27:
484:. It was the first experiment to disprove the conservation of parity, and according to Gardner, one could use it to convey the meaning of left and right to remote extraterrestrials. An earlier example of asymmetry had actually been detected as early as 1928 in the decay of a
415:'s discussion of a hand isolated in space, which would have no meaning as left or right by itself; Gardner posits that Kant would today explain his problem using the reversibility of objects through a higher
326:
The last several chapters deal with a conundrum called the Ozma
Problem, which examines whether there is any fundamental asymmetry to the universe. This discussion concerns various aspects of
503:
references several physics-themed poems and certain works of literature which help to illustrate various points. Additionally, some other works have referenced
Gardner's book.
909:
404:
The 18th chapter, "The Ozma
Problem", poses a problem that Gardner claims would arise if Earth should ever enter into communication with life on another planet through
408:. This is the problem of how to communicate the meaning of left and right, where the two communicants are conditionally not allowed to view any one object in common.
561:"Space is a swarming in the eyes, and Time a singing in the ears," says John Shade, a modern poet, as quoted by an invented philosopher ("Martin Gardiner" [
551:", who is actually fictional. As a joke, Gardner credited the lines only to Shade and put Shade's name in the index as if he were a real person. In his 1969 novel
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832:
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146:
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441:(1890). Gardner follows the thread of several false leads on the road to the solution of the problem, such as the magnetic
427:
could be flipped over; the meaning of left or right would not apply until a being missing a corresponding hand came along.
557:, Nabokov returned the favor by having the character Van Veen "quote" the Gardner book along with the two lines of verse:
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442:
437:
168:
946:
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26:
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Hayles, N. Katherine (1984), "Ambivalence: Symmetry, Asymmetry, and the
Physics of Time Reversal in Nabokov's
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242:, with a revised version following in 1969. A second edition was released in 1979 with the new subtitle
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and the chirality of life molecules, which could be arbitrary based on how life locally originated.
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The New
Ambidextrous Universe: Symmetry and Asymmetry from Mirror Reflections to Superstrings
252:
The New
Ambidextrous Universe: Symmetry and Asymmetry from Mirror Reflections to Superstrings
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The Cosmic Web: Scientific Field Models and
Literary Strategies in the Twentieth Century
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physics and how they relate to mirror asymmetry and the related concepts of chirality,
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are covered and brought up to date (in later editions of the book) with regard to
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to propose Wu's experiment, for which Lee and Yang were awarded the 1957
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419:. A three-dimensional hand can be reversed in a mirror or a hypothetical
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The solution to the Ozma
Problem was finally realized in the famous
217:. It culminates in a discussion of whether nature's conservation of
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Johnson, D. Barton (1984), "The
Ambidextrous Universe of Nabakov's
284:
786:
292:
790:
573:
563:
307:
and looks at how symmetry and asymmetry have evolved from the
280:
423:. In more easily visualizable terms, an outline of a hand in
154:
236:
The book was originally published in 1964 with the subtitle
180:
225:) is ever violated, which had been proven experimentally
249:
The third edition was released in 1990 under the title
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which are supposed to have been written by a poet, "
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452:, conducted in 1956 by Chinese-American physicist
910:List of Martin Gardner Mathematical Games columns
472:) whether parity was sometimes violated, leading
431:expressed the essential problem in 1888, as did
873:Wheels, Life and Other Mathematical Amusements
492:, but its significance was not then realized.
802:
8:
271:, and from there passes through symmetry in
19:
809:
795:
787:
537:, Gardner quoted two lines of poetry from
25:
18:
833:Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
245:Mirror Asymmetry and Time-Reversed Worlds
213:in human culture, science and the wider
663:
651:
639:
627:
620:
518:in his poem "Josef Weinheber" (1965).
16:Popular science book by Martin Gardner
464:. At a conference earlier that year,
7:
267:The book begins with the subject of
701:Critical Essays on Vladimir Nabokov
239:Left, Right, and the Fall of Parity
760:(3rd rev. ed.). Mineola, NY:
14:
411:The problem was first implied in
366:) is discussed. Implications for
677:Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
554:Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle
533:In the original 1964 edition of
303:. It then moves down into the
259:with minor revisions in 2005.
