Hidden In Plain Sight: The simple link between relativity and quantum mechanics

by Andrew H. Thomas

You never knew theoretical physics could be so simple! In this exciting and significant book, Andrew Thomas clearly illustrates the simplicity which lies behind nature at its fundamental level. It is revealed how all unifications in physics have been based on incredibly simple ideas.

Using a logical approach, it is explained how the great 20th century theories of relativity and quantum mechanics share a common base, and how they can be linked using an idea so simple that anyone can understand it.

An idea which is so simple it has been hidden in plain sight.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Philosophy

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

Dr. Andrew H. Thomas studied physics in the James Clerk Maxwell Building in Edinburgh University, and received his doctorate from Swansea University in 1992.

Reviews

[Derek Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept trying to find the single word that best describes this book. I finally came up with "boneheaded." Thomas seems to see himself as the modern Descartes, having discovered a grand new truth (binding relativity to quantum mechanics) through the simple use of his mind and logic.

Actually, he's discovered nothing at all, and like all "fundamental truths" derived from the pure logic of the age from which it springs--going back to the middle ages--the reasoning is empty because the logic is clouded and myopic.

His underlying principle? "The universe is one thing, the only thing that exists." Except that this isn't a principle (or axiom), it's simply a definition. If that doesn't set your teeth on edge, his next "principle," based on the fact that all measures within the universe are relative (since there is nothing outside the universe to measure against), "Nature always does the best it can with the tools available." First objection: He capitalizes "Nature" throughout, which is always a bad sign; who is this Nature dude and what is he doing there? Second objection: How does Nature, in a closed system, with no absolute, find "tools" and why are they "available"? Nature comes off as a blind coon dog sniffing under the porch.

A more general objection: I'm generally a slow reader, so when I find myself reading down the center of the page it's a sure sign that I already know exactly what's going to be said, because it's already been said several time in several (slightly) different ways.

Even if you could accept his simple-minded (no, not "simple" as he claims) principles, it could all have been stated succinctly in a 10-page high school essay assignment, though I suspect that the science teacher might have had a few words encouraging the student to look into symbolic logic.

OK, this is a fairly mean review. OK, it's a very mean review, but it irks me no end that with all the knowledge and thought there is in the world to be imparted, this sort of dreck is not only put out in book form, it has, believe it or not, a sequel ready to come down the tube. I guess it's always been that way.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great start to those wanting to learn more about Quantum mechanics and relativity. It’s written in a way that takes out the ‘ahh what!? I’ll never understand this!’ Into ‘oh it’s a confusing concept but I think I’m starting to get bits of it now’ as it strips back complication to foundations and fundamentals, explaining things succinctly and in a way that’s easier to understand than hardcore textbooks on the subject but without taking out any of the necessary hard to understand information.

It’s filled with plenty of great information and even though I am heavily science orientated and was somewhat familiar already with the topic and content, I still got a lot out of the book and enjoyed the refresh over some of the things I already knew and adding some things into the knowledge bank which I didn’t. I also liked learning about the links between Relativity and Quantum Mechanics which I haven’t approached from that particular angle before and was interesting to read!

[Tommy Sananton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting point of view

As a theoretical physicist, I have enjoyed the reading of this small book. It shows an unconventional approach to the basis of a possible Unification theory. Exploring foundational aspects of GR and Quantum Mechanics in order to achieve an initial connection between them, trying to point out a path to follow which still has not been properly investigated.
I didn't give the 5 star review just because, in my opinion, some of the arguments used by the author are sometimes a bit "philosophical", lacking a strong mathematical proving. However, I understand that the scope of the book isn't to find out any mathematic equation unless a physic-philosophical approach the this issue in the sense the Mach Principle was a guiding line to the Special Relativity.

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man did I feel smart while reading this book 📚

[Muneel Zaidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So having taken a course in basic quantum mechanics and general relativity, and having some knowledge of string theory... I realized i didn't understand any of it outside of answering questions on an exam. This book builds up QM, GR, and SR from the ground. I relearned a lot, and made connections between subjects I didn't know existed. S^2= (c*t)^2-x^2 is an equation I really understand now, instead of just having the gist of; And that's not even what the book is about, just something that is needed in the author's building block approach to show a link between QM and GR. The author takes pains in keeping the subject simple, instead of mystifying it with esoteric terms. Read if you want a basic understanding of modern physics, or just want to understand a little better the models we use to understand our world.

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hidden in Plain Sight: The simple link between relativity and quantum mechanics by “Andrew Thomas”

“Hidden in Plain Sight" is an interesting book that claims to reveal a link between relativity and quantum mechanics. The author claims that a true linkage can be achieved by obtaining a greater understanding at a foundational level. I’m not a qualified physicist to assert whether or not such claims are valid but I do have my reservations. To the best of my limited knowledge there is no consensus among subject matter experts in theoretical physics to quantum gravity. That being said, Dr. Thomas succeeds in making many complex topics accessible to the general public and makes reading about this topic an enjoyable experience. This educational 217-page book includes the following ten chapters: 1. Unification, 2. Universe, 3. Space is not a Box, 4. Time is not a Clock, 5. The Block Universe, 6. Quantum Reality, 7. Observing the Observer, 8. The Quantum Rationale, 9. Hidden in Plain Sight, and 10. Conclusion.

Positives:
1. A well-researched and accessible book for the masses.
2. Conversational prose on a very interesting but challenging topic.
3. Dr. Thomas shares his views and makes it perfectly clear where he stands.
4. Good use of charts, illustrations and tables to assist readers.
5. Provides many well-known examples of unification.
6. Does a really good job of explaining the basics of quantum mechanics.
7. The essence of this book is to go over a third approach to current quantum gravity research.
8. This is a thought-provoking book. “Quantum mechanics tells us that everything is connected as one object: the universe. And relativity tells us that the universe is the only thing that exists.”
9. From my view, does a good job of undermining parallel universes. “However, the weakness of this so-called anthropic reasoning is that it can be used to predict anything, and a theory which predicts anything predicts nothing.” I agree.
10. The lack of absolutes in the universe. Provides compelling arguments if not at the very least provocative ideas. “However, absolute space is not an option — Nature has to work in relative space. Remember the golden rule: Nature does the best it can with the tools available to it.”
11. The block universe model. “The block universe model can be considered the orthodox model of spacetime as it has its roots in special relativity and basic logic, and is the model of spacetime adopted by the vast majority of physicists.” “According to the block universe scenario, the movement of time is just an illusion.”
12. Quantum cosmology is a fascinating topic! “Quantum cosmology considers the possibility that one of these quantum fluctuations could have expanded extremely rapidly in a process known as inflation.”
13. What quantum mechanics is all about, “Quantum mechanics is all about measurement.” Trying to solve the quantum measurement problem. “In order to understand the process of observation at the quantum level, and to solve the quantum measurement problem, it is essential to treat objects as being connected and interacting, rather than being isolated and independent. The key to solving the quantum measurement problem is to treat the object under observation and the measurement apparatus as a single, connected, interacting system.”
14. One of the most interesting concepts of this book, the notion that nature has no way of assigning values. “Symmetry reflects Nature's fundamental inability to distinguish between one physical situation and another.” “There is no absolute definition of any particle property: particle properties must be defined relative to each other.”
15. The consistencies and differences between quantum mechanics and relativity.
16. Further reading section.
17. A tremendous Kindle value! Very few books give you so much for 0.99 cents!

Negatives:
1. My skeptic sensors tend to light up when anyone claims to know something and is surprised that his fellow colleagues in the field hasn’t seen what he so clearly sees. Speculating theorizing of the kind that can’t be tested or verified.
2. See no real purpose in overkilling the absurdity of Schrodinger’s cat.
3. After it’s all said and done, did Dr. Thomas succeed in presenting his case?
4. A tad repetitive but some of it is warranted.
5. Very few endnotes.

