When we cease to understand the world

Received this as a gift from Juliette as a gift for being on her thesis defense committee ([[2025-10-02 Juliette’s defense]]). This is one of the most original books I’ve read in ages. I struggle to classify: it straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction in a way I’ve not seen other books do. Most of the book follows the early days of quantum mechanics - so it has elements of pop science/philosophy, although with a more poetic tone than is normal in the genre. It also follows many of the theory’s main contributors, including Heisenberg, Schrodinger, and Bohr. Hence, it has a bit of a biographic feel. However, it adds much color to what we know of their lives - it remains factual where the facts are clear, but feels free to interpolate colorfully. The result is intoxicating. I devoured it, and ordered three other books right away, including [[The Maniac]], by the same author.