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Acknowledgments
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Acknowledgments So many people—family, friends, colleagues, students, audiences, presenters of papers at various conferences, and selected readers—have contributed to this book that it’s impossible to even begin to list them all. But let me set the academic stage first. In2003WheatonCollege,whereIhavetaughtfortoomanyyearstocount, revised its general curriculum to include “Connections.” Students now choose from a list of prior “connections” or create their own with faculty approval, in order to connect one field or discipline to another in some way, such as studying the influence of evolution in Victorian literature and the theory of evolution in biology. The instructors pool their resources, unearth links between their disciplines in terms of a common theme or approach, and enable students to explore these connections. Thus, the links between the humanities and the sciences at Wheaton are strengthened, and these areas of study are not treated as separate spheres forever cut off from one another like remote planets in outer space. So many students thrived and produced incredibly perceptive and original work in my course Sex, Lies, and Quantum Theory, which linked certain aspects of quantum theories to select postmodern American novels (the “lie” in the title was that there was no sex in the course; it was just a ruse, though it provedtobeentirelyunnecessary,tolurestudentsin)thatifItriedtolistthem, it would require at least another page. Through their papers, class-led discussions , panels, and individual conferences, the connections between quantum theories and postmodern fiction became clearer and more illuminating. Let me, therefore, just mention Tim Johnson, class of 2007, who read parts of this x : Acknowledgments manuscript and suggested several ways to approach and describe the issues it tackled. Wheaton colleagues—Bill Bloch in Mathematics, John Collins in Physics , and Tim Barker in Astronomy—helped me focus on my understanding and analysis of quantum theories, while sharpening my approach with their specific references to their individual disciplines in terms of measurement, the existence of the quantum realm, spectroscopy and cloud chambers, and the descriptions scientists have given to specific and discrete quantum phenomena . It was Kersti Yllo in Sociology who suggested that I apply for the Mellon Summer Research Award that led me to Don DeLillo’s notes and manuscripts at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin. There I was warmly and immensely helped by Richard Workman, Associate Librarian, and his equally responsive and helpful staff. I would especially like to thank Papers on Language and Literature for publishing “Quantum Flux and Narrative Flow: Don DeLillo’s Entanglements with Quantum Theory” in August 2011, and allowing me to use much of the material here. A more general discussion of quantum theory occurs in my “Psychic Visions and Quantum Physics: Oates’ Big Bang and the Limits of Language,” which appeared in Studies in the Novel in the winter of 2006 but is not quoted in detail in the present volume. The first piece directly contributes to my discussion of DeLillo in this book, and the second allowed me to summarize my ideas about quantum theories for the first time in a publication. None of this would have been achieved without the thorough, conscientious , and meticulous attention of Cathie Brettschneider and others at the University of Virginia Press. Cathie’s always thoughtful, direct, and compassionate support was invaluable. My own “take” on the quantum realm would never have seen the light of day without her guidance and encouragement— along with the critical acumen of the readers of the original manuscript. Finally, to my wife, Gray, who never once thought that this book would not get published and kept up my flagging spirits on a daily basis and who recently died of cancer, I owe everything. Her generosity of spirit never faltered. Her independent faith never wavered. I also want to thank our son, Sam, whose sharp eye and work in film—production, editing, writing, and directing— enlivened conversations and cross-examinations about this book and what it was trying to accomplish. To them both, I owe my life and my labors. [44.222.249.19] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 16:49 GMT) Quirks of the Quantum ...