7/10

‘Helgoland’ expertly brings you into the microcosm of some of the smartest minds the world has ever seen, and guides you through why quantum mechanics is so notoriously nonintuitive. This approach is a refreshing change to most other literature around this topic which tries, and often fails, to explain quantum mechanics itself. Technical notes are quick and concise, never delving too deep such that you lose understanding, nor too brief that you can’t fully appreciate the significance of these discoveries. The main takeaway of the book being that reality is based on the relationships between different things, not necessarily the search for more and more fundamental building blocks. If you enjoy philosophy, the book also delves deeply into this towards the end.