An Overview of the New Physics - Dancing Wu Li Masters

Quantum Mechanics introduced and explained in layman's terms. Still an abstract concept to understand, but great insight to the research being done and that this left to do. Reads reasonably fast given the nature of the content.

allow me to have the widest imagination ever. this book really opens up my understanding to the world, or rather, it totally wiped out the old understanding. which i dun know is a good or a bad thing.

But there are many logical inconsistencies in the book. It is a mix of pseudo-science and New Age religion. It would seem to me a better choice to read a book on the subject of quantum physics written by an actual physicist with the mind to break the science down for us in an understandable, yet accurate manner.

As I said, it was interesting. I do not give it my recommendation, though, as it is an attempt to proselytize the ideas of New Age occultism through the guise of being actual science. I guess I would have to classify this book as an elaborate lie. Thanks anyways.

Gary Zukav is one of those amazing people who has had several lives in one...and has taken his knowings of physics to a deeply spiritual level and profound in how he explains the complex to interested "regular people"

A pretty way of getting to know the quantum reality letting aside the maths, even thought the theme requires a detached attitude of that we should label as commonsense or classical logic. It is a fair contribution to the knowledge that
authors as Capra offered us with his Tao of the Physics.

A pretty way of getting to know the quantum reality letting aside the maths, even thought the theme requires a detached attitude of that we should label as commonsense or classical logic. It is a fair contribution to the knowledge that
authors as Capra offered us with his Tao of the Physics.

great starter on subatomic particles,written about 1978 or so; it was suggested i buy this because so-called inanimate objects some times move w/o my doing anything. i bought this book in 1980 or so. this stuff is more bizzare than science-fiction!

This is a good book and enjoyable to read. Please note that it was originally published in 1979, 38 years ago. The science of physics has come so far that our knowledge today would seem like science fiction to most scientists of that day. I recently listened to "The 4% Universe" by Richard Panek and was struck by our current knowledge about gravity, dark energy, dark matter, etc. Mind blowing!! Just as interesting as the science is the story behind the story, the astrophysicists who collaborated, and sometimes competed, to bring the mystery and scope of our universe into focus. I'm currently listening to "The Vital Question" by Nick Lane, and, if one can wade through the biology terms, it tells a possible story of how life came to be on Earth, and why the existence of life is probably the norm in the universe, not the exception.

This book was not effective in teaching me quantum mechanics, at least from what I recall. I was still confused after reading it, but I attributed it to my own inability to understand the science. Where this book WAS very helpful, was to 1) Stimulate my interest in the topic and 2) Stimulate my ongoing attempts to build a view of the universe that is a combination of science and intuition. Many years after reading this, I have come to a point where many desperate pieces of the puzzle, are now coming together and forming an over all picture I feel explains the basic workings of the universe. Only recently have I come to actually have a basic understanding of quantum physics/mechanics, but I would never have gotten to this point without writers like Zukav, that made it more approachable. Is he Max Planck? No.. but for me, he made it palatable.

This is pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo. If you want to read a version based on sound quantum physics, read Fritjof Capra's "The Tao of Physics". This is not just my opinion. It is also the opinion of the author of "How the Hippies Saved Physics."

https://www.the store.com/How-Hippies-Saved-Physics-Counterculture/dp/039334231X

For me, with no mathematical background, this is the best layman's guide to physics. As noted previously by another reader, Gary Zukav does explain some things to death, but if I can grasp the meaning of a difficult concept, I don't mind the over-explanations. I had difficulty with several other "layman" books on physics. I found this book exciting, easy to read and really did enjoy it.
The last chapter was the diamond ring in the Cracker Jack box! It was worth reading the previous 311 pages to get to, and understand, this chapter.
I do have one negative comment, however. On page 344, Zukav has a 7-line paragraph which begins "Reality is what we take to be true...." and ends with "What we take to be true is our reality". This paragraph is presented as though it is part of the text written by Zukav. According to the book "The Quantum and the Lotus" by Matthew Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan, page 121, this entire paragraph, word for word, was first uttered by David Bohm in a speech he gave at U.C. Berkeley in 1977. Gary Zukav has been fastidious in giving credit for all ideas and quotes in this book, so surely this is an oversight? Or Ricard and Thuan are wrong?
In all, I loved this book, and will definitely re-read it, and recommend it to others.

There is a definite perception that physics is beyond the grasp of most people. Our culture has developed a mystic of physics as something that can only be understood by those with an aptitude for math, science or engineering. What Gary Zukav, who is not a physicist himself, tries to show is that not only are the concepts of physics very accessible but that they have philosophical implications as important as Plato, Kant or any of the major religions. Gary Zukav is particularly drawn to the parallels between Buddhism and what has emerged in physics in the last century.

The major thesis, which I find rather intriguing, is that we are not in fact casual examiners in the universe, but our very observation of the universe affects how it unfolds. He continuously emphasizes that that the physicists no longer believe that the universe is the deterministic thing that Newtonian physics said it was. Newtonian physics says that if you knew the location and momentum of every particle in the universe, you could predict everything that would happen. Zukav looks at how the quatum mechanics tells us that in fact chance and probability play a much bigger role in nature than we originally thought and that our conscious observation of certain phenomena can effect these probabilities.

Gary Zukav does a very good job of giving the "so what" that brings these complicated sounding terms to understandable concepts. The weirdness in the universe that exists outside of our normal perceptions is truly amazing. If you read this book and do not have a profoundly new view of the universe and philosophy, then you need to read it again.

This expository writing has done a great deal of service to reality, at least when oftentimes the art and the science do not always meet ends in expressing their own beauty. This work by Gary Zukav has actually bridged this gap - a commingling dance by the Wu Li masters, as he likes to put it.
What he has done is to lavishly present the theories of Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, and Gravitation, and he did not only simplify these mathematically rigorous theories in layman's terms (albeit sometimes in too vulgar ways) but he has actually painted modern physics in a proud manner against the backdrop of beautiful classical physics. The examples he presents are well constructed, the thought experiments are amply explained and the language exudes with the "beginner's mind" attitude of a student. The way he strips off mathematics is not disappointing, and the way he unravels the enchantment is startling.
Although I like the way he unveils the mysteries from entities such as the Schrodinger's equation, and Einstein's theories of relativity, I am more repulsed at the way he purposely dwells pleasure in presenting haziness to our reality as he tries to relate the mechanics of subatomic particles with our own experiences, when in fact we both live in basically unreconcilable systems. Although it is not philosophically impossible, he appears to mar the beauty of life, its simplicity, its determinism. His interpretation of reality, as something we only create in our minds is too presumptuous anyhow, besides he had based it from the way subatomic particles behave which in itself is abstract to us, and from eastern philosophies which he confidently likes to mention. Most of the ideas here are hard to grasp at first instant (if that theory can be mentally constructed), but as one gathers understanding throughout the book, the reading will become pure pleasure and curious and exciting, as if one is always reading the first chapter of the book. This is a book I respect, and I recommend it to anyone who loves intellectual adventures.

Since the first publication of THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS in 1979, author Gary Zukav has parlayed his success with this book into a career as a spiritual author and teacher. He credits THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS with inspiring this transformation. But unlike Fritjof Capra's 1975 best-seller The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS has very little to do with Eastern philosophies. Except for an occasional oblique reference and the ideograms that decorate the section headings, essentially Zukav used the Eastern references to exploit the mid-1970s fascination with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values to entice his audience. It worked. Zukav's book is still going strong.

THE DANCING WU LI MASTERS is not is a book on Eastern mysticism. Rather, it is a layman's introduction to the paradox-ridden world of Quantum Mechanics. Are there parallels between the paradoxes of the Quantum world and the koans of the Zen world, for example? Yes there are, but this book does not explore them, unlike The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet by Mathieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan.

Zukav tries to make Quantum Physics understandable. Eschewing the mathematics as he does, is like writing a cookbook by listing the ingredients but not the measurements. Still, the lack of deltas, mus, and fractions is not as much of an impediment as is Zukav's inability to stop talking. He hammers at concepts, desperate to impart information. Unfortunately, far too frequently, he simply manages to bury the reader in an avalanche of terms. His windy explanations sometimes become dull, and sometimes become confusing, but most often they are simply too long. Zukav assumes the reader knows nothing at the outset, but he continues to assume the reader knows nothing as the book progresses. Zukav's assumption occasionally makes the book an exhausting read.

Lest this sound completely negative, this reviewer did find Zukav's painstaking work both helpful and sincere, if a slog at times. You cannot rush through this book. For a patient reader, willing to take the time to absorb Zukav's presentation in small doses over a longer period of time, the DANCING WU LI MASTERS is a fine introduction to a highly complex, convoluted and exotic area of thought.

Some of the negative reviews of this book seem to have been written by readers who have a firm grasp of physics, and poo-poo Zukov's lack of credentials. I don't doubt Zukov has misstated some points (although I don't know enough physics to know), but I sense that the sneering is more a reflection of the reviewers' desire to let us know he or she "really" knows physics than of a fundamental flaw in the substance of the book. I found it a pretty good introduction to some trippy ideas, which caused me to realize that some physicists, through their hyperintellectual methods, have come to understand some aspects of What Is in a way that seems to bear out what metaphysicians (or spiritual figures, or what have you) have been saying since the beginning of recorded history.

I am much more familiar with Buddhism than physics, and although I didn't expect to discover much that was really new in that area, I was disappointed that Zukov merely sprinkled a few tidbits of Buddhism like fairy dust throughout the book without explaining much or seriously trying to draw parallels. Frankly, as a purported effort to tie the two approaches together, the book is pretty lame. It lures one in with a title that suggests Eastern mysticism--masters who dance, no less!--and a cool photo on the cover, but make no mistake--as other reviewers have noted, this is almost exclusively a book about physics, with only the slightest nod to Eastern religion; those reviewers who complain that there's too much emphasis on "oriental" thought almost certainly haven't read much of the book, unless they consider any such discussion too much.

I found some passages of the book intellectually challenging. Whether this is more a reflection of my lack of brilliance or Zukov's I can't say, but it would be fair to assume you'll have to read some of this book carefully, go back over sections a couple of times, and still may not feel that you entirely "get it." But I think you'll get an appreciation for how marvelous the universe is, even as perceived by our itty bitty brains.

This is *the* definitive book to read for anyone seeking to understand the basics of quantum physics. Here is your guide to the particle/wave conundrum. Here is an explanation of two basic principles in modern physics: 1) the new logic of the relationship of subject and object and 2) the random changes which occur to objective properties. Zukav explains one of the most important discoveries of science, the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. He elaborates upon how and why ideas about reality, i.e. the experimental situation, differ from the experience of reality. Instead, probability replaces the absolutes of past science. The 'communication' of particles over the space-time continuum suggests a concsiousness to the particles. He discusses wave-particle duality, Max Planck's constant, Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect, Pauli's exclusion principle, Lorentz transformation, particle physics, Bell's theorem, and quantum logic, plus much, much more. Zukav's gift is to distill complex ideas and simplify them for inquiring minds "who want to know" but are "afraid to ask" or don't even know where to begin to ask. He connects metaphysical principles and science. He acknowledges that the use of words is often inadequate to describe the mysterious events of quantum physics. There is an unbroken wholeness to reality which when observed by individuals renders a loss of recognition to the interconnectedness of life. Quantum physics proves the interconnectedness of all reality in ways that only the mystics and spiritual masters described in the past. In fact, both scientists and mystics are beginning to use the same word descriptions ... This is an excellent book for those who dare to ask "what's new in the world of science?" Zukav has the ability to simplify complex concepts and link them to metaphysical principles in a very readable manner. Highly recommended reading! Erika Borsos (erikab93)

In two words: Hippy Physics. Zukav published this manuscript in the 1970s and it really shows. Quantum theory was just coming into it's own and American exploration with mysticism and the philosophies of the East may have seemed like a perfect pair at the time. Some aspects of the comparison are compellingly coincidental I'd say, and there are times where Zukav tries to hard. In particular, I think the Taoist, and to a lesser extent, the Buddhist comparisons are the richest.

But this is by no means the focus of the book. Religion seems to play an anecdotal role in this general outline of the state of physics in the 1970s. Zukav does an admirable job visualizing things that defy visualization and does a very good job at explaining complex physical experiments and quantum behavior with rich historical references scattered throughout. An overarching theme of the book is how reality defies symbolic expression, especially at the higher levels of physics to which we seem to be progressing. It seemed in the 70s that we'd eventually hit a wall where language fails us. On the surface, this seems true as most of the modern work in physics seems to have abandoned the conventions of English and elevated to the realm of pure mathematics. But there are a host of modern popular physics authors who have defied this convention quite nicely, most notably Brian Greene and Michio Kaku.

