Book Review: Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray by Sabine Hossenfelder

You know, science and math are about facts; they are objective, hard, and infallible, except when you add the human factor into the equation. The tricky little thing that makes this whole thing shakily exciting. Sabine Hossenfelder asks the difficult question in her book: how does belief fit into science? Not just any belief, but the belief in beauty and symmetry. Two things, which have become dogmatic in the way we do science and evaluate theories and facts. She goes on to ask if we should abandon such beliefs? And have they stifled our progression with new theories?

I loved reading Lost in Math. It’s a mix of short dialogues with prominent physicists, argumentation about why we should broaden our theory formation, basic and beyond basic information about physics and modern trends and not-so-current trends, and personal history. I think the author makes a valid point when she says that science isn’t free of biases; that it is actually riddled with them. And if no one starts to question the beliefs held in science, how we do things, and how academics and scientific funding are organized, we will see dark times ahead. Someone needs to be the pain in the ass to keep us all honest, or in this case, keep physicists honest.

An excellent book, I would recommend anyone to read. It gives an insight into how science is made, general facts about physics (including quantum stuff), and a glimpse into the personalities making science. 

Thank you for reading, and if you see any ghostly action at a distance, please let me know! Have a wonderful day ❤