IN PERSON — Our special guest author is Dr. Alan Lightman, a novelist, essayist, physicist, and educator. Currently, he is Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). We will be discussing his 2021 book, Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings.
RSVP: We are meeting by Zoom only this month. The book club meets February 3 at at 7pm (CST). Zoom spots are limited so please RSVP here: Facebook Event Page
How to Join the Zoom Meeting: To attend the book club live via Zoom, just click www.watchman.org/Zoom on Thursday, February 3 at 7pm (CST). Feel free to listen to the conversation or join in with your questions.
BOOK: Our February book, Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings, is available in hardcover, Kindle and Audible formats:
- Hardcover (208-pages, $18): https://amzn.to/3tur286
- Kindle ($15): https://amzn.to/3Kc7lYr
- Audible (5 hours, 45 min., $19): https://amzn.to/3riLW7r
Alan Lightman received his AB degree in physics from Princeton University in 1970, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, and his PhD in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1974. He has also received five honorary degrees. In his scientific work, Lightman has made fundamental contributions to the theory of astrophysical processes under conditions of extreme temperatures and densities. In particular, his research has focused on relativistic gravitation theory, the structure and behavior of accretion disks, stellar dynamics, radiative processes, and relativistic plasmas. In 2003, Lightman founded the Harpswell Foundation a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower a new generation of women leaders in Cambodia and the developing world, specifically through housing, education, and leadership training.
Books and Publications:
Fiction:
Einstein’s Dreams (1993)
Good Benito (1995)
The Diagnosis (2000)
Reunion (2003)
Ghost (2007)
Song of Two Worlds (poetry) (2009)
Mr g (January, 2012)
Three Flames (2019)
Memoir:
Screening Room (2015)
Essays and Fables:
Time Travel and Papa Joe’s Pipe (1984)
A Modern Day Yankee in a Connecticut Court (1986)
Dance for Two (1996)
Best American Essays 2000, (Guest Editor), (2000)
Living with the Genie, (coedited with Christina Desser, and Daniel Sarewitz)(2003)
Heart of the Horse (with Juliet von Otteren) (2004)
A Sense of the Mysterious (2005)
The Accidental Universe (2014)
Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings (2021)
Books on science:
Problem Book in Relativity and Gravitation (with W. H. Press, R. H. Price, and S. A. Teukolsky) (1975)
Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (with G. B. Rybicki) (1979)
Origins: the Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists (with R. Brawer) (1990)
Ancient Light. Our Changing View of the Universe (1991)
Great Ideas in Physics (1992, new edition in 2000)
Time for the Stars. Astronomy for the 1990s (1992)
The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th Century Science (November, 2005)
General Nonfiction:
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine (2018)
In Praise of Wasting Time (2018)
For more information on Dr. Lightman, visit https://cmsw.mit.edu/alan-lightman/#BIOGRAPHY