Friday, March 09, 2007

Schrödinger's Ball The book Schrödinger's Ball by Adam Felber is different. On the surface, it is the story of 4 friends in Cambridge who have a very interesting weekend. Throughout the story the character of the physicist Erwin Schrödinger pops up and tries to explain string theory to anyone who will listen. Meanwhile, the unnamed narrator (who refers to him/her self in the first person plural), tries to get away from Dr. Schrödinger. One of the four friends has actually died before the action takes place, but is still seen by his friends because he hasn't been discovered as dead yet (part of Schrödinger's theory is that in string theory things can be two things at the same time until observed: his infamous thought experiment was that a cat in a box could be both dead and alive at the same time until the box is opened and the cat observed.) Meanwhile, the narrator keeps hearing a cat in his/her house but can't find it. there is also a subplot about a group in Montana that has declared themselves independent from the United States. The end wraps up all the loose ends and has a nice twist which explains some of the paradoxes--the others the reader will have to figure out on his/her own! 11:23:05 AM

© Copyright 2008 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 11/18/2008; 2:47:00 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien