The Tao of Physics
by Fritjof Capra · first published 1975
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A popular, accessible bridge between modern physics and Eastern philosophy, offering an approachable read for general readers and a good entry point for curious non-specialists.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Tao of Physics is a book about the relationship between physics and spirituality. The book explores the parallels between Eastern mysticism and modern physics. It discusses the similarities between the two fields, and how they can be used to help understand each other. The book also discusses the concept of the Tao, or the way, and how it relates to physics. The Tao of Physics is considered to be one of the first books to popularize the concepts of modern physics for a general audience. It has been translated into many languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
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…wrote his prior to the PC era. Rudy Rucker was also quite good at the time but his best non-fiction works such as Infinity and the Mind (a must read for you math geeks) are out of print. I also liked The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra a lot growing up. I looked on Goodreads for authors that are similar to Toffler and while I recognized a couple of them I didn't see anyone worth mentioning. Toffler's works were mostly…
on “Alvin Toffler, Author of ‘Future Shock,’ Dies at 87” ↗The Emperor's New Mind, by Roger Penrose The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra Dancing Wu Li Masters, by Gary Zukav The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris The Road to Serfdom, by Friedrich Hayek The Worldly Philosophers, by Robert Heilbroner The Story of Philosophy,…
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra. Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Albert Einstein by Walter Isaacson. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. I am Indian-American and know exactly what you mean.…
on “Chris Dixon: How Aristotle Created the Computer” ↗I'd highly recommend The Tao Of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism by Fritjof Capra, for anyone interested in the subject. It's an excellent read.
on “Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees” ↗…biography of the greatest living investor, or maybe of all time. Gates, by Manes and Andrews, is also very good. Science Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics, by Gary Zukav, and The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra, on the unbearable elusiveness of reality. If a particle is just a probability density function of potential interactions with other particles, does the substance of reality reside in…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗Not on psychology but on science and eastern mysticism: Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics. An interesting general overview of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Georg Feurstein The Yoga Tradition.
on “The quintessential rational mind: Buddha” ↗It sounds like you might enjoy "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra. There's a free PDF version online.
on “Interpretations of quantum theory: A map of madness” ↗For me, my favourite non-technical book I can remember reading is: The Tao of Physics[0] In retrospect, this may explain my comfort with C++ over the years. ;-) 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Physics
on “Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)” ↗…Anarchist's Design Book and/or With the Grain: A Craftsman's Guide to Wood Dune Some other fiction reading I'll decide on after I finish Dune Books/Authors I've read that I would recommend: Tao of Physics, Web of Life, Systems View of Life, etc. (Fritjof Capra) ^Capra's work has heavily influenced my worldview and ability to think in systems Designing Data Intensive Applications (just finishing…
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗Disclaimer: I'm not a physicist or even a good mathematician. I've read some things about quantum theory, and other interesting reads is Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics" and Lazslo Mero's "Moral Calculations" which touches quantum theory very interestingly.
on “How I learned to stop worrying and love uncertainty” ↗…considered among others in its genre, neither did it stand out. With rare exception, all of the "science for the public" books seem to be written at a 12 year old reading level (exceptions I know of are The Tao of Physics (requiring a slighting higher reading level) and especially Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid (does anyone understand this!?))
on “The mind of God? The problem with deifying Stephen Hawking” ↗…Ching reading or search individual hexagrams. This has been a work in progress for several years. I built the first prototype before LLM’s were even a thing. I came up with the idea after reading The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra but it took some time to evolve where it is now. Originally built it in React 16 using Material UI on the front end. Earlier this year I moved it over to Next.js with Shad/Tailwind on…
on “Show HN: IChingPortal – Keyword search and news aggregator using the I Ching” ↗…Ching reading or search individual hexagrams. This has been a work in progress for several years. I built the first prototype before LLM’s were even a thing. I came up with the idea after reading The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra but it took some time to evolve where it is now. Originally built it in React 16 using Material UI on the front end. Earlier this year I moved it over to Next.js with Shad/Tailwind…
on “IChingPortal- Ancient wisdom through modern data” ↗…book's inadequacies and made it seem wonderful to me. The concepts were new to me and were counter-intuitive in a mentally liberating way. It was also during a zeitgeist that produced books like The Tao of Physics.
on “Gleick's new book on information theory” ↗To look smart: The Tao of Physics Ashamed of the title: Yoga, Inc Tech book: CSS and HTML Web Design (because I've been faking it all along)
on “Ask HN: The book you always wanted to read but never had time or motivation for?” ↗