What Is Life
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Summary
What Is Life? is one of the most influential scientific classics of the twentieth century. In an engaging and accessible style, the author examines the question of life from the perspective of physics and offers profound insights such as "life feeds on negative entropy," making a difficult subject highly readable. The book greatly inspired later biologists including Watson and Crick, igniting the explosion of research in molecular biology.
Mind and Matter is Schrödinger's philosophical work from his later years. Drawing on ancient Eastern and Western thought, it explores the role of consciousness in the evolution of life and the part played by the development of the human mind in moral questions. Schrödinger offers his answers, and even today these ideas remain bold, original, and highly thought-provoking.
Editor's review
This edition from Northern Literature and Art Publishing House, with Wang Ting involved in compiling or translating, presents the classic in a form closer to contemporary Chinese readers. Reading this book, one not only appreciates Schrödinger's clear, rigorous reasoning and prescient scientific intuition but also feels a grand mode of thought that transcends disciplinary boundaries. It discusses not merely life but also complexity, information, and order—fundamental questions running through nature and science. For today's readers its value lies far beyond a charming episode in the history of science; it lies in learning a method of thinking that uses basic principles as tools for cross-disciplinary reflection and fundamental inquiry. The argument that "life feeds on negative entropy" can also offer philosophical inspiration in an age of information explosion and a growing sense of entropy.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Researchers interested in the intersection of physics and biology who wish to understand how scientific ideas cross boundaries
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking light, casual reading or concrete practical guides
Reading tips
- A basic understanding of the second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy is recommended for a smoother reading experience
About the publisher
Northern Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on contemporary and modern literary and artistic works, literary theory, and translations of foreign literature, while also covering categories such as history, popular science, Eastern philosophy, and world classics. Its collection includes 737 titles, with representative publications ranging from traditional Chinese classics such as Records of the Grand Historian, The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, and The Analects to foreign literary works including the complete classic plays of Shakespeare, Balzac's Old Goriot and Eugénie Grandet (in celebrated translations by Fu Lei), and The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Its author resources span classical figures such as Sima Qian, Song Yingxing, and Confucius, foreign writers such as Shakespeare and Balzac, and translators such as Zhu Shenghao and Fu Lei. The press combines the transmission of classics with an orientation toward general reading, developing a distinctive profile in both the editing of traditional texts and the translation of foreign literature. Public information is limited, so the above emphasizes the publishing profile reflected in the books held in the collection.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序言
- 前言
- 第一部分 生命是什么
- 第一章 经典物理学家对该课题的研究方法
- 第二章 遗传机制
- 第三章 突变
- 第四章 量子力学的证据
- 第五章 对德尔布吕克模型的讨论及验证
- 第六章 有序、无序与熵
- 第七章 生命基于物理定律吗？
- 后记 决定论和自由意志
- 第二部分 意识与物质
- 第八章 潜意识的物理学基础
- 第九章 认识的未来
- 第十章 客观化原理
- 第十一章 算术悖论：意识的唯一性
- 第十二章 科学与宗教
- 第十三章 感官特征的奥秘
- 我的生平简述
- 波动力学的基本思想
FAQ
Is this book Schrödinger's original work? Who is Wang Ting?
Comments
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About the author
Erwin Schrödinger was a renowned Austrian physicist best known for founding wave mechanics and as one of the founders of quantum mechanics. This site holds eight of his works, including What Is Life? (illustrated collector's edition), What Is Life?, Schrödinger's Lectures on Life Physics, and the eight-volume Classic Popular Science Series That Gets More Fun the More You Read. His writing spans physics and biology, and he was skilled at explaining scientific questions to the public in clear, thought-provoking language, with particular attention to the deep connections between living phenomena and physical laws. Because public information is limited, details of his life are not expanded here; nevertheless, the works above show that his popular science writing combines theoretical depth with readability, has inspired later developments in fields such as molecular biology, and remains valued by readers of popular science today.
Wang Ting, born in 1985, is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available. The collection includes thirteen of her works, spanning a wide range of subjects such as popular science, applied psychology, social psychology, politics, management, and theory. Her psychology-related titles include Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, a four-volume set on the inner world of highly sensitive people, and a workplace guide for highly sensitive individuals, focusing on family relationships, high sensitivity, and psychological adjustment at work. Titles such as What Is Life? and The Art and Science of Mind-Wandering lean toward science popularization and cognition. She has also worked on topics including local gentry in Qing-era Jiangnan, operations management cases, and impromptu speaking training for hosts. Overall, her works combine informative content with practical value for general readers.
