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The Quantum Rules: How the Laws of Physics Explain Love, Success, and Everyday Life
A New York Times Best Seller!Here is a book to lead you through the fascinating intersections of life and physics with humor and intelligence.Find out how the laws of physics define every aspect of our lives and society, from human nature and relationships to geopolitical issues like financial markets, globalization and immigration. The Quantum Rules is a different kind of physics book, as easy to read as a novel and directly relevant for everyday life issues that affect us all. It is not meant to dazzle you with unproven speculations that have no bearing on your life. Rather, The Quantum Rules will familiarize you with the important and established laws at the heart of physics, in a way never done before – by showing how the defining patterns of our lives, our behavior and our society already follow similar rules.Never took an interest in science before? No problem! you will still understand everything and find plenty to relate to. A scientist or a science junkie? You will find a different perspective on things you may already know. Best of all, you will discover how to have meaningful conversations about physics in a way that won’t make eyes glaze over, and in which all can gladly participate.The Quantum Rules also does something you would never expect from a book on physics – it makes you laugh, often. Its new and original take on established natural laws injects plenty of dry humor into this serious subject, by using life to explain physics and in turn using physics to understand life.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
463 people are currently reading
1199 people want to read
About the author
Kunal K. Das
3 books17 followersKunal K. Das is a Professor of Physics and an active researcher in the fields of Nanotechnology and Ultracold Atoms with ongoing funding from the National Science Foundation. He has authored dozens of refereed journal publications and has held teaching and research appointments at several institutions including SUNY, Penn State, Fordham, Optical Sciences Center, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Atypically for a physicist, he has a lifelong interest in the humanities and pop culture and a passion for classic literature, giving him a unique view of physical laws from the perspective of broader human experiences. He is currently a Professor at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and a Scholar of the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 19, 2018
Its an OK read, informative yet not enough `aha` moments to make it special. The first 3 chapters are the best but the rest was not as fun and sometimes hard to draw connections between concepts proposed.
March 13, 2018
on the one hand the author delivered on the premise. he explained how quantum physics applied to our every day lives. my brain is not scientific yet he managed an elegant explanation to most of the theories discussed. i would have given this book a higher rating yet i found on some concepts he seemed to dumb the theories down too much to a bill nye the science guy level and other chapters no matter what i just couldnt grasp the theory
June 8, 2013
I ordered this book on a whim, having no idea what to expect, simply because the title caught my eye. What a pleasant surprise! It's chock-full of insight into the human condition and overflowing with funny nuggets of wisdom from the author's musings on life. And he somehow manages to explain a lot of complicated physics along the way.
The author takes it upon himself to explain a lot of the important concepts in physics that are regularly passed over in popular physics books. The way he goes about doing so is what makes this book unique. He relates fundamental physical laws to human behavior and cultural phenomena, making them accessible to readers from any background. Even more than an interesting way to understand physics, I found it to be refreshing way to look at life. Just as complex ideas in physics can be made simpler by using analogies in everyday life, some of the complexities of life make more sense when viewed through the eyes of a physicist.
You'll find yourself intellectually stimulated and often laughing out loud. I think it's a great book for people with or without a science background. If you don't have much of a background, you'll love the way the author can relate physics to your life.. without going into the mathematical details. If you do have a background in physics/science, you'll be interested to see how the author explains these ideas in a unique and novel way. Humorous and entertaining tone throughout. Highly recommended!
The author takes it upon himself to explain a lot of the important concepts in physics that are regularly passed over in popular physics books. The way he goes about doing so is what makes this book unique. He relates fundamental physical laws to human behavior and cultural phenomena, making them accessible to readers from any background. Even more than an interesting way to understand physics, I found it to be refreshing way to look at life. Just as complex ideas in physics can be made simpler by using analogies in everyday life, some of the complexities of life make more sense when viewed through the eyes of a physicist.
You'll find yourself intellectually stimulated and often laughing out loud. I think it's a great book for people with or without a science background. If you don't have much of a background, you'll love the way the author can relate physics to your life.. without going into the mathematical details. If you do have a background in physics/science, you'll be interested to see how the author explains these ideas in a unique and novel way. Humorous and entertaining tone throughout. Highly recommended!
December 7, 2019
Well, OK...I suppose if people compare the brain to a computer or a mechanical engineer uses machine metaphors for how people operate, then this works.
Actually, my reaction when I started reading took me think about animism--how humans before science would attribute life's circumstances to the spirit world and have to appease the spirits to be successful in life.
Well, here Das attributes our condition being a result of quantum effects. Whatever. His use of common life events was helpful, but a bit overdone--however, probably good for high school students who have not lived through them.
