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Fundamentals - Ten Keys To Reality - Wikipedia

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality is a 2021 popular science book by Nobel laureate physicist Frank Wilczek that aims to convey ten fundamental principles of modern physics in an accessible way. The book is divided into two parts, with the first five chapters covering what exists in the universe and the second five chapters addressing its origins and future mysteries. Reviews praised Wilczek for his ability to simplify complex concepts without compromising accuracy and for striking a good balance between simplicity and comprehension.

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336 views

Fundamentals - Ten Keys To Reality - Wikipedia

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality is a 2021 popular science book by Nobel laureate physicist Frank Wilczek that aims to convey ten fundamental principles of modern physics in an accessible way. The book is divided into two parts, with the first five chapters covering what exists in the universe and the second five chapters addressing its origins and future mysteries. Reviews praised Wilczek for his ability to simplify complex concepts without compromising accuracy and for striking a good balance between simplicity and comprehension.

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ivan moreno
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Fundamentals: Ten

Keys to Reality

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality (2021) is a popular science book about advanced physics by
Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek.[1]
Author Frank Wilczek

Language English

Subject modern physics

cosmology

Publisher Penguin Books

Publication date 2021

Media type Print

Pages xviii+254

ISBN 978-0-7352-2379-0

pbk 978-0-7532-2390-5

ebook 978-0-7352-2389-9

OCLC 1153517384 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/115


3517384)

According to the author:[2]

This is a book about fundamental lessons we can learn from the study
of the physical world. ... Here I've tried to convey the central messages
of modern physics as simply as possible, while not compromising
accuracy. ...

I've selected ten broad principles as my fundamentals. Each forms the


theme of one chapter. In the body of each chapter, I explain and
document that chapter's theme from different perspectives, and then
make some informed guesses about its future developments.

Part I. What There Is (chapters 1–5)

Chapter 1. There's Plenty of Space

Chapter 2. There's Plenty of Time

Chapter 3. There Are Very Few Ingredients


Chapter 4. There Are Very Few Laws

Chapter 5. There's Plenty of Matter and Energy

Part II. Beginnings and Ends (chapters 6–10)

Chapter 6. Cosmic History is an Open Book

Chapter 7. Complexity Emerges

Chapter 8. There's Plenty More to See

Chapter 9. Mysteries Remain

Chapter 10. Complementary Is Mind-Expanding

Reception

Wilczek manages to convey advanced physics without overtaxing lay


readers with complexities and knotty concepts, and does so by sticking
closely to lucid accounts of the experiments and calculations scientists
perform to establish how the world works, and by using
straightforward but evocative descriptions of natural phenomena.
[3]

In his fifth book on the nature of physical reality, MIT physics professor
Wilczek delivers a breathtaking feat of popularization, especially in the
“simplified” way he presents and dissects 10 fundamental principles in
fields of study ranging from cosmology to quantum mechanics. He is
rigorous in distinguishing fact from speculation and science from
pseudo-science, and he is comprehensive (given the limitations of his
condensed approach) in describing the nature of the observations and
experiments that establish those facts. The author makes some
informed guesses about the future of research and discovery, and he
offers a detailed appendix that expands on some of the principles
discussed in the main text. While the book will be most accessible to
readers with some familiarity with the science, Wilczek is a cogent
writer with the ability to lend clarity to many complex, esoteric
principles and theories.[4]
According to Marcia Bartusiak’s review in The Washington Post:

… There is no calculus required; this is not Physics 101. Instead,


Wilczek talks about modern physics and cosmology from a more broad-
brush and philosophical perspective, often linking their findings to the
real world — how they affect us. …

… A large portion of the book focuses on the particles that make up that
universe and the forces they impart, not surprising given Wilczek’s
area of specialty. …

… for the most part, the author strikes a nice Goldilocksian balance
between simplicity and comprehension.

While this book is aimed at novices, those familiar with modern


physics can still enjoy reading how a theoretical physicist thinks about
the basics.[5]

According to Nell Freudenberger’s review in The New York Times:

Wilczek writes with breathtaking economy and clarity, and his


pleasure in his subject is palpable. He lays out the elementary particles
of matter — electrons, photons, gluons and quarks — and their
strikingly short list of properties: mass, charge and spin. He then
defines four principles that characterize the four basic forces in nature:
electromagnetism, gravity, the strong force and the weak force. ...

... What a reader gets in “Fundamentals” is the native language of


physics — mathematics — precisely translated by someone who has
spent a lifetime (about a billion thoughts!) on these forces that shape
our physical world.[6]

References

1. Chu, Jennifer (January 12, 2021). "Ten "keys to reality" from Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek" (htt
ps://news.mit.edu/2021/ten-keys-reality-wilczek-0112) . MIT News, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
2. Wilczek, Frank (12 January 2021). Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality (https://www.google.co
m/books?id=m-UlEAAAQBAJ&pg=PR11) . Penguin Books. pp. xi–xii. ISBN 9780735223790.
(ebook)

3. "Nonfiction Book Review: Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank Wilczek" (https://www.p
ublishersweekly.com/978-0-7352-2379-0) . Publishers Weekly. September 18, 2020.

4. "Review of Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality" (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/


frank-wilczek/fundamentals-ten-keys/) . Kirkus Reviews. 2020.

5. Bartusiak, Marcia (January 7, 2021). "Review of Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank
Wilczek" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-theoretical-physicist-gets-down-to-the-
basics/2021/01/07/c9e65468-47c7-11eb-975c-d17b8815a66d_story.html) . The Washington
Post.

6. Freudenberger, Nell (February 8, 2021). "Review of Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank
Wilczek" (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/books/review/frank-wilczek-fundamentals.
html) . New York Times.

External links

"Nobel Prize Winner Frank Wilczek: Fundamentals — What Are The 10 Keys to Reality?" (http
s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prJjVUuDhvg) . YouTube. Dr Brian Keating. January 12, 2021.

"Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality | A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek" (http
s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6YEKYIkrzI) . World Science Festival. January 15, 2021.
(discussion between Wilczek and Brian Greene)

"What is Reality? - with Frank Wilczek" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmoWT3fjUtY) .


YouTube. The Royal Institution. January 28, 2021.

This article about a science-related book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (htt
ps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fundamentals:_Ten_Keys_to_Reality&action=edit) .
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Last edited 1 month ago by BrownHairedGirl

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