num_pages: 376
description: At an Esalen Institute meeting in 1976, tai chi master Al Huang said that the Chinese word for physics is Wu Li, "patterns of organic energy." Journalist Gary Zukav and the others present developed the idea of physics as the dance of the Wu Li Masters--the teachers of physical essence. Zukav explains the concept further:The Wu Li Master dances with his student. The Wu Li Master does not teach, but the student learns. The Wu Li Master always begins at the center, the heart of the matter.... This book deals not with knowledge, which is always past tense anyway, but with imagination, which is physics come alive, which is Wu Li.... Most people believe that physicists are explaining the world. Some physicists even believe that, but the Wu Li Masters know that they are only dancing with it. The "new physics" of Zukav's 1979 book comprises quantum theory, particle physics, and relativity. Even as these theories age they haven't percolated all that far into the collective consciousness; they're too far removed from mundane human experience not to need introduction. The Dancing Wu Li Masters remains an engaging, accessible way to meet the most profound and mind-altering insights of 20th-century science.
language: English
title: Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics
titlecomplete: Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics
genres: Physics, Metaphysics, Religion, Philosophy, Science, Psychology, Nonfiction, New Age, Spirituality, Popular Science
ratings_count: 10743
awards: awardedAt: 315561600000
name: National Book Award
category: Science (Paperback)
publisher: HarperCollins