Includes bibliographical references.

Constructing this world, and others. The world's numerical recipe ; Analysis and synthesis 1: What matters for matter ; Analysis and synthesis 2: Universal characteristics ; Analysis and synthesis 3: Cosmic groundwork ; Analysis and synthesis 4: Limits and supplements. -- Musing on mechanics. Whence the force of F =ma? 1: Culture shock ; Whence the force of F =ma? 2: Rationalization ; Whence the force of F =ma? 3: Cultural diversity. -- Making light of mass. The origin of mass ; Mass without mass 1: Most of matter ; Mass without mass 2: The medium is the mass-age. -- QCD exposed. QCD made simple ; 10¹² degrees in the shade ; Back to basics at ultrahigh temperatures. -- Breathless at the heights. Scaling Mount Planck 1: A view from the bottom ; Scaling Mount Planck 2: Base camp ; Scaling Mount Planck 3: Is that all there is? -- At sea in the depths. What is quantum theory? ; Total relativity: Mach 2004 ; Life's parameters. -- Once and future history. The Dirac equation ; Fermi and the elucidation of matter ; The standard model transcended ; Masses and molasses ; In search of symmetry lost ; From 'Not wrong' to (maybe) right ; Unification of couplings. -- Methods of our madness. The social benefit of high energy physics ; When words fail ; Why are there analogies between condensed matter and particle theory? ; The persistence of ether ; Reaching bottom, laying foundations. -- Inspired, irritated, inspired. What did Bohr do? ; Dreams of a final theory ; Shadows of the mind ; The inflationary universe ; Is the sky made from Pi? -- Big ideas. Quantum field theory ; Some basic aspects of fractional quantum numbers. -- Grand occasions. From concept to reality to vision ; Nobel biography ; Asymptotic freedom: from paradox to paradigm ; Advice to students. -- Breaking into verse. Virtual particles ; Gluon rap ; Reply in sonnet form ; From beneath an e-avalanche ; Frog sonnet ; Archaeopteryx. -- Another dimension. Nobel blog: a year in the life.