Jean Bricmont

Many people, including physicists, are confused about what the Second Law of thermodynamics really means, about how it relates to the arrow of time, and about whether it can be derived from classical mechanics. They also wonder what entropy really is: Is it all about information? But, if so, then, what is its relation to fluxes of heat? One might ask similar questions about probabilities: Do they express subjective judgments by us, humans, or do they reflect facts about the world, i.e. frequencies. And what notion of probability is used in the natural sciences, in particular statistical mechanics? This book addresses all of these questions in the clear and pedagogical style for which the author is known. Although valuable as accompaniment to an undergraduate course on statistical mechanics or thermodynamics, it is not a standard course book. Instead it addresses both the essentials and the many subtle questions that are usually brushed under the carpet in such courses. As one of the most lucid accounts of the above questions, it provides enlightening reading for all those seeking answers, including students, lecturers, researchers and philosophers of science.

Mit diesem Buch entwirrt Jean Bricmont die vermeintlichen Rätsel und Mysterien der Quantenmechanik und erklärt Laien die Grundprinzipien der Quantentheorie. Dabei unterstreicht er auf unterhaltsame Art deren paradoxe Natur und entwirrt die unglaubliche Menge an Fehlvorstellungen, Pseudowissenschaft und falscher Philosophie, die viele populäre Diskussionen zur Quantenmechanik begleiten. Mit möglichst wenig Mathematik und Fachsprache, liefert er den Leserinnen und Lesern Antworten auf die wichtigsten konzeptionellen Fragen, die mit der Quantenmechanik verbunden sind:· Die Frage des Determinismus: Läutet die Quantenmechanik das Ende einer deterministischen Weltansicht ein? Erklärt oder rechtfertigt sie den „freien Willen“?· Die Rolle des "Beobachters" in der Wissenschaft: Welche Rolle spielt der Mensch als Subjekt und Beobachter im physikalischen Prozess?· Die Frage der Lokalität: Sagt die Quantenmechanik, dass es in der Natur „spukhafte Fernwirkungen“ gibt? Und steht das nicht im Gegensatz zur Aussage der Relativitätstheorie, dass sich nichts schneller als das Licht bewegen kann? Das Buch gibt keine endgültigen Antworten auf diese Fragen, sondern eröffnet mögliche Lösungen, die in der wissenschaftliche Gemeinschaft immer noch diskutiert werden und jenseits dessen liegen, was in üblichen Vorlesungen und populären Büchern über Quantenmechanik zu hören ist.

This book explains, in simple terms, with a minimum of mathematics, why things can appear to be in two places at the same time, why correlations between simultaneous events occurring far apart cannot be explained by local mechanisms, and why, nevertheless, the quantum theory can be understood in terms of matter in motion. No need to worry, as some people do, whether a cat can be both dead and alive, whether the moon is there when nobody looks at it, or whether quantum systems need an observer to acquire definite properties. The author’s inimitable and even humorous style makes the book a pleasure to read while bringing a new clarity to many of the longstanding puzzles of quantum physics.

Permeated by the author's delightful humor, this little book explains, with nearly no mathematics, the main conceptual issues associated with quantum mechanics: The issue of determinism. Does quantum mechanics signify the end of a deterministic word-view? The role of the human subject or of the "observer" in science. Since Copernicus, science has increasingly tended to dethrone Man from his formerly held special position in the Universe. But quantum mechanics, with its emphasis on the notion of observation, may once more have given a central role to the human subject. The issue of locality. Does quantum mechanics imply that instantaneous actions at a distance exist in Nature? In these pages the author offers a variety of views and answers - bad as well as good - to these questions. The reader will be both entertained and enlightened by Jean Bricmont's clear and incisive arguments.

This book explains, in simple terms, with a minimum of mathematics, why things can appear to be in two places at the same time, why correlations between simultaneous events occurring far apart cannot be explained by local mechanisms, and why, nevertheless, the quantum theory can be understood in terms of matter in motion. No need to worry, as some people do, whether a cat can be both dead and alive, whether the moon is there when nobody looks at it, or whether quantum systems need an observer to acquire definite properties. The author’s inimitable and even humorous style makes the book a pleasure to read while bringing a new clarity to many of the longstanding puzzles of quantum physics.

Begrepp som »bistånd« och »fattigdomsbekämpning« riktar blicken bort från vårt eget samhälle. Problemen placeras i de fattiga länderna, det är där de ska lösas, och den rika världen ska bistå i detta. Samtidigt döljer orden biståndets förutsättning: Den enorma rikedomen hos en liten elit och de stadigt växande klyftorna såväl inom som mellan länder. I denna skrift behandlas resursöverföring från den fattiga till den rika världen i form av handel, miljöförstöring och migration. Biståndets roll som verktyg för kontroll över de fattiga länderna diskuteras. Och slutligen ges några exempel på försök att bryta med denna världsordning. Med den här skriften vill Vänsterns internationella forum rikta uppmärksamheten tillbaka mot vårt eget samhälle, mot den del av världen där problemen har sitt verkliga ursprung.>br> Medverkande gör bland andra Evo Morales Ayma, Bolivias president, Eva Björklund från VIF, Jean Bricmont, känd ideologikritiker, Justina Inês Cima från kvinnoförbundet MMC Brasil, Krister Holm, handelsexpert, Lennart Kjörling, aktivist och journalist, Diana Mulinari, fil dr, Kalle Larsson, riksdagsledamot och Ågot Valle, stortingsledamot från Norge.

Since the end of the Cold War, the idea of human rights has been made into a justification for intervention by the world's leading economic and military powers-above all, the United States-in countries that are vulnerable to their attacks. The criteria for such intervention have become more arbitrary and self-serving, and their form more destructive, from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan to Iraq. Until the U. S. invasion of Iraq, the large parts of the left was often complicit in this ideology of intervention-discovering new "Hitlers" as the need arose, and denouncing antiwar arguments as appeasement on the model of Munich in 1938. Jean Bricmont's Humanitarian Imperialism is both a historical account of this development and a powerful political and moral critique. It seeks to restore the critique of imperialism to its rightful place in the defense of human rights. It describes the leading role of the United States in initiating military and other interventions, but also on the obvious support given to it by European powers and NATO. It outlines an alternative approach to the question of human rights, based on the genuine recognition of the equal rights of people in poor and wealthy countries. Timely, topical, and rigorously argued, Jean Bricmont's book establishes a firm basis for resistance to global war with no end in sight.

Since the end of the Cold War, the idea of human rights has been made into a justification for intervention by the world's leading economic and military powers - above all, the United States. The criteria for such intervention have become more arbitrary and self-serving, and their form more destructive, from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan to Iraq. Until the U. S. invasion of Iraq, the large parts of the left was often complicit in this ideology of intervention - discovering new "Hitlers" as the need arose, and denouncing antiwar arguments as appeasement on the model of Munich in 1938. Jean Bricmont's "Humanitarian Imperialism" is both a historical account of this development and a powerful political and moral critique. It seeks to restore the critique of imperialism to its rightful place in the defense of human rights. It describes the leading role of the United States in initiating military and other interventions, but also on the obvious support given to it by European powers and NATO. It outlines an alternative approach to the question of human rights, based on the genuine recognition of the equal rights of people in poor and wealthy countries. Timely, topical, and rigorously argued, Jean Bricmont's book establishes a firm basis for resistance to global war with no end in sight.