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Bananaworld: Quantum Mechanics for Primates
What on earth do bananas have to do with quantum mechanics? From a modern perspective, quantum mechanics is about strangely counterintuitive correlations between separated systems, which can be exploited in feats like quantum teleportation, unbreakable cryptographic schemes, and computers with enormously enhanced computing power. Schro?dinger coined the term "entanglement" to describe these bizarre correlations. Bananaworld -- an imaginary island with "entangled" bananas -- brings to life the fascinating discoveries of the new field of quantum information without the mathematical machinery of quantum mechanics. The connection with quantum correlations is fully explained in sections written for the non-physicist reader with a serious interest in understanding the mysteries of the quantum world. The result is a subversive but entertaining book that is accessible and interesting to a wide range of readers, with the novel thesis that quantum mechanics is about the structure of
information. What we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are very different than we thought.
information. What we have discovered is that the possibilities for representing, manipulating, and communicating information are very different than we thought.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2017
In many ways this is a careful if at times demanding exposition that — provided you put the effort in — will teach you a fair bit about quantum mechanics. It stands in strong contrast to many fuzzy popular accounts. There are things that made sense to me for the first time here.
It only gets four stars however because I feel the author could have taken extra steps to extricate his subject matter from the travails of the field that make it less accessible than it needs to be. The classic offender is variable naming. There are tables in which 0 and 1 appear in multiple entries with different meanings (booleans or probabilities), at times alongside O and I for extra illegibility, reams of gratuitously reused variables with single-letter names, and several instances in which the authors announces he will now switch notation "for convenience" (it would seem his, not yours). These are all avoidable, I hope a future edition corrects this.
Nevertheless, if you are interested in the topic this is a great book to read. You might have to go through some of the chapters a few times, but they'll be worth the investment.
It only gets four stars however because I feel the author could have taken extra steps to extricate his subject matter from the travails of the field that make it less accessible than it needs to be. The classic offender is variable naming. There are tables in which 0 and 1 appear in multiple entries with different meanings (booleans or probabilities), at times alongside O and I for extra illegibility, reams of gratuitously reused variables with single-letter names, and several instances in which the authors announces he will now switch notation "for convenience" (it would seem his, not yours). These are all avoidable, I hope a future edition corrects this.
Nevertheless, if you are interested in the topic this is a great book to read. You might have to go through some of the chapters a few times, but they'll be worth the investment.
September 13, 2025
You'd think, from its title, that this book takes a non-intuitive subject and makes it easy to understand. Far from it! It takes a non-intuitive subject and makes it completely incomprehensible.
The idea that Quantum Mechanics is fundamentally about anything other than wave functions is ridiculous. Instead, we are told to focus on correlations. The bananas (so called) are not physical objects, but a way of hiding what little information remains. It is nonsense to pretend that this throws any light on what is already the world's most difficult subject. I need something concrete, not an extra level of abstraction.
A bad idea badly presented. If I could give zero stars, I would.
The idea that Quantum Mechanics is fundamentally about anything other than wave functions is ridiculous. Instead, we are told to focus on correlations. The bananas (so called) are not physical objects, but a way of hiding what little information remains. It is nonsense to pretend that this throws any light on what is already the world's most difficult subject. I need something concrete, not an extra level of abstraction.
A bad idea badly presented. If I could give zero stars, I would.
November 11, 2018
A book one must add to their collection, whose interest lies in quantum mechanics. Another excellent book for the laymen audience on Quantum Theory with the right ratio of words and (basic) maths to communicate effectively and informatively on the topic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews