstream position for most of those 50 years. Working on the "foundations of physics", which is what you call "arguing" was considered disreputable and career-destroying for a long time. Read, for example, "Something Deeply Hidden" by Sean Caroll for more about this. A lot of really really smart people tried to solve this by experimenting more. It didn't work. It's time for philosophy again, and in my view, also to accept that…
on “Superdeterminism may help us overcome the current crisis in physics” ↗…Here is a few books you can read on the subject. They do a pretty good job on describing what the issue is and what the interpretations mean: Max Tegmark - Our Mathematical Universe Sean M. Carroll - Something Deeply Hidden Adam Becker - What is real? Here are some things you can google if you want to just skim the subject: Wave–particle duality, The Measurement Problem, Quantum decoherence, Copenhagen interpretation,…
on “Ask HN: What scientific phenomenon do you wish someone would explain better?” ↗Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll came out recently and fits what you're describing. While I enjoyed it a lot of it went over my head so I may not be the best guide here. He also has a podcast that's pretty good called…
on “The Golden Age of Quantum Physics” ↗I haven't read "The Fabric of Reality" but "Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime" by Sean Carroll is 22 years newer and presents a good overview of the Many World Theory for laymen.
on “Review of “The Fabric of Reality” by David Deutsch (2001) [pdf]” ↗Something Deeply Hidden - Sean Carroll[1] Lost in Math - Sabine Hossenfelder[2] The First Three Minutes - Steven Weinberg[3] Hyperspace - Michio Kaku[4] Not Even Wrong - Peter Woit[5] The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin[6]…
on “Ask HN: Recommended Books on Physics?” ↗As an interested amateur, I recommend the book "Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime" by Sean Carroll as a good overview of quantum fundamentals. The book discusses several interpretations of the reality of matter at the quantum level.…
on “A common misunderstanding about wave-particle duality” ↗Sean Carroll (professor of physics, quoted in the article) has a highly-rated book titled "Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime" [1] which discusses exactly these topics. I haven't read it, but it's on my list. I also highly recommend his podcast "Mindscape" where he discusses this…
on “The Unraveling of Space-Time” ↗…read a lot of books and would generally say that most of the books I've read were worth investing time in to some extent. But for what it's worth, here's a subset, cribbed from my previous HN comments: Something Deeply Hidden - Sean Carroll The Universe Speaks in Numbers: How Modern Math Reveals Nature's Deepest Secrets - Graham Farmelo The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical…
on “Ask HN: Which books you have read till now that were worth investing time in?” ↗Sean Carroll's new book on quantum physics that came out yesterday is the clearest laymen's exposition of quantum physics I have ever read: https://www.audible.com/pd/Something-Deeply-Hidden-Audiobook...
on “How the Many-Worlds Theory of Hugh Everett Split the Universe” ↗…There is a lot to be explored there but academia tells people to avoid it. They say don't look at the man behind the curtain. QM is equations that gives good answers but we don't really know why. Something Deeply Hidden is a good book on the subject(as a non physicist). Of course I am just a layman who likes to read books about these subjects but I honestly don't know shit. Just what I read.
on “Why the foundations of physics have not progressed for 40 years” ↗This book elucidates the concepts well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Deeply_Hidden
on “How Bell’s Theorem proved ‘spooky action at a distance’ is real” ↗As scld touched on, this "article" is really an excerpt from Sean Carroll's new book, Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime. https://www.amazon.com/Something-Deeply-Hidden-Emergence-Spa... If you wish to read further, you may want to consider picking up a copy. Mine is waiting…
on “How the Many-Worlds Theory of Hugh Everett Split the Universe” ↗I've been reading Sean Caroll's Something Deeply Hidden (on Quantum Mechanics) and it sparked a curiosity about understanding cosmology or topics therein. Who's a great writer on the subject and what books do you recommend?
on “Ask HN: Favorite general audience books on cosmology?” ↗