Existential Physics

Author : Sabine Hossenfelder
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2022-08-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781984879462

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Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder Pdf

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “An informed and entertaining guide to what science can and cannot tell us.” —The Wall Street Journal “Stimulating . . . encourage[s] readers to push past well-trod assumptions […] and have fun doing so.” —Science Magazine From renowned physicist and creator of the YouTube series “Science without the Gobbledygook,” a book that takes a no-nonsense approach to life’s biggest questions, and wrestles with what physics really says about the human condition Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely. According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate. In this lively, thought-provoking book, Hossenfelder takes on the biggest questions in physics: Does the past still exist? Do particles think? Was the universe made for us? Has physics ruled out free will? Will we ever have a theory of everything? She lays out how far physicists are on the way to answering these questions, where the current limits are, and what questions might well remain unanswerable forever. Her book offers a no-nonsense yet entertaining take on some of the toughest riddles in existence, and will give the reader a solid grasp on what we know—and what we don’t know.

Author : Sabine Hossenfelder
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2018-06-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780465094264

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Lost in Math by Sabine Hossenfelder Pdf

In this "provocative" book (New York Times), a contrarian physicist argues that her field's modern obsession with beauty has given us wonderful math but bad science. Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria. Worse, these "too good to not be true" theories are actually untestable and they have left the field in a cul-de-sac. To escape, physicists must rethink their methods. Only by embracing reality as it is can science discover the truth.

Author : Jim Holt
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2012-07-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780871403278

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Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt Pdf

The Washington Post Notable Non-Fiction of 2013 “I can imagine few more enjoyable ways of thinking than to read this book.”—Sarah Bakewell, New York Times Book Review, front-page review Tackling the “darkest question in all of philosophy” with “raffish erudition” (Dwight Garner, New York Times), author Jim Holt explores the greatest metaphysical mystery of all: why is there something rather than nothing? This runaway bestseller, which has captured the imagination of critics and the public alike, traces our latest efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. Holt adopts the role of cosmological detective, traveling the globe to interview a host of celebrated scientists, philosophers, and writers, “testing the contentions of one against the theories of the other” (Jeremy Bernstein, Wall Street Journal). As he interrogates his list of ontological culprits, the brilliant yet slyly humorous Holt contends that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to God versus the Big Bang. This “deft and consuming” (David Ulin, Los Angeles Times) narrative humanizes the profound questions of meaning and existence it confronts.

Author : A. Zee
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 608 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2010-02-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781400835324

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Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell by A. Zee Pdf

A fully updated edition of the classic text by acclaimed physicist A. Zee Since it was first published, Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell has quickly established itself as the most accessible and comprehensive introduction to this profound and deeply fascinating area of theoretical physics. Now in this fully revised and expanded edition, A. Zee covers the latest advances while providing a solid conceptual foundation for students to build on, making this the most up-to-date and modern textbook on quantum field theory available. This expanded edition features several additional chapters, as well as an entirely new section describing recent developments in quantum field theory such as gravitational waves, the helicity spinor formalism, on-shell gluon scattering, recursion relations for amplitudes with complex momenta, and the hidden connection between Yang-Mills theory and Einstein gravity. Zee also provides added exercises, explanations, and examples, as well as detailed appendices, solutions to selected exercises, and suggestions for further reading. The most accessible and comprehensive introductory textbook available Features a fully revised, updated, and expanded text Covers the latest exciting advances in the field Includes new exercises Offers a one-of-a-kind resource for students and researchers Leading universities that have adopted this book include: Arizona State University Boston University Brandeis University Brown University California Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon College of William & Mary Cornell Harvard University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University Ohio State University Princeton University Purdue University - Main Campus Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rutgers University - New Brunswick Stanford University University of California - Berkeley University of Central Florida University of Chicago University of Michigan University of Montreal University of Notre Dame Vanderbilt University Virginia Tech University

Author : Carlo Rovelli
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2021-05-25
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780593328903

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Helgoland by Carlo Rovelli Pdf

Named a Best Book of 2021 by the Financial Times and a Best Science Book of 2021 by The Guardian “Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator… This is the place where science comes to life.” ―Neil Gaiman “One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters to the laity of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline...[a] momentous book” ―John Banville, The Wall Street Journal A startling new look at quantum theory, from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, and Anaximander. One of the world's most renowned theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli has entranced millions of readers with his singular perspective on the cosmos. In Helgoland, he examines the enduring enigma of quantum theory. The quantum world Rovelli describes is as beautiful as it is unnerving. Helgoland is a treeless island in the North Sea where the twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg made the crucial breakthrough for the creation of quantum mechanics, setting off a century of scientific revolution. Full of alarming ideas (ghost waves, distant objects that seem to be magically connected, cats that appear both dead and alive), quantum physics has led to countless discoveries and technological advancements. Today our understanding of the world is based on this theory, yet it is still profoundly mysterious. As scientists and philosophers continue to fiercely debate the meaning of the theory, Rovelli argues that its most unsettling contradictions can be explained by seeing the world as fundamentally made of relationships rather than substances. We and everything around us exist only in our interactions with one another. This bold idea suggests new directions for thinking about the structure of reality and even the nature of consciousness. Rovelli makes learning about quantum mechanics an almost psychedelic experience. Shifting our perspective once again, he takes us on a riveting journey through the universe so we can better comprehend our place in it.

