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0 pointsforgotusername62y ago0 comments

This has just unlocked a childhood memory of mine. I read a book as a young child about a girl and her grandfather who did experiments about space and time. The girl's name was Gedanken. It explored some of Einstein's theories in the form of short adventures. I've been struggling to find the name of the book. Does anyone else remember this book?

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trulyunruly2y ago

”The book you're remembering is likely "Mr. Tompkins" by George Gamow. The series features the character Mr. Tompkins, but in "Mr. Tompkins in Paperback" (which combines "Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland" and "Mr. Tompkins Explores the Atom"), he has a daughter named Gedanken. The stories are known for their accessible exploration of advanced scientific concepts, including those related to Einstein's theories, through fantastical adventures.” - GPT-4

omnicognate2y ago

AFAICT there is no character named "Gedanken" in that book. The correct book was findable in a few seconds with a traditional search engine: The Time and Space of Uncle Albert by Russell Stannard [1].

[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Time_and_Space_of...

paulrouget2y ago

Incredible book.

In french it's Les Trous Noirs Et L'Oncle Albert.

I read that book when I was ~14 years old. I can't overstate how incredible that book was. Having a grasp of what special relativity was at that age really made me feel like I could learn anything just by reading the right books. I never stopped reading about astrophysics since then. And I'm now 40+.

forgotusername6OP2y ago

Thanks for finding it! I guess my traditional search engine skills aren't that great these days. Searching either returned booked on Einstein or German titles.

trulyunruly2y ago

Cunningham's Law:) I was only hoping to provide some direction. But thank you for finding the right answer.

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trulyunruly2y ago

omnicognate2y ago

[1] https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Time_and_Space_of...

paulrouget2y ago

Incredible book.

In french it's Les Trous Noirs Et L'Oncle Albert.

forgotusername6OP2y ago

Thanks for finding it! I guess my traditional search engine skills aren't that great these days. Searching either returned booked on Einstein or German titles.

trulyunruly2y ago

Cunningham's Law:) I was only hoping to provide some direction. But thank you for finding the right answer.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse