Deciphering the cosmic number - Arthur I Miller

In 1932, the groundbreaking physicist Wolfgang Pauli met the famous psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Pauli was fascinated by the inner reaches of his own psyche and not afraid to dabble in the occult, while Jung looked to science for answers to the psychological questions that tormented him. Their rich friendship led them, in Jung's words, into "the no-man's land between physics and the psychology of the unconscious . . . the most fascinating yet the darkest hunting ground of our times." Both were obsessed with the far-reaching significance of the number "137"-a primal number that seemed to hint at the origins of the universe itself. Their quest to solve its enigma led them on a lifelong journey into the ancient secrets of alchemy, the work of Johannes Kepler, and the Chinese Book of Changes. This is the captivating story of an extraordinary and fruitful collaboration between two of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century.

Arthur I. Miller is a professor emeritus at University College London. He has published many critically acclaimed books, including Einstein, Picasso; Empire of the Stars; and 137. He lives in London.

Arthur I. Miller is a master at capturing the
intersection of creativity and intelligence. He
did it with Einstein and Picasso, and now he
does it with Pauli and Jung. Their shared
obsession with the number 137 provides a window
into their genius.
Walter Isaacson