Miller (Einstein, Picasso
), professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science at University College London, has written a difficult but rewarding account of the intersection of two great minds. Pauli and Jung, groundbreaking thinkers in physics and psychoanalysis respectively, had extensive interaction, beginning in 1932 when the deeply troubled Pauli went to Jung for treatment. The two men shared an interest in alchemy, astrology, the concept of synchronicity and a search for the single number they believed lay at the heart of the universe. Both were convinced a viable intersection of their two fields existed. Although Jung published analyses of hundreds of Pauli’s dreams and the two coauthored a volume on nature and the psyche, Miller makes a weak case that those works significantly enriched physics or psychology. Miller spends more time with Pauli than Jung, and the complex mathematics of his physics leaves the reader a bit at sea. In the end, readers do gain insight into Pauli’s personality, making Miller’s tale illuminating on a human more than a scientific level. Illus. (Apr.)
