Kenneth W. Ford and Pamela M. Contractor went to Princeton on May 20, 2004 to present John A. Wheeler with his copy of Science and Ultimate Reality: Quantum Theory, Cosmology and Complexity (edited by John D. Barrow, Paul C.W. Davies and Charles L. Harper, Jr.), just published by Cambridge University Press (June 2004).
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John A. Wheeler (L) accepting his copy of Science and Ultimate Reality from Ken Ford and Pam Contractor in JAW's Princeton office, May 20, 2004 .
Both the SUR book and the SUR symposium, held in Princeton in March 2002 in honor of JAW's 90th birthday, were sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and other supporting partners.
A close-up of the three physical science “giants” whose images hang overhead in JAW's office includes (L to R): Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Johannes Kepler. A 2,700-word chapter about Wheeler's relationship with Einstein is in the works, written with Ken Ford.
JAW gave an enthusiastic “thumbs-up” after receiving his copy of SUR. Here he shares the moment with Ken Ford, his long-time colleague, friend, and co-author of his autobiography Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics (W.W. Norton, 1999).
After inquiring about the list price of SUR, JAW thought a moment and then quietly said, “Priceless.” Here he shows off his new copy of the book with Pam Contractor, who served as developmental editor working with the 3 volume editors and the 30 authors in conjunction with JTF and CUP.
Ken Ford with Pam Contractor in JAW's Princeton office celebrating publication of Ken's new book, The Quantum World—Quantum Physics for Everyone (Harvard University Press, 2004).
Ken was encouraged to see that his Quantum World already has a very enthusiastic readership . . .
. . . although SUR is what really captured this reader's attention . . .
JAW's Princeton office shelves contain many items of interest, including the box labeled “Great Debates—Bohr & Einstein” about one-third of the way down (L), on top of “Nuclear Fission” and next to “Science & Survival”; also note “Life—Anthropic” and “Anthropic Principle” next to “My Collected Scientific Papers,” bottom (R).
And what theoretical physicist's office would be complete without a copy of JAW's Gravitation (co-authored with Charles W. Misner and Kip S. Thorne , W.H. Freeman, 1973) — and, of course, Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.