Knocking On Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World [Hardcover]

Eminent theoretical physicist Lisa Randall regards her new book "Knocking on Heaven's Door" as a "prequel" to her earlier "Warped Passages". But it is much more than that, as a clearly written statement by a distinguished scientist explaining how science works to an interested, if substantially scientific illiterate, public. While there are other books, such as those written by her high school and college classmate, physicist Brian Greene, which emphasize the state-of-the-art thinking in theoretical physics, Randall's is one that still deserves a wide readership, especially for its emphasis on how scientists conduct their scientific research, and in noting how the public often misinterprets it. These aspects of science, and the public's understanding of it, are the most important reasons why "Knocking of Heaven's Door" is an important contribution to popular scientific literature.

The notion of scaling - or rather, scale - is one of the most important concepts which Randall returns to again and again in "Knocking on Heaven's Door". She argues persuasively that, on a macroscopic scale, Newton's laws of motion are still relevant in explaining the motions of large objects such as planets and moons in the Solar System; it is only at atomic and subatomic scales that quantum mechanics does a much better job in explaining motions of subatomic particles. In other words, in plain English, Newtonian classical mechanics has become merely a subset of modern theoretical physics. A similar analogy exists for biology, with regards to the Darwin/Wallace Theory of Evolution via Natural Selection, now subsumed within the Modern Synthesis Theory of Evolution; the latter also incorporates population genetics and some aspects of both developmental biology and paleobiology (As an aside, I also recommend her reminder that evolution denialism isn't a problem only for religious conservatives, by recounting at the end of Chapter Three, an airplane conversation she had with a Hollywood actor trained in molecular biology, an Obama supporter, who rejects the biological evolution of humans since it is contrary to his religious views.).

Probabilistic thought is something which Randall also stresses throughout much of "Knocking on Heaven's Door". While she does not explain probability theory at any great length, she does explain via probability, why science is by very nature, a very tentative process in which there are no clearly defined answers that can be answered in the affirmative or negative with utmost certainty. This very underlying theme is one which underscores her conversations with noted Hollywood screenwriters and New York City dance choreographers that she cites as notable examples of misconceptions about the nature of science widely shared by the public. A firm understanding of probability theory is required for determining risk, which is discussed at length late in "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (Chapter Eleven). In a similar vein, I found equally rewarding her discussion of uncertainty as it pertains to both risk and experimental design (Chapter Twelve).

Most readers will appreciate her extensive discussion on the building and ongoing operation of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN's Swiss research facility. She eloquently ties that into current theoretical models in particle physics and cosmology, as well as to the two overarching themes of scale and probability that the reader encounters repeatedly throughout "Knocking on Heaven's Door". However, as compelling as that discussion is, the reader shouldn't forget that hers is a book which conveys to the general public, the very nature of science as seen through the eyes of this distinguished physicist.

This is the sort of book I was hoping for when I bought the book I last reviewed, somewhat critically.

It too is quite wide-ranging, but it never loses relevance with the science she wishes to convey. Quite a lot of different slants too, while keeping it very interesting: a discussion of probability and risk appreciation; a fairly detailed 'engineering' description of the LHC and its main experiments; a brief survey of the alternative proposals for resolving a couple of big issues with the Standard Model, and a good discussion of the critical relevance of scale in proposing scientific explanations, including an interesting caveat that there are limits to the extent to which unknowns can affect events at the human scale, including the 'black Hole' scare brought up about the new energies at the LHC.

Quite a long but very interesting book, which covered a lot of ground within a logically connected framework.

I am sure Randall is a brilliant, and possibly an original scientist, however I find her thoughts on the philosophy of science, on creativity, and on human nature generally mundane. This would not matter so much if it were not for the fact they take up so much of her book. This inadvertent banality somehow extends into the scientific passages, in the form of repetitions - she sometimes repeats the same point three times in the same paragraph - as if she does not trust her audience will be able to accept some of the more surprising ideas she is presenting.
On the positive side, the author did come across as a genuine and likeable person, if not a great stylist. Perhaps she just needs a bit more faith in her readers.