"Internationally renowned theoretical physicist Penrose invented twistor theory, a radical new approach to space-time where geometric points no longer enter the theory as primitives. More recently, he has stirred controversy with two books that invoke modern physics to plumb the nature of human
consciousness. This festschrift honoring Penrose on his 65th birthday contains survey articles by some of the most eminent mathematicians (Atiyah, Donaldson, Connes, et al.) and physicists (Hawking, Astekar, Veneziano, among others) of our time. Besides browsing the most formidable contributions,
undergraduates may particularly benefit from Artur Ekert's introduction to quantum cryptography, Paul Steinhardt's new approach to Penrose tilings, and particularly, biologist Stuart Hameroff's defense of Penrose's theories of consciousness from the charge of merely constituting a 'minimization of
mysteries.' Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty."--Choice
"This book grew out of a symposium ... honoring Roger Penrose (b. 1931) at the age of 65. Even at an early age, it was noted about Penrose that he 'thinks geometrically.' His geometrical thinking led him, in 1974, to a solution of a problem that had eluded Johannes Kepler and Albrecht Durer, that
is, how to cover a surface with motifs of pentagonal symmetry without gaps and overlaps, the Penrose tiling. ... In this volume, Paul Steinhardt ... revisits the Penrose tiling and quasicrystals, reports recent results in modeling, and points out the still unresolved problems. ... The Penrose tiling
was an inadvertent discovery, a result of almost idle doodling. The main areas of Penrose's research include time-space, quantum theory, and the workings of the mind ... [and m]ost of the 32 contributions in this book, including Penrose's own Afterword, concern Penrose's main activities. The book is
introduced by a brief and charming Laudatio by John A. Wheeler."--The Chemical Intelligencer
