Sample Book Report on… “A Beautiful Question”

Introduction

Published in 2015, Nobel Prize winning physicist, Frank Wilczek, wrote A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design. This book was chosen because it is a fascinating inquiry into the nature of the universe, asking if the essential design of nature is beautiful. With passion, genius, and clarity, Wilczek investigates this question through the historical trail of history. The question of the nature of reality and beauty’s interrelation is investigated through Pythagoras, Plato, Newton, Maxwell, and Wilczek himself. This book transcends the limitations of science and philosophy in the way the most apt observations of reality can do, helping inform both one’s own understanding of their world and themselves.

Finding Nature’s Deep Design

Wilczek begins his investigation with a user’s manual which gives an overview of the scope of the book. Timelines, terms, notes, and recommended reading set the reader up for the introduction which illustrates the nature of the question “Does the world embody beautiful ideas?” (Wilczek 4). A deceptively simple question, Wilczek comes at the question from many different angels: 

• Is the world a work of art?

• Is it a successful work of art

• Is the physical world, considered as a work of art, beautiful?

• What does it mean to ‘embody’ an idea? (Wilczek)

Wilczek approaches these questions through applying the principles of physics to the philosophical question of aesthetics. He comments, “Dynamical beauty transcends specific objects and phenomena, and invites us to imagine the expanse of possibilities” (Wilczek 6). The expanse of possibilities is what physics are searching for in the investigation of the quantum world, and in the curious behavior of quantum mechanics a new support system for beauty is presented. 

To support this investigation, Wiczek highlights how other scientists, artists, and philosophers have danced to this tune either with each other or in distinction. In regards to Maxwell’s contribution: in his work o color perception, discovered that Plato’s metaphorical Cave reflects something quite real and specific: the paltriness of our sensory experience, relative to available reality. And his work, by clarifying the limits of perception, allows us to transcend those limits. For the ultimate sense-enhancing device is a searching mind. (Wilczek 13)

This is why physics can inform philosophical, artistic, and ultimately spiritual questions. The limitations of perception make it necessary to have different ways of quantifying the ineffable (Wilczek 12). 

A key aspect of this work is that Wilczek is attempting to reclassify the Standard Model of Physics into the Core Theory. The Standard Model is the current agreed upon theories of physics which have built upon past revelations. However, it cannot account for the quantum strangeness or for super string theory. He correctly surmises that the term “Standard Model” is a limitation of the achievement of physics, and that Core Theory would honor its nature more aptly. Wilczek emphasizes, that the “Core Theory embodies beautiful ideas. The equations for atoms and light are, almost literally, the same equations that govern musical instruments and sound. A handful of elegant designs support Nature’s exuberant construction, from simple building blocks, of the material world” (Wilczek 23). These elegant designs do not explain all life and matter, but offer a foundation for inquiry. 

Pythagoras & Plato

Wilczek begins with Pythagoras’s contribution towards the question of beauty in his equation on right triangles, and the two rules of musical consonance he created. This is the foundation for measuring symmetry, and the Platonic solids build from there. Wilczek emphasizes,

But the idea that there is symmetry at the root of Nature has come to dominate our understanding of physical reality. The far-fetched idea that symmetry distracts structure-that one can use stringent requirement of mathematical perfection to converge on a small list of possible realizations, and then use that list as the construction manual for our world-model-ha become at the unmapped frontiers of the unknown, our guiding star” (Wilczek 48).

Plato was an artist of thought, and the solids he delineated are some of the key pieces of the puzzle of investigating nature’s design. Discussing this, Wilczek shows that intuitively Plato understood the interrelation of shape and function: They have explanatory power. The atoms of fire have sharp points, which explains why contact with fire is painful. The atoms of water are most smooth and well rounded, so they can flow around one another smoothly. The atoms of earth can pack closely, and fill space without gaps. Air, being both hot and wet, features atoms intermediate between those of fire and water. (Wilczek 46)

This approach to explaining physics is what has made Wilczek so successful, as the abstract complexity of the subject can be made accessible. As he emphasizes, “By treating subjectivity objectively, we master it” (Wilczek 67). This is one way the inquiring mind can express itself beautifully. 

