What Is Life? published in 1944. At that time DNA was not yet accepted as the carrier of hereditary information, which only was the case after the Hershey–Chase experiment of 1952. One of the most successful branches of physics at this time was statistical physics, and quantum mechanics, a theory which is also very statistical in its nature. Schrödinger himself is one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. Max Delbrück's thinking about the physical basis of life was an important influence on Schrödinger. However, long before the publication of "What is Life?", geneticist and 1946 Nobel-prize winner H. J. Muller had in
The Theoretical Minimum The Theoretical Minimum The Theoretical Minimum: What You Need to Know to Start Doing Physics () is a popular science book by Leonard Susskind and George Hrabovsky. The book was initially published on January 29, 2013 by Basic Books. The book is a mathematical introduction to various theoretical physics concepts, such as principle of least action, Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics, Poisson brackets, and electromagnetism. It is the first book in a series called "The Theoretical Minimum", based on Stanford Continuing Studies courses taught by world renowned physicist Leonard Susskind. The courses collectively teach everything required to gain a basic understanding