The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius

By: Patchen Barss

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Synopsis: A "beautifully composed and revealing" (Financial Times) biography of the dazzling and painful life of Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose—"a stunning achievement" (Kai Bird, American Prometheus). When he was six years old, Roger Penrose discovered a sundial in a clearing near his house. Through that machine made of light, shadow, and time, Roger glimpsed a &“world behind the world&” of transcendently beautiful geometry. It spurred him on a journey to become one of the world&’s most influential mathematicians, philosophers, and physicists. Penrose would prove the limitations of general relativity, set a new agenda for theoretical physics, and astound colleagues and admirers with the elegance and beauty of his discoveries. However, as Patchen Barss documents in The Impossible Man, success came at a price: He was attuned to the secrets of the universe, but struggled to connect with loved ones, especially the women who care for or worked with him. Both erudite and poetic, The Impossible Man draws on years of research and interviews, as well as previously unopened archives to present a moving portrait of Penrose the Nobel Prize-winning scientist and Roger the human being. It reveals not just the extraordinary life of Roger Penrose, but asks who gets to be a genius, and who makes the sacrifices that allow one man to be one.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781541603677
Related ISBNs:: 9781541603660
Publisher:: Basic Books
Date of Addition:: 11/12/24
Copyrighted By:: Patchen Barss
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Nonfiction, Science, Biographies and Memoirs, Technology, Mathematics and Statistics
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.