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What is Life?
Why would we want to read a scientific book from 1943? Because of who wrote it - Erwin Schrödinger was a part of the generation of physicists that thrust the world into the Quantum Age. Included in that constellation of minds were Einstein, Bohr, Sommerfeld, Fermi, Heisenberg, Pauli and Geiger. Schrödinger's equation, which calculates wave functions within a system, remains one of the foundations of quantum mechanics. He is best known, however, for the thought experiment, "Schrödinger's Cat." Schrödinger was the first to hypothesis that molecules could store information. Crick and Watson credited "What is Life?" for helping them toward the discovery of DNA. Topics include the hereditary mechanism, mutations, the interrelation of order, disorder and entropy, and an epilogue on determinism vs. free will.
89 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2020
24 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
Erwin Schrödinger
86 books514 followersErwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger, sometimes written as Erwin Schrodinger or Erwin Schroedinger, was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in the field of quantum theory, which formed the basis of wave mechanics: he formulated the wave equation (stationary and time-dependent Schrödinger equation) and revealed the identity of his development of the formalism and matrix mechanics. Schrödinger proposed an original interpretation of the physical meaning of the wave function.
He won the 1933 Nobel prize in physics with colleague Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory"
He won the 1933 Nobel prize in physics with colleague Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory"
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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October 2, 2021In 1944 one of the greats of modern physics was in exile from his homeland Austria when he delivered this series of lectures which detail his deductions about the processes of life working from the laws of physics. I found the approach original and fascinating and was surprised by how much he could deduce about the working of cellular reproduction before the details were established by biologists and chemists.
He was able to deduce the existence and function of genes but not their structure or method. I’ve read elsewhere that both Watson and Crick each separately read the book and became interested in the question of the precise method genes use to do what they do, which led to DNA and the double helix and then to RNA and today’s genetic wonderland.
He was able to deduce the existence and function of genes but not their structure or method. I’ve read elsewhere that both Watson and Crick each separately read the book and became interested in the question of the precise method genes use to do what they do, which led to DNA and the double helix and then to RNA and today’s genetic wonderland.
November 28, 2024
Schrödinger essentially goes over what makes life different from other forms of organisations of matter, namely that it escapes the second law of thermodynamics, and as opposed to most phenomena studied by physicists, life is perpetuating order-from-order (and not order-from-disorder). Now that both DNA and chaos theory are known things, nothing in there is mind-blowing in itself. Though reading this when that was not the case must have been a trip.
It's (heavily) sprinkled with Schrödinger's position that all physical laws are statistical. He even tries to reconcile that with the fact that life is a highly ordered form of organisation based on a number of particles that are far below the number needed for those statistical laws to be observed. And his argument is not really convincing in my opinion. Essentially saying that those statistical laws stop having effect at a relative-absolute zero, which for life (and most day to day objects) is around room temperature. But what about tardigrade, Schrödinger ? Anyways...
In the épilogue, he goes on a philosophical (read speculative) tangent about the nature of consciousness (which he previously asserted in the text was unknowable for humans?) somehow trying to reconcile Kant with materialism? Interesting to read but it's wild speculation seemingly based on his reading of the Vedas. But it's only a couple pages, so I'll be charitable.
Worth reading for curiosity but don't expect much.
It's (heavily) sprinkled with Schrödinger's position that all physical laws are statistical. He even tries to reconcile that with the fact that life is a highly ordered form of organisation based on a number of particles that are far below the number needed for those statistical laws to be observed. And his argument is not really convincing in my opinion. Essentially saying that those statistical laws stop having effect at a relative-absolute zero, which for life (and most day to day objects) is around room temperature. But what about tardigrade, Schrödinger ? Anyways...
In the épilogue, he goes on a philosophical (read speculative) tangent about the nature of consciousness (which he previously asserted in the text was unknowable for humans?) somehow trying to reconcile Kant with materialism? Interesting to read but it's wild speculation seemingly based on his reading of the Vedas. But it's only a couple pages, so I'll be charitable.
Worth reading for curiosity but don't expect much.
March 30, 2024
I thought I might find more value from delving back into the history of biology. There were a couple cool ideas (mostly not Schrödinger's) that seemed rather prescient for his time, considering it was 20 years before the discovery of DNA's structure: e.g. that mutations in the hereditary substance must be discrete, not continuous. There was also a sense of something like codons existing (he discusses the letters/words analogy for the genetic code which is still employed today for nucleotides/codons, and how the letters in the substance might form words that code for structure). I don't really understand what an aperiodic crystal is, but it seems pretty off the mark for what we now know. Unfortunately, the book kind of builds on that idea afterwards. The final epilogue was kind of interesting, but messy enough to make any philosopher cringe. A lot of philosophical ideas are thrown on the table, scattergun-style, without any of them being justified much. The negative entropy idea is nice, which is why I wanted to take a look at this book (referenced by Bernard Stiegler) but that chapter is kind of standalone and doesn't require reading the rest of the book, IMO.
January 24, 2025
Some interesting food for thought. Disappointing ending which contradicts the scientifically elaborated and provocative first part, presenting only inconclusive speculation without a clear ending or direction.
January 18, 2024
An absolutely brilliant perspective on the nature of life and its relation to physics.
September 28, 2022
"In truth, there is only one mind"
Siapa sangka pemikiran fisikawan kuantum bisa membawa pada kesimpulan yang sama dengan spiritualisme? Tetapi ternyata itulah kesimpulan Erwin Schrödinger dalam buku "What is Life?" yang merupakan antologi dari seri kuliah umum "What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell" yang disampaikan di Dublin (1943) dan "Mind and Matter" di Cambridge (1956).
Bagian "What is Life" mengeksplorasi aspek fisika dari benda hidup dengan menyelidiki proses yang terjadi dalam sel, bagaimana sifat-sifatnya diturunkan (hereditas), dan bagaimana fisika kuantum bisa menjelaskannya (menarik bahwa mutasi gen bisa dijelaskan oleh fisika kuantum). Schrödinger berhipotesis bahwa gen itu berupa molekul solid berbentuk 'kristal aperiodik'.
Perlu dicatat bahwa pada waktu kuliah ini disampaikan, spekulasi tentang gen sebagai 'kode dasar' makhluk hidup sudah ada tetapi struktur DNA belum ditemukan sampai dekade berikutnya.
Schrödinger mengakui bahwa motif sebenarnya menulis buku ini adalah karena menurutnya, makhluk hidup itu lebih dari sekadar 'materi yang menurut pada hukum fisika', bahwa 'ada hukum lain yang tidak/belum diketahui' yang membuat sesuatu menjadi 'hidup'.
"Living matter...is working in a manner that cannot be reduced to the ordinary laws of physics," simpulnya.
Jika sebelumnya Schrödinger membahas aspek fisika dari benda hidup, di bagian "Mind and Matter" ia mengupas aspek fisika dari kesadaran (consciousness). Menurut analisanya, dunia yang kita anggap nyata ini sebenarnya hanyalah refleksi, yang dicerap oleh indera-indera subjektif kita. Warna, suara, dan bebauan adalah sensasi-sensasi subjektif, bukan hakikat realitas. "Dunia ini diberikan kepada kita hanya satu, tidak terpisah antara subjek dan objek."
"The overall number of minds is just one...(it) is indestructible (because) mind is always NOW. There is really no before and after for mind. There is only a NOW that includes memories and expectations."
Schrödinger menyimpulkan bahwa kita semua adalah satu, disatukan dalam satu kesadaran universal.
Catatan pribadi:
1. Buku ini pendek, tetapi karena bahasanya bahasa akademik formal awal abad 20, agak susah saya baca. Harus dibaca pelan-pelan dan diulang-ulang untuk mengerti.
2. Membaca buku ini tampak bahwa Schrödinger luarbiasa kagum pada alam. Semakin dalam ia menyelidiki semesta, lewat biologi, kimia, fisika, matematika, ditemukannya keteraturan-keteraturan yang sulit dijelaskan. "Kehidupan ini seperti puisi", katanya, "bahasa manusia terlalu terbatas untuk menjelaskannya."
3. Ilmuwan jaman sekarang, apa masih ada yang tipe 'deep thinker' seperti ini?
-dydy-
Siapa sangka pemikiran fisikawan kuantum bisa membawa pada kesimpulan yang sama dengan spiritualisme? Tetapi ternyata itulah kesimpulan Erwin Schrödinger dalam buku "What is Life?" yang merupakan antologi dari seri kuliah umum "What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell" yang disampaikan di Dublin (1943) dan "Mind and Matter" di Cambridge (1956).
Bagian "What is Life" mengeksplorasi aspek fisika dari benda hidup dengan menyelidiki proses yang terjadi dalam sel, bagaimana sifat-sifatnya diturunkan (hereditas), dan bagaimana fisika kuantum bisa menjelaskannya (menarik bahwa mutasi gen bisa dijelaskan oleh fisika kuantum). Schrödinger berhipotesis bahwa gen itu berupa molekul solid berbentuk 'kristal aperiodik'.
Perlu dicatat bahwa pada waktu kuliah ini disampaikan, spekulasi tentang gen sebagai 'kode dasar' makhluk hidup sudah ada tetapi struktur DNA belum ditemukan sampai dekade berikutnya.
Schrödinger mengakui bahwa motif sebenarnya menulis buku ini adalah karena menurutnya, makhluk hidup itu lebih dari sekadar 'materi yang menurut pada hukum fisika', bahwa 'ada hukum lain yang tidak/belum diketahui' yang membuat sesuatu menjadi 'hidup'.
"Living matter...is working in a manner that cannot be reduced to the ordinary laws of physics," simpulnya.
Jika sebelumnya Schrödinger membahas aspek fisika dari benda hidup, di bagian "Mind and Matter" ia mengupas aspek fisika dari kesadaran (consciousness). Menurut analisanya, dunia yang kita anggap nyata ini sebenarnya hanyalah refleksi, yang dicerap oleh indera-indera subjektif kita. Warna, suara, dan bebauan adalah sensasi-sensasi subjektif, bukan hakikat realitas. "Dunia ini diberikan kepada kita hanya satu, tidak terpisah antara subjek dan objek."
"The overall number of minds is just one...(it) is indestructible (because) mind is always NOW. There is really no before and after for mind. There is only a NOW that includes memories and expectations."
Schrödinger menyimpulkan bahwa kita semua adalah satu, disatukan dalam satu kesadaran universal.
Catatan pribadi:
1. Buku ini pendek, tetapi karena bahasanya bahasa akademik formal awal abad 20, agak susah saya baca. Harus dibaca pelan-pelan dan diulang-ulang untuk mengerti.
2. Membaca buku ini tampak bahwa Schrödinger luarbiasa kagum pada alam. Semakin dalam ia menyelidiki semesta, lewat biologi, kimia, fisika, matematika, ditemukannya keteraturan-keteraturan yang sulit dijelaskan. "Kehidupan ini seperti puisi", katanya, "bahasa manusia terlalu terbatas untuk menjelaskannya."
3. Ilmuwan jaman sekarang, apa masih ada yang tipe 'deep thinker' seperti ini?
-dydy-
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews