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Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers
by
Max Planck
In this fascinating autobiography from the foremost genius of twentieth-century physics, Max Planck tells the story of his life, his aims, and his thinking. Published posthumously, the papers in this volume were written for the general reader and make accessible his scientific theories as well as his philosophical ideals, including his thoughts on ethics and morals. Max (K
...more
Paperback
,
196 pages
Published
August 1st 1968
by Philosophical Library
(first published 1949)
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106th out of 120 books
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Strictly speaking, only a small part of the book can be called an autobiography of Max Planck, hence the title is a ‘Scientific Autobiography’. The autobiography section portrays a man who appreciates that he is sitting on the shoulders of giants and that he is grateful for it, as well as his good fortune to have progressed in his field. There is also a sense that he feels he is merely part of an ongoing narrative of science.
The rest of the book begins to delve into essays in which Planck wrestl ...more
The rest of the book begins to delve into essays in which Planck wrestl ...more
Max Planck, the man who made it possible for calculations in Quantum Mechanics, is a brilliant thinker and was way ahead for his time. Being a man with varied interests, he writes about several different things in the same book.
In his autobiography, he writes about the key influencers during his college days, such as Kirchoff and Helmholtz, and their styles of teaching:
' Helmholtz never prepared his lectures properly...the class bored him (Helmholtz) at least as much as it did us'
'Kirchoff was t ...more
In his autobiography, he writes about the key influencers during his college days, such as Kirchoff and Helmholtz, and their styles of teaching:
' Helmholtz never prepared his lectures properly...the class bored him (Helmholtz) at least as much as it did us'
'Kirchoff was t ...more
Dec 07, 2014
Matt
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nature-and-science
,
net-galley-reviews
Sorry, Max, this just wasn’t that interesting to me. The title is fitting, though, as this is not really a personal history, more the history of some scientific advances and different peoples’ disputing theories. These pieces might sound better at a seminar – indeed, they originally were lectures. The reading might be better in print, too, which made me wonder what Max Planck would have thought of ebooks.
His writing style is clear and concise, and paced as you’d expect from a good scientist. How ...more
His writing style is clear and concise, and paced as you’d expect from a good scientist. How ...more
Planck was a scientist, not a writer, and this shows. There are certain flashes of insight, but overall it seems fairly poorly written and unengaging.
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Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was a German theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame rests primarily on his role as originator of the quantum theory. This theory revolutionized human understanding of atomic and subatomic processes, just as Albert Einstein’s theory of relat ...more
More about Max Planck...
Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame rests primarily on his role as originator of the quantum theory. This theory revolutionized human understanding of atomic and subatomic processes, just as Albert Einstein’s theory of relat ...more
“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
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79 likes
“An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer.”
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25 likes
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