1:
654:, pp. 149, 169–170, 192.
865:Science Fiction Puzzle Tales
443:poles of astronomical bodies
438:The Principles of Psychology
947:Martin Gardner bibliography
699:; In: Roth, Phyllis (ed.),
456:(1912–1997), involving the
315:and its versatility and on
1004:
675:Nabokov, Vladimir (1969),
309:beginning of life on Earth
221:(the symmetry of mirrored
31:Cover of the first edition
20:The Ambidextrous Universe
857:The Flight of Peter Fromm
849:The Ambidextrous Universe
754:Gardner, Martin (2005) .
596:The Ambidextrous Universe
569:The Ambidextrous Universe
535:The Ambidextrous Universe
516:The Ambidextrous Universe
501:The Ambidextrous Universe
194:The Ambidextrous Universe
24:
725:Cornell University Press
681:McGraw-Hill Book Company
468:had asked (on behalf of
311:. There is a chapter on
988:Works by Martin Gardner
719:, in the same author's
694:Look at the Harlequins!
591:Look at the Harlequins!
583:Look at the Harlequins!
968:1964 non-fiction books
579:
482:Nobel Prize in Physics
384:theories of everything
380:Grand Unified Theories
205:, covering aspects of
588:Nabokov's 1974 novel
571:, page 165 [
559:
429:Charles Howard Hinton
926:Irving Joshua Matrix
738:"GAMES Magazine #14"
942:Gathering 4 Gardner
901:Scientific American
841:The Annotated Alice
666:, pp. 212–218.
642:, pp. 170–171.
630:, pp. 151–158.
496:Literary references
372:theoretical physics
344:electrical polarity
186:QC793.3.S9 G37 2005
21:
881:Calculus Made Easy
762:Dover Publications
388:superstring theory
134:276 (1st edition)
955:
954:
269:mirror reflection
190:
189:
147:978-0-486-44244-0
136:401 (3rd edition)
111:Publication place
55:Cover artist
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889:Visitors from Oz
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740:. November 1979.
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522:Vladimir Nabokov
421:fourth dimension
400:The Ozma Problem
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368:particle physics
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360:Time invariance
305:molecular scale
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664:Gardner 2005
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652:Gardner 2005
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321:biochemistry
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514:alludes to
512:W. H. Auden
507:W. H. Auden
299:and living
257:re-released
255:; this was
85:Mathematics
50:John Mackey
47:Illustrator
962:Categories
616:References
567:]) in
549:John Shade
458:beta decay
336:antimatter
174:539.7/2 22
973:Asymmetry
919:Alter Ego
683:, pg 577.
544:Pale Fire
528:Pale Fire
462:cobalt-60
417:dimension
376:cosmology
332:subatomic
317:chirality
301:organisms
211:asymmetry
124:Paperback
91:Publisher
983:Symmetry
780:57373717
425:Flatland
393:M-theory
364:reversal
340:magnetic
289:galaxies
273:geometry
215:universe
207:symmetry
201:book by
161:57373717
77:Symmetry
73:Subjects
65:Language
903:columns
602:Reviews
435:in his
297:planets
263:Content
122:Print (
81:Science
68:English
935:Legacy
892:(1998)
884:(1998)
876:(1983)
868:(1981)
860:(1973)
852:(1964)
844:(1960)
836:(1957)
778:
768:
577:].
490:radium
352:charge
348:parity
328:atomic
313:carbon
277:poetry
229:
219:parity
37:Author
825:Books
609:Games
362:(and
293:stars
285:music
197:is a
131:Pages
776:OCLC
766:ISBN
476:and
390:and
374:and
356:spin
354:and
342:and
330:and
231:1956
209:and
155:OCLC
142:ISBN
106:1964
714:Ada
574:sic
564:sic
488:of
460:of
319:in
281:art
964::
774:.
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782:.
727:.
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126:)
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