I give 4 stars for a very good presentation of a most difficult subject. This did help me better understand quantum concepts. This work does lean toward scientism, but hey, there is the Higgs Boson (called the god particle). No prime mover or grand designer in this at all, which seems to be not needed in this worldview.
Actually, my reaction when I started reading took me think about animism--how humans before science would attribute life's circumstances to the spirit world and have to appease the spirits to be successful in life.
Well, here Das attributes our condition being a result of quantum effects. Whatever. His use of common life events was helpful, but a bit overdone--however, probably good for high school students who have not lived through them.
I give 4 stars for a very good presentation of a most difficult subject. This did help me better understand quantum concepts. This work does lean toward scientism, but hey, there is the Higgs Boson (called the god particle). No prime mover or grand designer in this at all, which seems to be not needed in this worldview.
May 16, 2016
Das does a fabulous job of explaining basic and quantum physics concepts in ways that even a non-science major like me can easily understand. For that alone he gets three stars. Trying these concepts to human behavior was an exciting concept when I opened the book, but the longer I read, the more the reasoning felt like wishful thinking.
I don't know. Maybe you need a PhD to fully grok the bonds between quantum physics and human behavior. My resonant frequencies must be out of synch. For me, the implausible could end up being universally recognized by the author's Nobel Prize.
Go figure...
I don't know. Maybe you need a PhD to fully grok the bonds between quantum physics and human behavior. My resonant frequencies must be out of synch. For me, the implausible could end up being universally recognized by the author's Nobel Prize.
Go figure...
October 8, 2017
Interesting science but kind of corny
The science in this book is really cool, bit I felt I was getting hit over the head with all the exclamation points. The examples felt a bit corny and some of the "jokes" were a bit dad-ish (sexist, dated). It reads like an old high school science teacher trying a little too hard to be cool. But I think science IS cool, so it wasn't a total loss.
The science in this book is really cool, bit I felt I was getting hit over the head with all the exclamation points. The examples felt a bit corny and some of the "jokes" were a bit dad-ish (sexist, dated). It reads like an old high school science teacher trying a little too hard to be cool. But I think science IS cool, so it wasn't a total loss.
May 7, 2017
As someone who loves Quantum Mechanics and Evolution and human behavior, this book is super fun to read. The only things I didn't like were generalizations made by the author in order to explain a concept, but I understand the reasoning behind it. It does put a lot of things into interesting perspective, though.
March 21, 2016
This book was really out of my comfort zone for reading material.
I only give it 2 stars mainly because this isn't something I would go promoting. But I am not saying that this is a terrible book either. It's just not my style of reading material.
Overall some chapters/Topics were interesting, but I found that some of it was way over my head.
I only give it 2 stars mainly because this isn't something I would go promoting. But I am not saying that this is a terrible book either. It's just not my style of reading material.
Overall some chapters/Topics were interesting, but I found that some of it was way over my head.
December 8, 2025
Straight forward and accessible explanations that don't rely on much prior knowledge. Not exactly the most insightful book on the subject, but still an interesting exploration of the relationship between quantum rules and human existence/ experience. The book seems to lose its way in the second half but is worth sticking with. If it finished how it started, it could possibly have scaped a 4 star.
July 11, 2013
Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Book.
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For those lost souls looking for the meaning of life, physics Professor Kundal Das uses the fundamental laws of the universe to explain a wealth of useful insights to be gained about our lives. Expecting complex derivations of quantum mechanics using Fourier Transformations of complicated multi-dimensional non-linear partial differential equations, I didn’t find that in this book. Instead, The Quantum Guide to Life: How the Laws of Physics Explain Our Lives from Laziness to Love provided me this insight without requiring a doctorate degree in physics. Thus, anyone without a background or even an interest in science will appreciate the author’s essential ideas.
Although the laws of physics were not meant to derive the meaning of everyday life (financial, personal, relational, and social), these laws were used to express it. Physics involves the study of nature, and the interactions of objects within the universe. Using this as its underlying basis, the author provides the reader with wisdom based upon unchanging laws with an objective and infallible perspective. Dr. Das has the technical background to provide us this wisdom. As a physics professor at the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, he has authored dozens of referred journal publications and has contributed much to the world’s current knowledge in quantum transport of nanoscale circuits and atomic waveguides.
In his book, Dr. Das discusses the pursuit of happiness, the purpose of uncertainties, the real cause of why a house is messy, why people are lazy, why people connect with other people and not others, the need for social interactions and the need for fame. He even applied Newton’s three laws to human dynamics: motivation is required for change; it becomes harder to change as we grow older; and, everything we do has an impact upon our lives. Dr. Das ends his book with a formula for success using the concept of current in an electrical field. Something we should already know is that success comes from a combination of disciplined hard work, persistence, and an aggressive pursuit of goals.
