137

Jung, Pauli, and the Pursuit of a Scientific Obsession

29 June 2010

Description

"The history is fascinating, as are the insights into the personalities of these great thinkers." —New Scientist

Is there a number at the root of the universe? A primal number that everything in the world hinges on? This question exercised many great minds of the twentieth century, among them the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Their obsession with the power of certain numbers—including 137, which describes the atom’s fine-structure constant and has great Kabbalistic significance—led them to develop an unlikely friendship and to embark on a joint mystical quest reaching deep into medieval alchemy, dream interpretation, and the Chinese Book of Changes. 137 explores the profound intersection of modern science with the occult, but above all it is the tale of an extraordinary, fruitful friendship between two of the greatest thinkers of our times.

Originally published in hardcover as Deciphering the Cosmic Number.

Reviews

"Miller is a master at capturing the intersection of creativity and intelligence." — Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk

"A fascinating and an unlikely story…exciting to read as well as informative." — Gino Segré, Physics World

"[Miller's] accessible account should bring this odd couple to a wider readership…His ability to approach the subject from the perspective of both the sciences and the humanities is a great strength." — Georgina Ferry, Times Literary Supplement

"A rewarding account of the intersection of two great minds." — Publishers Weekly