Book Review: “The Dialogues” by Clifford Johnson

Clifford Johnson is a veteran of the science blogosphere, a long-term survivor, around already when I began blogging and one of the few still at it today. He is professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California (in LA).

I had the pleasure of meeting Clifford in 2007. Who’d have thought back then that 10 years later we would both be in the midst of publishing a popular science book?

Clifford’s book was published by MIT Press just two months ago. It’s titled The Dialogues: Conversations about the Nature of the Universe and it’s not just a book, it’s a graphic novel! Yes, that’s right. Clifford doesn’t only write, he also draws.

His book is a collection of short stories which are mostly physics-themed, but also touch on overarching questions like how does science work or what’s the purpose of basic research to begin with. I would characterize these stories as conversation starters. They are supposed to make you wonder.

But just because it contains a lot of pictures doesn’t mean The Dialogues is a shallow book. In contrast, a huge amount of physics is packed into it, from electrodynamics to the multiverse, the cosmological constant, a theory of everything and to gravitational waves. The reader also finds references for further reading in case they wish to learn more.

I found the drawings were put to good use and often add to the explanation. The Dialogues is also, I must add, a big book. With more than 200 illustrated pages, it seems to me that offering it for less than $30 is a real bargain!

I would recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in the foundations of physics. Even if you don’t read it, it will still look good on your coffee table ;)

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Win a copy!

I bought the book when it appeared, but later received a free review copy. Now I have two and I am giving one away for free!

The book will go to the first person who submits a comment to this blogpost (not elsewhere) listing 10 songs that use physics-themed phrases in the lyrics (not just in the title). Overly general words (such as “moon” or “light”) or words that are non-physics terms which just happen to have a technical meaning (such as “force” or “power”) don’t count.

The time-stamp of your comment will decide who was first, so please do not send your list to me per email. Also, please only make a submission if you are willing to provide me with a mailing address.

Good luck!

Update: The book is gone.