Of personal interest to me is the book’s tie to quantum mechanics. I learned more about this fascinating topic during my graduate studies using statistical mechanics, which applies probability theory to quantum mechanics. While learning about this topic, I couldn’t fully comprehend how this applied to understanding nature. But after solving several hundred statistical mechanics problems and using this for my doctoral research in transport phenomena of high temperature gases in a rocket thruster, I was finally able to grasp its complex, yet simple, concepts. What confused me even more was that someone was creative enough to develop this concept. And, that person was Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. His innovative thinking was so unique for his time in the late 19th Century that almost all scientists disbelieved his theory. Because prominent researchers of his time criticized his work, Boltzmann continually defended himself. Today, almost all scientists believe his theory. Dr. Das does something similar by developing a fundamental understanding of life using these universal laws.
In my opinion, which I believe Dr. Das shares, physics is a human enterprise and a physicist’s human attributes make great difference to how his work is treated by his peers. Dr. Das does a good job linking physics and philosophy together in his easy-to-understand book.
The Quantum Guide to Life is an interesting book about the philosophy of life. Highly recommended for those who want to understand life.
------------------------------------
For those lost souls looking for the meaning of life, physics Professor Kundal Das uses the fundamental laws of the universe to explain a wealth of useful insights to be gained about our lives. Expecting complex derivations of quantum mechanics using Fourier Transformations of complicated multi-dimensional non-linear partial differential equations, I didn’t find that in this book. Instead, The Quantum Guide to Life: How the Laws of Physics Explain Our Lives from Laziness to Love provided me this insight without requiring a doctorate degree in physics. Thus, anyone without a background or even an interest in science will appreciate the author’s essential ideas.
Although the laws of physics were not meant to derive the meaning of everyday life (financial, personal, relational, and social), these laws were used to express it. Physics involves the study of nature, and the interactions of objects within the universe. Using this as its underlying basis, the author provides the reader with wisdom based upon unchanging laws with an objective and infallible perspective. Dr. Das has the technical background to provide us this wisdom. As a physics professor at the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, he has authored dozens of referred journal publications and has contributed much to the world’s current knowledge in quantum transport of nanoscale circuits and atomic waveguides.
In his book, Dr. Das discusses the pursuit of happiness, the purpose of uncertainties, the real cause of why a house is messy, why people are lazy, why people connect with other people and not others, the need for social interactions and the need for fame. He even applied Newton’s three laws to human dynamics: motivation is required for change; it becomes harder to change as we grow older; and, everything we do has an impact upon our lives. Dr. Das ends his book with a formula for success using the concept of current in an electrical field. Something we should already know is that success comes from a combination of disciplined hard work, persistence, and an aggressive pursuit of goals.
Of personal interest to me is the book’s tie to quantum mechanics. I learned more about this fascinating topic during my graduate studies using statistical mechanics, which applies probability theory to quantum mechanics. While learning about this topic, I couldn’t fully comprehend how this applied to understanding nature. But after solving several hundred statistical mechanics problems and using this for my doctoral research in transport phenomena of high temperature gases in a rocket thruster, I was finally able to grasp its complex, yet simple, concepts. What confused me even more was that someone was creative enough to develop this concept. And, that person was Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann. His innovative thinking was so unique for his time in the late 19th Century that almost all scientists disbelieved his theory. Because prominent researchers of his time criticized his work, Boltzmann continually defended himself. Today, almost all scientists believe his theory. Dr. Das does something similar by developing a fundamental understanding of life using these universal laws.
In my opinion, which I believe Dr. Das shares, physics is a human enterprise and a physicist’s human attributes make great difference to how his work is treated by his peers. Dr. Das does a good job linking physics and philosophy together in his easy-to-understand book.
The Quantum Guide to Life is an interesting book about the philosophy of life. Highly recommended for those who want to understand life.
March 16, 2025
Not my cup of tea.
The connection between quantum theory and the subjects of each chapter felt really forced and unnatural.
The connection between quantum theory and the subjects of each chapter felt really forced and unnatural.
July 23, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. I won this book in a give away and am sure glad I did. As soon as I read the title it instantly sparked my Interest. This book has a way of really keeping you engaged and curious to learn more with all of the examples used throughout. I am no genius that's for sure and even i was able to read through it with ease. I think this book can speak to anyone regardless of their background, this truly is a great place to start when wanting to understand the world of physics. The author did a fantastic job and i hope to see more from him in the future.
October 17, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. For me it provides a fresh and original connection between physics and many phenomena connected with our daily life like happiness, laziness or even a good formula for success. It really makes physics laws relevant within a broad context and for me a physics teacher it brings a lot of examples why physics is important and interesting to learn.
October 8, 2018
I loved it!! and so have ordered a copy. Das covers every angle of human condition in normal english and then goes through the Quantum theories that cover the same ground, that support what we know, or what we thing we know, about our human conditions Fascinating read, covering so many aspects...and with a good dash of humor.
December 19, 2018
Excellent read
This is a novel approach to quantum sociology. The author ties physics to life experiences and in the process explains some q.m.. terms in a way I had never encountered . Real EUREKA moment for me. A must read for quantum mechanics buffs.
This is a novel approach to quantum sociology. The author ties physics to life experiences and in the process explains some q.m.. terms in a way I had never encountered . Real EUREKA moment for me. A must read for quantum mechanics buffs.
October 9, 2017
Very interesting idea - explain some important ideas in Physics and then apply those concepts to "every day life". Engaging.
November 5, 2018
The analogies between physics and life situations are stretched beyond the breaking point. It's a fun book to read as long as you don't take it as seriously as the author seems to intend.
November 7, 2024
This book has an intriguing concept: each chapter starts by explaining a law of physics, offers some examples, and pairs it with broader social elements. The first chapter considers happiness and how redefining its parameters makes more sense than endlessly chasing it. Other chapters address globalization, entropy, attraction, time, relativity, and other pieces of life.
In short, most of the connections feel contrived at best. I was hoping that this book would be either humorous or short, and it is neither. It's one thing to say that laziness is the inevitable result of living in a universe that abides by the rules of energy conservation. It's another to go on with six examples that basically beat a dead horse. This book has some rather wild explanations of how physics operates, and while I can appreciate an explanation and a few examples of ways to apply the concepts, I was frustrated at how frequently I felt talked-down to.
In short, most of the connections feel contrived at best. I was hoping that this book would be either humorous or short, and it is neither. It's one thing to say that laziness is the inevitable result of living in a universe that abides by the rules of energy conservation. It's another to go on with six examples that basically beat a dead horse. This book has some rather wild explanations of how physics operates, and while I can appreciate an explanation and a few examples of ways to apply the concepts, I was frustrated at how frequently I felt talked-down to.
August 9, 2020
Love this book! The second law of thermodynamics demands that the overall disorder in the universe always increases.. stop blaming for the mess around you. It just happens to be a very basic law of the universe, the most basic, in fact!
January 28, 2021
Interesting and informative in terms of the physical concept, they are explained in a simple and straightforward way. The 'guide to life' part is unfortunately a bit of a stretch most of the times. Entertaining enough.
January 27, 2023
A great book for a layman to understand how the laws of physics apply to daily life. I personally liked the chapter on relationships and success. The analogies were good. Great attempt by the author.
December 29, 2023
Some of the laws of Physics were well explained but the major thrust of the book, which seemed to be to show how the laws of physics are related to our human behavior, failed to impress.
January 6, 2017
This is a bit of an odd duck of a book. I enjoyed it. Though sometimes the parallels that Das drew between natural phenomena and human behavior seemed overwrought to me. Either they were kind of obvious after a quick review of the natural law being discussed, or they were tortured out of a long and winding rationalization.
Nevertheless, this book did what I wanted -- it took much of the difficulty out of grasping some pretty abstract concepts in classical and quantum physics. I selected this title specifically because I've been yearning to learn more about physics, specifically quantum mechanics, and this seemed like a great introduction for someone from a social sciences background. I wasn't as interested in the applications to human life as I was in using behavioral analogies to make the natural laws easier to learn for myself. And it worked. It definitely worked.
So as a a self-help book, would I recommend this? No. But as a lovely little primer for those social sciency types out there looking for a foot in the door of fundamental universal laws? Definitely yes.
I should add that the section drawing parallels between the second law of thermodynamics and life's constant mayhem was excellent. The definitely sank right into my brain and found a nice niche to live in forever.
Nevertheless, this book did what I wanted -- it took much of the difficulty out of grasping some pretty abstract concepts in classical and quantum physics. I selected this title specifically because I've been yearning to learn more about physics, specifically quantum mechanics, and this seemed like a great introduction for someone from a social sciences background. I wasn't as interested in the applications to human life as I was in using behavioral analogies to make the natural laws easier to learn for myself. And it worked. It definitely worked.
So as a a self-help book, would I recommend this? No. But as a lovely little primer for those social sciency types out there looking for a foot in the door of fundamental universal laws? Definitely yes.
I should add that the section drawing parallels between the second law of thermodynamics and life's constant mayhem was excellent. The definitely sank right into my brain and found a nice niche to live in forever.
December 11, 2016
Very interesting so far....
Want to read
September 4, 2013Won in giveaway - review to follow
August 24, 2016
great comparisons but lacks content
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews