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Truth or beauty : science and the quest for order / David Orrell.

by Orrell, David, 1962-

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Oxford University Press, 2012.

Science -- Aesthetics.

Science -- Mathematical models.

Science -- History.

Science -- Philosophy.

9780199002085 (hc.)

0199002088 (hc.)

348 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [316]-337) and index.

"For millennia, scientists and philosophers have strived to show that the universe is governed by a few simple principles. These principles are not derived from science. They do not come from looking through telescopes or carefully examining the results generated by particle colliders. Rather, they are based on aesthetic laws and concepts such as symmetry, beauty, and unity. Scientist and author David Orrell considers how aesthetics have influenced the models we create in hopes of explaining our universe. Orrell evaluates these aesthetic principles as a means of understanding the structure of the universe - let alone messy human society - and questions whether they reflect an accurate way to understand our world. Truth or Beauty comes at an interesting period, when the multi-billion-dollar Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland has been designed to test the existence of exotic phenomena such as supersymmetric particles. Will these too turn out to be nothing more than a beautiful illusion?"--Provided by publisher.

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