John W. Moffat's "Reinventing Gravity"

I'm a bit ambivalent about this book. It does cover a lot of real physics but in a way that didn't leave me satisfied. There was a lot more discussion of alternate theories than I expected. That was actually more interesting that I would have predicted.

Ultimately I was left unsatisfied because the presentation didn't give me enough real physics. There were no equations. That's OK, I wouldn't really have understood most of them. But there were no word pictures that left me satisfied that I got the gist of the physics. My complaint is a little odd. This book is probably the closest I'll ever come to understanding the real nitty-gritty workings of a physics theorist. But I was left unhappy because Moffat didn't use graphic enough descriptions to really carry me along. I was glad for the technical detail, but it remained tantalizingly beyond my reach so I didn't feel fulfilled, i.e. that I had a sufficient grasp of the issues and the underlying physics. Oh well.

Here's what Moffat wanted to do:

I hope that this book has succeeded in describing to you, the reader, how difficult it is to try to wrest precious, fundamental secrets from nature. That quest can ber compared to climbing a mountain, and when reaching the pek, seeing another higher mountain that tempts us to ascend to even great heights. And when we do reach the higher peak, we discouver as we look across the valley yet another peak that calls. In the end, it is the wonderful experience of scaling the mountain -- of attempting to understand the secrets of nature -- that motivates us as scientists. There is of course the additional thrill, upon reaching the top of a mountain, to ram in the flagpole announcing one's victory. But that is only a momentary emotion soon superseded by the new challenges presented by the higher peak on the horizon.

Yes, Moffat did succeed in getting this sense of exploration across to the reader. But it may not have been the glorious peak-to-peak presentation he thought he delivered. For me it was more climbing one peak only to descend into the jungle to cut through the vines of confusion and clues and alternate possibilities until a new theory, a new peak, looms waiting to be conquered. Sadly, that's the feeling I got from the book.

So, while I didn't learn any real new physical theory, I did get a better appreciation of what it is like to be in the trenches with the physicists eyeing the possible peaks and tramping along as they (Moffat and his research buddies) try to conquer the next peak.