Newton & Maxwell

Wilczek builds upon his investigation of the elements of beauty manifesting in life through the massive contribution of Isaac Newton, who was able to reveal the essential nature of light with his simple prism experiment. Wilczek contrasts the periodic table of light and elements to create an intellectual playground of beauty:

• The periodic table of light has just one row…the periodic table of substance has several rows

• The periodic table of light can be realized in a tangible, physical form…The periodic table of substance, by contrast, is an intellectual construct

• The periodic table of light is continuous, while the periodic table of substance is discrete

• The elements of light interact only very weakly with one another (Wilczek 96)

Including time as a dimension, Wilczek continues to build towards a dynamic analysis of nature. Along the way he continues to break down the question into smaller parts in such the way of physics. Wilczek points out “The description of the world divides into two parts: Dynamical equations-Initial conditions” (Wilczek 115). How each element of the investigation into beauty corresponds to these are illustrated in many beautiful ways. 

Building from the ground up from Newtonian physics, Wilczek introduces Maxwell’s theories to flesh out the dynamical nature of the question of essential beauty in the atom. Wilczek writes, “Maxwell’s law: a kind of converse to Faraday’s law, interchanging the role of electric and magnetic fields. It ways that when electric fields change with time, they cause magnetic fields to swirl around them” (Wilczek 133). From this equation light can be seen as a waveform, and the initial waves of the quantum playground begin to take shape in human consciousness. 

Wilczek illustrates the beauty in nature’s design inherent in the atom through the relationship between mathematical equations and symmetry, and alludes that this is the same reflection of the relationship between the real and ideal which enables the very perception of beauty. This leads to the artistic/spiritual example of the Mandala, which “are symbolic representations of the Universe. They are used as tools for mediation and trance. They typically display large-scale symmetry among connected, intricate parts and are often colorful” (Wilczek 139). As art is a reflection of the beauty in nature, so the mind of man moves through may perceptive stages in the evolutionary ladder. 

Wilczek continues to move up through time, dancing towards the expanse of the quantum entanglement. Natural vibrations and resonant frequencies leads him to the new quantum theory of atoms as musical instruments dancing on the gaze of the observer. This is ultimate dynamical beauty, and just as nature is in a constant state of flux and change, so is the light upon which all matter dances. Wilczek makes three key points about the nature of quantum particles so far understood:

1. You get probabilities, not definite answers.

2. You don’t get access to the wave function itself, but only a peek at processed versions of it.

3. Answering different questions may require processing the wave function in different ways. (Wilczek 184)

While this reality has made the investigations of science much more complex this reflects the depth and infinitude of the beauty inherent in nature.

Personal Reflection

This is an amazing book defining a new approach towards an old question that has lost none of its relevance. Beauty is under threat in the world today, and a keener appreciation of its core structure would benefit all. This book can be strongly recommended. The strongest part of the book was the introduction which synthesizes all the ideas in the book, and provides a strong outline for the various minutia of the work. During the reading the structure of the introduction remains a guiding force. The passion, verve, and genius of Wilczek makes A Beautiful Question a beautiful read, enabling many who are unfamiliar with the various nuances of physics to grab an elegant hold of it. 

Conclusion

A Beautiful Question by Frank Wilczek is both light and dense, offering a multitude of vistas into the question of whether or not nature embodies beauty. Between the lines of this investigation is the subtle impression that each reader could connect with the root of this question through awakening their own beautiful searching mind. The searching mind which ignites physics is one of many beautiful expressions of nature, and has the infinite capacity to reveal and create beauty.

Work Cited

Wilczek, Frank. A Beautiful Question. New York: Penguin, 2015. Print.