In summary, this was a thought-provoking book. So is there a link between relativity and quantum mechanics? Dr. Thomas claims that there is and provides an interesting narrative in support of it. As far as I know, there is no consensus in the scientific community. All that aside, the book provides accessible insights into the basics of quantum cosmology. It’s thought-provoking and informative. There are very few digital bargains like this one, I recommend it!

Further recommendations: “Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth” by Jim Baggott, “Spectrums” by David Blatner, “The Elegant Universe” and “Hidden Reality” by Brian Greene, “A Universe From Nothing” by Lawrence M. Krauss, “About Time” by Adam Frank, “Higgs Discovery” and “Warped Passages” by Lisa Randall, “The Grand Design” by Stephen Hawking, “The Quantum Universe” by Brian Cox, “The Blind Spot” by William Byers, and “The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning” and “God and the Atom” by Victor Stenger.

[Himanshu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered why quantum physics, the theory of relativity were always portrayed as complex things that are only to be understood by mathematical geniuses? Well, the underlying theories of the universe should not be so complicated; rather must be based on a fundamental principle that is so simple that everyone can understand it and from which everything can be derived.
With this simple assumption, Andrew Thomas gives a whirlwind overview of both theories that changed the way we think about our universe and reveals an underlying principle that seems to be so simple, he wonders how no one saw it while all the time it was hiding in plain sight.
If you are interested in a simple explanation of the complex reality of both the vast and the tiny, give this a read. Maybe like me, you’ll get hooked and read the remaining 9 books in this series.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book with one thought in mind - how to have an informed conversation with my scientist father-in-law. I have just enough background in physics to be dangerous so I wanted a book that would break it down for me in reasonably easy to understand terms. Job accomplished. Thomas writes a book in plain English (pun intended) without condescending to the less knowledgeable.

I see that some reviewers did not like the 'repetitiveness' of the book. I found it to be helpful to drill in the basic principles Thomas wanted to drive home. I would love to read it again and then read someone's book who disagrees with him (equally easy to read?).

[Binit · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are two ways you can read this book - either as a work of philosophy or as a popular science book for physics. If read the first way this is quite good, probably deserving 4 stars or more but if read the other way, and the author wants it to be read that way, it is at best oversimplified and at worst misleading.
The main thesis of this book is that relativity and quantum theory can be unified based on certain axiomatic first principles. The basic axiom is that universe is the only thing there is and everything in the universe (or Nature as the author personifies it) including measurement & existence is relative. He then goes on to try to explain the observations predicted by relativity and quantum theory using this axiom (and some other unsaid axioms like Occam's razor). Here is the problem though there is absolutely no math in this book, the author resorts to logical arguments and "intuitive" leaps that seem perfectly fine at first but can be revealed to be flawed upon careful analysis. Of course this is a pop-sci book which avoid equations like fire but the problem is that as far as I know Andrew Thomas is not a practicing physicist so there is no body of peer-reviewed work that supports this hypothesis. Other pop-sci books written by well known physicists are simplifications of what is accepted by the current physics community to be one of the commonly accepted theories. This also points at another problem in this book. The author always keeps on reminding us that the simplicity of an explanation is not a reason to doubt it and uses the various unifications in physics as examples and indeed he is probably correct in that simplicity is not a bad thing. But the problem is that each unification that he uses as an example started out as an intuition and then had to go through years of mathematical formulation, peer review and experimental verification before it became a fact. In fact the language that the author uses has come about after years of analysis and arguments by physicists. The theory proposed by this book however completely sidesteps the process, he starts with an intuition and then develops framework to "explain" the observations of science. In fact you can find some defensiveness in book's tone when it comes to experimental verification and predictions. It is almost as if the author wants all the glory that comes from proposing a fundamental theory of the universe but none of the hard work of mathematical rigor and experimentation. All famous physicists started out the with beautiful, intuitive ideas but they had the sense to not to only trust their own intuitions and put the ideas through the wringer of mathematical rigor and peer review before announcing it to the world but the author has somehow decided that he is above this process.
I talked about the various "intuitive" leaps that the author makes that seem good and even radical at first sight but are not very good at all when analyzed closely. I will take one example, the author draws parallels between wave function collapse (i.e. how it is the measurement that actually makes the property of fundamental particles real) and the relativeness of properties like velocity and mass in macro scales. Specifically he says that the fact that both measurements needs a well defined observer points to some sort of unity between the two theories. This does not make any sense at all, this is like saying that that process of manufacturing a red chair and red jumbo jet must be fundamentally the same because they share the same color! The observation about similarity between the theories is at best an interesting observation and lacking any formal mathematical derivation mostly useless.
I think two more things deserve mention. The first is I kind of get where the author is coming from, it is hard when you have an intuition or belief and you "know" that you are right but you simply lack the talent or time or patience (or combination thereof) to validate this belief. And you want other people to know about the ideas you have had. However there are avenues for doing this without being misleading, you can couch your ideas under the right speculative framework and still publish a book and have it read by many people. Secondly could the author be in fact right? Could he have stumbled onto an intuitive explanation of what is essentially theory of everything? Yes its possible but in the end without a mathematical foundation and experimental verification this is completely useless. I would rather respect that experimenter who spent her lifetime (dis)proving a hypothesis than a "wise man" who stumbled upon the same truth and then believed and stated it without proof.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a none scientist, and looking at the book from a philosophic perspective, I liked it.

Complex theories were simply explained and although sometimes a bit repetitive, he made sure you understood it. I have no doubt that many of the topics he talked about have much more complex and nuanced depths. But for a grand overview of how things are seemingly related, written in an accessible way, he did a great job.

What I found frustrating at times is his need to push the 'just accept this as truth' message while he himself tears down others how strongly believed in other truths. This happened more in the end of the book than at the start.

None the less and interesting read and something to ponder.

[Erik · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an important book. As you read it, ask yourself if you accept his premises, if you are being convinced by his arguments, and if you trust his motives. If you have said "no" to all three by the end, then you have graduated from "critical reading 101" which is the important thing.

I strongly recommend reading this book's other 1-star reviews afterwards to reset your mind.

[Ben U · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 2/3rds of the book is an excellent overview of general relativity and quantum mechanics, centered on the notion that a key task of physics is to "unify" multiple theories into one (e.g. Newton's description of gravity unifies objects falling on the earth with the orbits of planets around the sun — today we take this for granted, but they weren't part of the same phenomenon before Newton). The ultimate aim of the book is to discuss the task of bringing general relativity and quantum mechanics together as a new, unified theory.

I have read and enjoyed a number of popular physics books (Brian Greene, Kip Thorne, etc); this book is as good as any at describing basic principles of relativity and quantum behavior. It also references a variety of similar books on the subjects, which makes this a particularly good resource for anyone just getting into this stuff. (And the end of the book has brief overviews of a number of these books.)

As we near the end, with discussions of quantum decoherence, the descriptions themselves begin to destabilize a bit. I think this is probably because we start entering into realms that are less discussed in other books, and so the author is more on his own describing these complicated concepts. I found myself re-reviewing several sections as I neared the end, grasping to follow along. Some readers may end up dropping out around chapter 7 (of 9 chapters total) simply because, for lay readers, the content gets a little more difficult to follow (decoherence, gauge theory, symmetry).

