Murray Gell-Mann (1929–2019)

Author of The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex

6+ Works 1,158 Members 7 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Murray Gell-Mann was born on September 15, 1929 in Manhattan, New York. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from Yale University in 1948 and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951. His discovery of quarks, a concept in particle physics, earned him a Nobel Prize in show more Physics in 1969. He wrote several books including The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex. He has received several awards including the Dannie Heineman Prize, the Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial Award, the Franklin Medal, the Research Corporation Award, the John J. Carty Medal, and the Helmholtz Medal. He died on May 24, 2019 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Murray Gell-Man, Murray Gell-Mann, Murray Gell-Mann, Murray GELL- MAN, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Phy Murray Gell-Mann

Image credit: Murray Gell-Mann in 2003.

Works by Murray Gell-Mann

Nonextensive entropy : interdisciplinary applications (1974) — Editor — 17 copies

The eightfold way [a review, with a collection of reprints (2000) 15 copies

Murray Gell-Mann: Selected Papers (2010) 9 copies

Quarken og jaguaren : eventyrlige beretninger om det simple og det komplekse (1995) 1 copy

The Quark & the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple & the Complex 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Last of the Curlews (1955) — Afterword, some editions — 170 copies

The Rise of the Standard Model: Particle Physics in the 1960s and 1970s (1997) — Contributor — 8 copies

Tagged

1994 (3) biography (12) biology (14) chaos (7) complexity (65) cosmology (8) essays (7) evolution (13) Gell-Mann (4) general science (7) hardcover (5) history (5) history of science (6) Komplexität (3) math (6) memoir (4) natural science (8) nature (8) non-fiction (70) own (4) owned (3) particle physics (11) philosophy (29) philosophy of science (3) Philosophy: of Science (3) physical science (2) physics (164) popular science (30) quantum mechanics (23) quantum physics (19) quantum theory (8) quarks (11) read (3) science (191) science and technology (4) signed (3) softcover (3) systems (5) to-read (36) unread (10)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Gell-Mann, Murray
Birthdate: 1929-09-15
Date of death: 2019-05-24
Gender: male
Nationality: United States of America
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, USA
Place of death: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Education: Yale University (BS|Physics|1948)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D.|Physics|1951)
Occupations: physicist
professor
Relationships: Zwiebach, Barton (doctoral student)
Melosh, H. J. (doctoral student)
Hartle, James B. (doctoral student)
Coleman, Sidney (doctoral student)
Organizations: California Institute of Technology
Encyclopædia Britannica
Santa Fe Institute
Awards and honors: Nobel Prize (Physics ∙ 1969)
Humanist of the Year (2005)
Dannie Heineman Prize ( [1959])
Erice Prize (1990)
Ernest O. Lawrence Award (1966)
Franklin Medal (1967) (show all 11)
John J. Carty Award (1968)
Albert Einstein Medal (2005)
Honorary Doctorate (x12)
Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology (2002)
Global 500 Roll of Honour (1988)

Members

Reviews

El quark y el jaguar : aventuras en lo simple y lo… by Murray Gell-Mann

Decepción. Yo creía que el libro iba a tratar sobre los quarks y su descubrimiento (por algo el autor fue quien tuvo la mayor parte del mérito) y resulta que el libro es un conjunto de visiones personales sobre complejidad y simplicidad de sistemas. EN algunos momentos se hace realmente ininteligible (al hablar de decoherencia en historias no detalladas con detalles integrados, sin ir más lejos). Hay partes buenas e interesantes; otras son imposibles. El libro no está mal pero no me ha llamado la atención.… (more)

Flagged

Remocpi | 6 other reviews | Apr 22, 2020 |

The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple… by Murray Gell-Mann

Atomic physics, evolution & conservation from the man who even Feynman thought was scarily smart.
Read Mar 2004

Flagged

mbmackay | 6 other reviews | Nov 29, 2015 |

The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple… by Murray Gell-Mann

BTRIPP's review of Murray Gell-Mann's "The Quark and the Jaguar: Adventures in the Simple and the Complex" (1166 words)

Flagged

BTRIPP | 6 other reviews | Aug 13, 2013 |

The Quark and the Jaguar : by Murray Gell-Mann

Substance: Ruminations over a large number of scientific topics, with biographical notes.
Style: Interesting and accessible.
NOTES:
(use for research in writing projects)
p. 182 on propagating misunderstandings
p. 211: multi-verse bubbles.
p. 264: on creativity
p. 270: Contains the true story of the greatest physics exam question ever: how do you measure the height of a building with a barometer? (Although Gell-Mann's book was not published until 1994, I first heard the story in a college physics class in 1970.)
p. 283: explaining irrational beliefs
p. 296: how maladaptive schema survive
p. 322: on irrational behavior and assumptions
p. 324: blinders in economic theory
Unfortunately, this book does not seem to contain the story of "the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect", which is referenced in Michael Crichton's essay, "Why Speculate?"; however, I know I have read the original story in some book in my library.… (more)