A good book for students of physics and of logic in general, when taken with the proper dose of historical context.

Do you want to understand all the mysteries of the universe? Hoping to discover the essence of existence? Well, if you desire to do anything along these lines, there are certainly worse ways to start than through reading The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics by Gary Zukav.
This information-packed book represents the pinnacle of popular science achievement, as it provides a gentle guide for the average reader through the intellectual minefield of modern physics from quantum mechanics to relativity. Rather than bogging down the reader with dozens of equations and complicated graphs, Zukav chooses to demonstrate the concepts of new-age physics through metaphors, diagrams, and an explanation of the thought processes that led to such startling theories as the Theory of General Relativity and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Sure, Zukav may explain the experiments that confirm the viability of a theory, but he doesn't force you to sift through the data; instead, writes in plain English while including lots of easily-followed, pretty pictures. Particularly for a high school student without too much exposure to physics, this style provides an excellent overview of the most interesting, cutting-edge ideas in science.
Zukav's subject-matter couldn't be more interesting: using the backdrop of Eastern philosophies to better link physical concepts to ideas more compatible to the human mindset, he breezes through Newtonian physics, quantum mechanics, and both theories of relativity in just a little over 300 pages. Zukav also admirably presents the problem of the irreconcilability of quantum mechanics with relativity, which bothered Einstein to his dying days. While none of these concepts is dealt with entirely thoroughly (it is a short book), the book is an enjoyable and easily understandable introduction to one of the most difficult fields mankind has to offer
At the same time, Zukav's book is not perfect. For one thing, the book is rather dated; he doesn't even deal with String Theory, which was by and large developed after the publication of this book. At the same time, the absence of String Theory may be advantageous to the reader who knows little about physics, since the five separate String Theories are both difficult to understand and incredibly theoretical (that is, no physicist has been able to design an experiment that actually produces data to prove String Theory, which means that the concept is rather ephemeral and hard to describe in a concrete way; for more on this, see [...] Further, the whole Zen thing seems a little excessive. Sure, Eastern philosophies are generally conducive to modern physics in that Eastern philosophers have always realized that sometimes the human mind can't comprehend everything at once, but the fact is that people reading this book probably aren't doing so to learn about "Wu Li" ("The Way"); they're reading it to learn about "New Physics."
Despite these minor deficiencies, though, this book does a good job of explaining very difficult concepts to a "normal" reader. There was a time when only the very top physicists in the world understood Einstein's theories of relativity, but books like The Dancing Wu Li Masters have helped rectify this problem by making complicated physics accessible to the general public.

Particle physics theory is more amazing and fantastic then I could have imagined. The depth of our understanding of the atom and particles are both beautiful and awesomely powerful.

When I was young (25) I did not know that I could understand particle physics or quantum mechanics. Worrying about my GPA I wouldn't even attempt it in college. But I read this book. Loved it. Read ten or so "real" books on quantum mechanics, string, astrophysics, then went back to learn classically physics. And learned how the equations work.

If you want to know particle physics for fun, I recommend this book. The book shows you many equations, but you don't have to work them. There will be plenty of time for that later, if you care to.

The author uses many analogies to Buddhism. They are helpful to some like me. For my generation, Buddhism was highly regarded. I learned how to meditate, otherwise the stories are nice but not necessarily true. They help illustrate points in the book. They help explain the science, but they are not science themselves. Don't worry about them if they don't appeal to you.

After learning about theoretical particle physics I read books on experimental physics and how particle accelerators and detectors work. I wanted to know exactly how the scientists knew what they said they knew. The physics in the book are provable, not everything has been proven, not all theories will be shown to be correct. Many of them are true, and have been proven before and after the book was written.

DANCING was a thought provoking read. Zukav framed the vast cloud of quantum material very nicely. He was able to do this without the use of math due to his insight into language --he accepted that math is no better a language to describe physics than the metaphors, analogies and verbal pictures of the written word. I enjoyed his metaphor equating language to the shadows on the wall of Plato's cave; that both physicists and philosophy majors often mistake the shadows (language & math) for the real world outside the cave. It seems we must accept Zukav's premise that there is no world to be seen outside the cave and we must all settle for using the shadowy concepts of quantum physics to speak to each other with. This will in no way diminish the spate of talkers (writers) who either want to prove or disprove the nature of nature, dwell on the anthropic coincidences, or allow God to take an offstage bow for this quantum clouds of chaos we all must live in. Another great analogy Zukav gives us is the line ( silver dots on photo plate) which shows up in the detectors of an particle accelerator. He claims this line does not necessarily show one continuous flow of energy -- our minds must connect the dots. In this startling way Zukav contends that the entire storybook of quantum mechanics and classical physics is filled with mere dot pictures constructed by people desperate to resolve inconsistencies (no doubt of their own conceptual making). People are seen thus as dot connectors. Physics is the story of scientists putting on differing lenses which then determine their principles, their theories, their laws, their world views and points of view which we can then read and believe in at our peril. Zukav sees yesterdays nonsense as tomorrows hot theory. I paid small heed to Zukav's overall proposition endeavoring to distinguish the dance from the dancer and his simplistic attempt to liken philosophies of physics to Buddhism because he didn't allow this bias to interfere with his straightforward exposition of the physics. There is nothing wrong with bias that is clearly labeled as such.

Although mathematically bent, this was my first exposure to quantum physics so I don't have anything to compare it to.
Overall he seems to have presented the material well, although given the paradoxical and non-conceptual nature of quantum physics I'm not sure that any casual reader will be capable of grasping these concepts very well with just one read. In fact, the one point that seems clearest is that even the physicists themselves don't have it all figured out yet.
As for the Dancing Wu Li Masters metaphor, the periodic references to dancing seem contrived and the occasional references to eastern philosophy seem forced. He seems to imply that perhaps Buddhists have had this all figured out for thousands of years, but what I took away from it was that there's a reason religion and science are very seperate entities and they should probably be left that way for the forseeable future.
So, if you're looking for a somewhat challenging introduction to quantum physics, that's light on the math then this will be worth your time. If you're at all drawn to this book because of the tie-in with philosophy or religion you should look elsewhere.

It seems that one of the reasons Zukav became popular is the "new age" feel of his books, which to some may be attractive enough. I liked this book in a sense that it made me curious and go back to the physics I studied in high school and then on to some more contemporary work on quantum physics. As a non-physicist, I found this an interesting and thought provoking experience, but with obvious flaws. There have been numerous attempts to find the bridge between the rational, scientific thought of the West and contemplative ancient Eastern wisdom. This book is one of many, but how much it succeeded in this attempt is up to you to decide. If it incites your curiosity and gives you a push to search and research, it'll be ten bucks well spent.

This is one of the most accessible and most fascinating introductions to the new physics that I have ever read. I took a class in Thermodynamics and Modern Physics last summer at a local university and I did not learn a tenth as much as I did from this book. Granted I learned more mathematical details from the class, but this book taught me why what I was learning and doing made sense, which at least for me is far more important. I feel if I went back and took that class over again it would be extremely easy now.
The other wonderful aspect of this book is its constant ties to Eastern Philosophy. This is something that seems to be becoming more and more prevalent in recent years in the sciences. The whole world is becoming more and more interdisciplinary and this book is a fine example of what cross-fertilization can do to inspire new ideas and concepts.
I would highly reccomend this book for any one interested in science even if they are not interested in physics per se. This book provides and excellent analysis of how scientific ideas and conceptions change and incorporate new ideas and new experience. This book is also very relevant from the aspects of philosophy, history, and sociology of science as well since it delves into all three of these aspects at times. Overall an extremely enjoyable and accessible read.

This book is a "classic," and when it first appeared was highly rated in Scientific American Magazine, and also by many physics and scientific authors and publications of the time.
"Original Thinking"
As such, it is easy for any Generation X, Generation Y, and Millenium person to make fun of this book as one might mock early automobiles, steam engines, and ideas such as Evolution, Mendelian genetics, Black Holes, Pulsars, when standing in a different time and space perspective, and...well get the picture?
Read it and realize why the book is still in print and why it sells in bookstores at Yosemite, Big Sur, Grand Canyon, and places where people like to imagine and think. Up to Date Details/ and "don't like complexities with your physics (and religion)?"... go buy a modern textbook (which will be out of date by the time you get it.
Like to wonder the complexity of life and the universe and the inter-connections about things? Then this is a good book / still good enough to measure other similar, and more current books by.