Synopses & Reviews
In 1932, the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli met the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Pauli was fascinated by the inner reaches of his own psyche and not afraid to dabble in the occult, while Jung looked to science for answers to the psychological questions that tormented him. Their rich friendship led them, in Jung's words, into "the no-man's land between physics and the psychology of the unconscious . . . the most fascinating yet the darkest hunting ground of our times." Both were obsessed with the far-reaching significance of the number "137"--a primal number that seemed to hint at the origins of the universe itself. Their quest to solve its enigma led them on a lifelong journey into the ancient secrets of alchemy, the work of Johannes Kepler, and the Chinese Book of Changes. This is the captivating story of an extraordinary and fruitful collaboration between two of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century.
Review
"Arthur I. Miller is a master at capturing the intersection of creativity and intelligence. He did it with Einstein and Picasso, and now he does it with Pauli and Jung. Their shared obsession with the number 137 provides a window into their genius." Walter Isaacson
Synopsis
'The history is fascinating, as are the insights into the personalities of these great thinkers."New Scientist
Synopsis
'The history is fascinating, as are the insights into the personalities of these great thinkers."New Scientist
Synopsis
Is there a number at the root of the universe? A primal number that everything in the world hinges on? This question exercised many great minds of the twentieth century, among them the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Their obsession with the power of certain numbers'"including 137, which describes the atom"s fine-structure constant and has great Kabbalistic significance'"led them to develop an unlikely friendship and to embark on a joint mystical quest reaching deep into medieval alchemy, dream interpretation, and the Chinese Book of Changes. 137explores the profound intersection of modern science with the occult, but above all it is the tale of an extraordinary, fruitful friendship between two of the greatest thinkers of our times. Originally published in hardcover as Deciphering the Cosmic Number.
Synopsis
The extraordinary story of psychoanalyst Carl Jung and physicist Wolfgang Pauli and their struggle to quantify the unconscious.
Synopsis
Evaluates the unusual camaraderie between the ground-breaking physicist and the famous psychoanalyst, tracing their disparate and complementary approaches to the effort to quantify the unconscious, their shared obsession with the primal number 137, and their investigations into the ancient secrets of alchemy.
About the Author
Arthur I. Miller is a professor emeritus at University College London. He has published many critically acclaimed books, including Einstein, Picasso; Empire of the Stars; and 137. He lives in London.
Table of Contents
1. Dangerously Famous -- 2. Early Successes, Early Failures -- 3. The Philosopher's Stone -- 4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- 5. Intermezzo - Three versus Four: Alchemy, Mysticism, and the Dawn of Modern Science -- 6. Pauli, Heisenberg, and the Great Quantum Breakthrough -- 7. Mephistopheles -- 8. The Dark Hunting Ground of the Mind -- 9. Mandalas -- 10. The Superior Man Sets His Life in Order -- 11. Synchronicity -- 12. Dreams of Primal Numbers -- 13. Second Intermezzo - Road to Yesterday -- 14. Through the Looking Glass -- 15. The Mysterious Number 137 -- Epilogue: The Legacy of Pauli and Jung.