Blackfoot Physics

One summer in the 1980s, theoretical physicist F. David Peat went to the Blackfoot Sun Dance ceremony in Alberta, Canada. Having spent all his life steeped in and influenced by linear Western science, he was entranced by the Native American worldview and, through dialogue circles between scientists and Native Elders, he began to explore it in greater depth.

Blackfoot Physics is the account of his discoveries. In an edifying synthesis of anthropology, history, metaphysics, cosmology and quantum theory, Peat compares the medicines, the myths, the languages, indeed the entire perceptions of reality of the Western and indigenous peoples. What becomes apparent is the amazing resemblance between indigenous teachings and some of the insights that are emerging from modern science, a congruence that is as enlightening about the physical universe as it is about the circular evolution of humanity's understanding. Through Peat's insightful observations, he extends our understanding of ourselves, our understanding of the universe, and how the two intersect in a meaningful vision of human life in relation to a greater reality.

Blackfoot Physics is a book that will captivate anyone with an interest in the relationship between science, spirituality, and the different ways of knowing.

Author Biography: Born in a suburb of Liverpool, England, just before the Second World War, David Peat remembers frequent trips to the damp and smelly air raid shelter. His interest in science was awakened by the magnesium casings of incendiary bombs—the magnesium could be lit by playing a bunsen burner on it. This interest was strengthened by his physics teacher at school, who encouraged his pupils to work things out from first principles. Peat frequented the Cavern jazz club in Liverpool, but didn't take the new beat groups who began to appear there (including the Beatles) too seriously.

Interest in experimental physics gave way to theoretical and philosophical concerns in such areas as quantum theory. Density matrices brought him to Canada, where he stayed 30 years, teaching and writing and following the work of thinker David Bohm.