The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy
by Mark McCutcheon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark McCutcheonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-01
ISBN: 1581126018
Number of pages: 428
Publisher: Universal Publishers
Book Reviews of The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy
Book Review: Now I Understand
Summary: 5 Stars
Although initially quite skeptical, I clicked on an ad for the book and in reading through the "science flaws" section of its website I was amazed to discover that someone else had thought through many of the same problems and questions I have had with my science education all my life -- and then some -- and had apparently found the answers to boot. I still found it very hard to believe, but the points seemed sound and the answers weren't coming from anywhere else, so I got the book and was amazed once again to find that it was all true! Here are the nagging questions (and more) that I finally found answers to:
I always wondered how Newton's laws could simply state that pushing on a wall would result in an equal and opposite force "pushing back". How can a mere wall "push back" mysteriously from within? Now I understand how such an endless reaction force can arise from such an inanimate object.
I was also taught in school that accelerating a mass at 1 g-force is experimentally identical to the "acceleration of gravity" when the mass is just sitting on the ground, to as many decimal places as possible to verify, but this was only an empirical apparent fact with no clear explanation (now known as Einstein's equivalence principle). Now I finally see a very clear physical reason why this must be the case.
I have also always wondered why, when an electromagnet needs an electrical power source to power it to cling against gravity, which must also drain in the process to stay in line with our laws of physics, how exactly do permanent magnets forcefully repel one another or hold themselves up against gravity via apparently unending magnetic energy? Both involve the very same physical phenomena and must follow the same laws of physics, so how can an unpowered permanent magnet do this? I always suspected that the 'work function' explanation was merely a convenient mathematical distraction from a true physical mystery that must point to a greater truth, and now I know that this is the case and exactly what that truth is.
Watching videos of astronauts doing spacewalks outside the space shuttle it also occurred to me that if it is supposedly so cold in space -- nearly absolute zero -- why aren't astronauts worried about their gloves or the tether to the spaceship freezing solid and shattering. We have all seen or even performed the experiment where a rose dipped in liquid nitrogen shatters, and liquid nitrogen is significantly warmer than absolute zero. This really bothered me until I read this book.
Then there's the issue of all the confusion and mystery surrounding gravity. Why are we taught Newton's theory, then later when problems are pointed out we are told Einstein is actually right, only to hear admissions that even Einstein's theory is not complete and must be used together with Newton's? How can both theories be valid together while neither is valid alone, especially since both describe the world via completely different physical mechanisms? And why then do we continue to grapple with or search for still other gravitational theories, why are some scientists searching for gravitons, others for gravity waves, and still other gravity experts admitting they are completely mystified? All this frustrating confusion about gravity is now cleared up for me.
But the book doesn't stop even here. There are sizable mysteries with light as well. We are taught that light has no mass, yet in the very next sentence we are taught about its momentum when it strikes objects. And we are also taught that light is literally a wave sometimes (experimentally noted) and a particle other times (again, experimentally noted). This obviously is not just an observational quirk, as I have often heard said, but supposedly an actual bizarre dual physical nature of light. I was never satisfied by the whole "relativistic mass" vs. "rest mass" explanation or the quantum mechanical "wave/particle dual nature of light", and now I know why. There is a far more sensible answer.
The book also shows that you're not crazy for thinking that Einstein's Twin Paradox thought experiment makes no sense. Two people having purely relative speed differences couldn't possibly meet and have any absolute age difference -- there is a definite logical flaw here, even allowing that such a bizarre and mysterious behavior of our universe might somehow be possible and even if Einstein is used to back it up. So why then do we still believe it? All the thought experiments and claims of experimental and mathematical support for this Special Relativity belief system are pulled apart and shown to be highly questionable if not verifiably false. I now see why such bizarre beliefs have persisted for so long, and I see that my understanding was right all along.
Then there's the very good point that freezing water has such tremendous destructive power that it can burst any container. Where does this tremendous burst of energy come from, and how does it arise from the tiniest temperature drop from just above to just below freezing (a fact which itself represents an overall energy loss, not an input to help explain this). Now I understand that this actually is an effective violation of the laws of physics, and no explanation attempt truly works without an entirely new physics, as in this book.
Why also should there be a universal "speed of light limit" on objects? Fair enough that we give it serious consideration because Einstein said masses somehow must increase merely due to relative speed, requiring more and more energy and thus limiting their speed or acceleration, but this just doesn't make any sense. How can real, absolute physical energy increases be required from purely relativistic "mass increases", and why would any of this bizarre behavior occur at all? The book confirms that this belief truly is very misguided, the math behind it is flawed, and the apparent experimental support has far simpler explanations from the new perspective presented. Now I can finally lay all these bizarre beliefs to rest and understand how our universe really works.
It's so difficult to understand our world from the perspective of a science that is filled with mysteries, inconsistencies, law violations, justifications, anomalies, paradoxes, constant contradictions and backflips, etc. The only way to attain true understanding is by stepping completely outside this mental prison and looking at the world from an entirely new perspective -- if one can be found that is truly sensible and viable. That is what this book gives us, at long last! Is The Final Theory the right perspective? All I can say is that all my life I wondered and wondered, and now I feel I am finally beginning to understand.
Summary of The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy
The Final Theory shows how one simple principle in nature finally explains all of these mysteries and more. Enjoy reading simple explanations for the most perplexing problems in physics today - without having to be a science scholar. This easy-to-read book presents a wealth of answers to the many mysteries and complexities of modern-day science, while also tackling such further questions as: What actually is gravity and how does it work? Do all objects truly fall at the same rate? Is anti-gravity possible? Does the gravity of the moon hold unexpected surprises? Is the speed of light truly a limit, or is warp-speed a reality? Is faster-than-light communication possible? Is light truly a wave-particle entity, or is it something else entirely? What does Einstein's E = mc2 equation actually mean?Physics Books
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