P.J. Gardner

October 20, 1914 – March 16, 2015

[Note: Evert Jan Post passed away in Los Angeles, California, on March 16, 2015, at the age of 100.]

Evert Jan Post is a theoretical physicist living in California. He works in the area of quantum mechanics and is a voice crying in the wilderness.

Unfortunately, although he is a dear friend and quasi-relative of mine, I don’t understand what he so passionately needs to get across because my own background in Physics is actually non-existent. Although an academic myself, my field was in the Humanities instead.

But what I hear loud and clear is his frustration at not being heard by the Physics Community, which seems to have well-entrenched ideas and a hierarchy of self-preservation that prevents opposing viewpoints from being aired.

There are many reasons trying to be heard is difficult.

First of all, Jan (as we call him) is now over 100 years old and no longer associated with any university or source of funding. Secondly, he has a dissenting point of view about a topic so esoteric that few people can understand it.

His book, “Quantum Reprogramming”, published in 1995, is large (322 pages in hardcover) and expensive, suitable for academic libraries more than in the direct hands of its stated audience: “Students of physics, mathematics, philosophers as well as outsiders with a general interest in the conceptual development of physics”.

Finally, Jan’s ideas counter mainstream physics and people have earned Nobel prizes for the generally accepted theories— principally the Copenhagen interpretation of the Schrödinger equation. (Whatever that means!)

As I understand it, one of his key ideas is related to something known as the Quantum-Hall Effect. The currently accepted point of view is that the only way to describe the perceived behavior of certain atomic wave particles is the “Fractional Quantum-Hall Effect”. Jan says that there is a misunderstanding of the mathematics involved and that there is no need for a “fractional” Quantum-Hall Effect in this instance, that an “integer” Quantum-Hall Effect is sufficient.

As someone totally ignorant of what is involved in proving or disproving such a theory, I can only say, I hope he is right. I like the idea of a universe that works in integers. I wish Jan could be recognized for his contribution (even if it might not have major implications), just because he cares so much about it.

I have a fantasy that someday— unfortunately probably after he is gone— that people will look back and realize that he was right. I only wish someone would realize it now and be able to say something about it out loud, before we lose him. Or before someone else comes up with a similar idea and gets all the credit.

Jan’s book, “Quantum Reprogramming. Ensemble and Single Systems: A Two-Tier Approach to Quantum Mechanics”, was published July 31, 1995, under the name “E.J. Post”, by Springer Netherlands.

The hardcover copy of Jan’s book is available on Amazon.com ($223.33 new), and Barnes & Noble ($221.09). Although it is also available as a reprint in paperback ($227.06 on Barnes & Noble), his book is not available electronically.

The book is Book 181 of the “Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science” series. ISBN-10: 0792335651, ISBN-13: 978-0792335658

I just received an inscribed copy of “The Wall Between Us: A Story of Sorrow and Survival in War-torn Warsaw” from the author, Krystyna Ros.Sorell. Chris (as we call her) wrote the following note to me:

Dear P.J.,

I am giving this book to you, an avid reader of books, a friend interested in other cultures, and an intuitive and emotional woman–a good American, who I hope will absorb the incomprehensible situations in a city at war, put, as I hope, into comprehensible words that you will accept as enrichment to a life of someone who had the privilege of being part of a country which became a dream for so many (including me!).

Accept this book with a hug and best wishes for a beautiful time of retirement, whenever it happens. Nurture your talents, and enjoy friendships which enrich lives on the road to maturity.

All the best, dear P.J., from this newly born writer,

Krystyna Ros.Sorell
July 2010

February 17, 1921 – December 8, 2017

[Note: Christine Brunak (pen name Krystyna Ros.Sorell) passed away in Los Angeles, California, on December 8, 2017, at the age of 96. Visit "Remembering Cristina" website.]

I just finished reading “The Wall Between Us: A Story of Sorrow and Survival in War-torn Warsaw,” by Krystyna Ros.Sorrell.

What is most remarkable to me about this book is that I know the author extremely well, and I never knew all these details about her life in Warsaw during World War II. Chris, as we call her, is the companion of my friend Arjan’s father, Evert Jan Post. They live in California. Chris, a retired teacher of English as a Second Language, is now in her nineties, and Jan, a theoretical physicist, is over 100!

The book takes a matter-of-fact tone about some of the most horrific events to take place in our lifetimes. The main character, Barbara, is the voice Chris uses to describe her own non-fiction account of her experiences and those of people she knew.

The book is called “a true story” and a “nonfiction novel”. How much of the story is actually hers, and how much is based on other people she knew, the author leaves a mystery, out of “the need to respect the privacy of the characters in the story, those who are dead as well as still living.” I will respect her own need for privacy, but the majority of what she writes about rings true as a first-person account.

As the book jacket says:

“The Wall Between Us is a true story of incredible survival and sorrow during World War II. We first meet 19-year-old Barbara in 1939, just after the Germans have invaded Poland. The daughter of Jewish parents, Barbara refuses to live in the Nazi-established Warsaw Ghetto, preferring instead to get fake papers and hide on the “other side” with Aryan families, some of which know the truth about her identity and others who would turn her in if they did.”

“As Barbara crosses between her hiding spot on “the other side” and her family’s apartment in the Ghetto, we not only witness the desparation of Warsaw’s Jewish community, but the inability and in many cases— refusal— to do anything to help. Even Barbara— who seeks out hiding spots and fake papers for friends and family in the Ghetto— feels helpless in the face of such horrors.”

“As we follow Barbara back and forth through the Ghetto Wall and watch as her family disappears to concentration camps, we see a young woman who manages to survive one of the worst atrocities in history through undying love for her parents as well as a deep faith in God.”

“A unique character in the world of Jews and Aryans, heroes and villains, Barbara offers us a fresh and honest insight into how her beloved homeland and its citizens became both victims of, and participants, both willing and unwilling, in the Nazi persecution of the Jewish people as well as Polish nationals.”

The book is published by Xlibris in hardcover (ISBN 978-1-4257-4470-0) and softcover (ISBN 978-1-4257-4469-4). Find the book on Amazon.com (may say “out of stock”; available on-demand only).