By the way, this is pretty common in many of these sorts of books: we get an overview of the principles, then for the last few chapters the author dives into what they believe could be the next step (M-Theory, Loop Theory, etc). Here the author is leading us to a surprisingly straightforward interpretation, that [spoiler, maybe? can you have spoilers in a review of this kind of book?] just as relativity depends on the location/motion of BOTH the observer and the observed (and these roles are inherently reversible), quantum mechanics also depends on measurement/observation, which involves a similar notion of observer/observed. Quantum decoherence brings the observer/observed phenomenon into the non-quantum world. The connection, according to the author, has been hiding in plain sight (a-ha! The title of the book!). As we neared the end, I found myself more and more doubtful of the conclusions. But this isn't the first physics book where that has happened....

Highly recommended for chapters 1-6; a bit less-highly but (nonetheless) recommended for the remaining chapters.

PS: This book was written in 2012, so it will miss some more recent findings (eg the detection of gravity waves, announced in 2016).

[Stephen Jaarsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding hidden logic in the quantum world

Hidden in plain sight provides a refreshing, elegant, and surprisingly logical incite into the quantum world. The author lays a solid groundwork for his ideas by defining the relativistic universe, reviewing basic principles of relativity and quantum mechanics, and tying them together with a very simple but compelling conclusion. Although this work does not claim to completely lay to rest all of the quirks and differences between relativity and quantum mechanics, it provides great incite that may be further developed and tested to lead to new theories, and a new way of looking at our universe.

As a reasonable and logical person, I have always been troubled by quantum mechanics. The many fantastical and non sensical interpretations of the theory that fly in the face of all conventional rationality have left me skeptical, and a bit put off by the direction that theoretical physics is heading. This book is like a breath of fresh air, dispelling the magic and mysticism of modern quantum interpretations with a simple, elegant explanation that appears to tie in very well with general relativity.

Admittedly, as a lay person, I am not sure how the premise would stand against scrutiny by hardcore physicists. I do think the book would have benefited from a more detailed review at the end, highlighting how the author’s ideas would hold up when posed against results and conclusions of various quantum experiments. There was some effort to explain the results of the double slit experiment in a general sense, but I feel that digging into the details a bit more would have been helpful. A theoretical review of other experiments as they pertain to the proposed interpretation would have made the argument even more convincing.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's nice to read a scientific book which doesn't have the "filler" that a lot of others do. I get so bored reading about universities and people's life that by the time I reach the explanations I can't be bothered! Andrew Thomas explicitly states that he is not doing any biographer work in his books and that is always a plus for me.

The book starts off explaining quantum mechanics and branches into relativity, though not too deep so you have a basic understanding of both. It then proposes a link between the two (the unification that physicists are looking for) in the form of three principles. However, he does state that this is just a theory of his and nothing proven! It seems that a lot of people have become offended because this bloke had a theory and given this bad reviews! Don't listen to them, if they can't impartially read a proposal then their opinion isn't worth it anyway.

Yes, he does seem to like to "blow his own trumpet" but so would I if I had his knowledge and was trying to get a theory across. There is more than enough proven science in this book to make it worth while and although weak, I think he may be onto something with his link (the observer part anyway). It's a very interesting book and well worth a read, I'm definitely moving onto the second book.

[Saurabh Kumar Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read

I first saw this book few years ago but avoided because of it’s title (which seemed fishy). But having read some of the other books in series since then, I finally picked this one hoping to at least get an alternate view on relativity and quantum mechanics. For most part the book discusses fairly standard relatively and quantum mechanics. I quite liked the no history lesson description of quantum mechanics. The argument presented as “for the first time” are quite appealing, although given the simplicity it is very doubtful that other great minds did not see it. I need to dig further into these ideas to see how these are received by other scientists. Though I really liked the “logic” behind unifying the relativity and quantum mechanics I would have liked to see more evidence. A nice breezy read none the less.

[Vlad Ardelean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a bad book because:
* it contains simple, vague, unrelated (though the author says they're related) and unhelpful ideas
* one idea is that "there is only one universe"
* the other idea is that "this makes nature not have a standard measuring stick for anything, and that all phenomena are relative"
* he tries to make all kinds of arguments based on these 2 ideas, but all of them are just flawed

...just because the arguments are flawed, doesn't mean their conclusion is wrong... but still, just go read "Three roads to quantum gravity", which he quotes a lot. This book feels like it's just what a high-school kid remembered after having read that one 3 years ago, and smoked a little bit, and got some funny ideas.

Avoid this book!

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great structure for understanding the basic principles of absolutes and defining the universe as the only thing that exists. It provides introductory information of superposition, the block universe theory, string theory, loop quantum gravity, and relativity. I do think that is lacks some mathematical emphasis, especially in its labeling of nature as ‘Nature’ and not as a fleshed out definition or theory. I did appreciate that this author understands the audience most likely does not have formal quantum training and thus repeats himself on key points multiple times to help take the mystery and confusion out of the underlying theories and principles.

[Martin Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say I enjoyed the book because it helped me better understand modern physics. I have tried many times to read other books on this subject over the years but often found myself lost in the weeds resulting in only a vague understanding. It could be that the author's simple presentation reveals his misunderstandings of the subject. I am not able to judge that. I will say that I enjoyed this book. I will say that the book invokes a kind of philosophical teleology by citing "Nature" as a touchstone. It nice to know that there is some point to all and everything. It is good story anyway.

[John J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply thought provoking study of the fundamental similarities underlying quantum mechanics and relativity

Well written and thoroughly engaging book written by a physicist who, by building up from simple and logical first principles, explains in clear language the mysteries of both quantum mechanical and relativity behaviors, and suggests an explanation using the author's own theories.

[Jody Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a person that avoids the world of quantum mechanics at all cost I found this book extremely well laid out and has shed a new light for me when it come to Quantum! The author did an excellent job of keeping things extremely simple and very easy to understand. It’s awesome to understand what the author was trying to portray as far as the relationship and similarities between relativity and quantum. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

[Robert McSpadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to Understand

Well, Andrew has done it. He figured out a way to take the reader from [quantum/relativity dumbness] to [quantum/relativity I kinda get it].
And so, I now consider myself truly "edumacated" about the Quantum/Relativity link in the simplest of terms. I could probably feel comfortable talking knowledgably to any other physics-lay-person about this seemingly complex subject without sounding like a complete dolt! Thanks. Andrew!!

[Sean Casteel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I was expecting more in the way of explanation of the principles. The author makes good use of common sense to eliminate, compare and contrast the different theories of both relativity and quantum mechanics. I agree that physics shouldn't be fantasitical, but as mentioned above I was hoping the book would be a little more educational.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Thomas did a really good job of explaining the fundamentals of cosmology and quantum physics in less than 200 pages.

He was able to effectively explain the intertwining of the two sciences. The last chapter does a great job of tying things up all be it in a somewhat subjective way, but is based on sound logic as far as I'm concerned.

[Francis M. Van Meter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't recommend.

I had expected some insightful explanation of a relationship between relativity and quantum theory but this appears to be mainly philosophical rambling about everything being relative to everything else.

[VG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for lay observer

who was distracted in high school physics by more real things like ariane grande and lakers.
We really are spinning 😂 - unable to put an equation down that generates the universe.
.

[Vikram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic reading - thought provoking

Thought provoking and stimulating reading. Difficult concepts explained very nicely and on simpler language.
Enjoyable from start to finish. Great!

[Rigved Kamlesh Bansal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Book for young readers who are curious about physics

[jitendra kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Best read for all ages. Very interesting and informative. Motivational.
From very basic to the most difficult one theories, it was an awesome journey.

[Lowrie Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening

So spacetime is Presbyterian! Who knew. I need to read more Carlo Rovelli - and Hidden in Plain Sight. Thanks, Andrew Thomas.

[Jose Seco Sanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting little book. To me, this thesis sounds good, but I am no physicist.