Author : Adam Becker
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-03-20
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780465096060

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What Is Real? by Adam Becker Pdf

"A thorough, illuminating exploration of the most consequential controversy raging in modern science." --New York Times Book Review An Editor's Choice, New York Times Book Review Longlisted for PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing Longlisted for Goodreads Choice Award Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's solipsistic and poorly reasoned Copenhagen interpretation. Indeed, questioning it has long meant professional ruin, yet some daring physicists, such as John Bell, David Bohm, and Hugh Everett, persisted in seeking the true meaning of quantum mechanics. What Is Real? is the gripping story of this battle of ideas and the courageous scientists who dared to stand up for truth. "An excellent, accessible account." --Wall Street Journal "Splendid. . . . Deeply detailed research, accompanied by charming anecdotes about the scientists." --Washington Post

Author : Julian Barbour
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2001-11-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780199760893

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The End of Time by Julian Barbour Pdf

Richard Feynman once quipped that "Time is what happens when nothing else does." But Julian Barbour disagrees: if nothing happened, if nothing changed, then time would stop. For time is nothing but change. It is change that we perceive occurring all around us, not time. Put simply, time does not exist. In this highly provocative volume, Barbour presents the basic evidence for a timeless universe, and shows why we still experience the world as intensely temporal. It is a book that strikes at the heart of modern physics. It casts doubt on Einstein's greatest contribution, the spacetime continuum, but also points to the solution of one of the great paradoxes of modern science, the chasm between classical and quantum physics. Indeed, Barbour argues that the holy grail of physicists--the unification of Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics--may well spell the end of time. Barbour writes with remarkable clarity as he ranges from the ancient philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides, through the giants of science Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, to the work of the contemporary physicists John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, and Steven Hawking. Along the way he treats us to enticing glimpses of some of the mysteries of the universe, and presents intriguing ideas about multiple worlds, time travel, immortality, and, above all, the illusion of motion. The End of Time is a vibrantly written and revolutionary book. It turns our understanding of reality inside-out.

Author : John Horgan
Publisher : Independently Published
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2019-01-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1731440480

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Mind-Body Problems by John Horgan Pdf

Science journalist John Horgan presents a radical new perspective on the mind-body problem and related issues such as consciousness, free will, morality and the meaning of life. Horgan argues that science will never discover an objectively true solution to the mind-body problem because such a solution does not exist. Horgan explores his thesis by delving into the professional and personal lives of nine mind-body experts, including neuroscientist Christof Koch, cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter, child psychologist Alison Gopnik, complexologist Stuart Kauffman, legal scholar and psychoanalyst Elyn Saks, philosopher Owen Flanagan, novelist Rebecca Goldstein, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, and economist Deirdre McCloskey.

Author : Azeem Azhar
Publisher : Century
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2022-07-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 184794292X

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Exponential by Azeem Azhar Pdf

The Times and Financial Times Book of the Year 'Enticing' Sunday Times | 'Engaging' Financial Times | 'Essential' Reid Hoffman | 'Excellent' Amol Rajan, BBC News ___ As technology accelerates, the human mind struggles to keep up - and our companies, workplaces and democracies get left behind. This is the exponential gap. Now, a leading technologist explores how this exponential gap is rewiring our world - and reveals how we should respond. ___ 'Azhar has a knack for interrogating and inverting conventional thinking . . . A convincing case that something extraordinary is taking place in business and society' Economist 'Deft and clear-eyed . . . Perhaps Azhar's most valuable insight is that conservatively managing the individual risks posed by new technologies will not suffice' Financial Times 'Valuable and timely . . . A diligent and comprehensive definition of a new phase in human affairs' Sunday Times

Author : Ronnie Lee
Publisher : Outskirts Press
Page : 1294 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2024-04-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The Politics of the Empire by Ronnie Lee Pdf

This is my 15th philosophy and poetry book. It delves into the political truths of the modern era that covers different ideologies and enters the realms of the spiritual and magical that opens up new insights into the strategies of the grandmasters of politics. This book will explain the history of politics of the elites and their plans of their New World Order. With other topics included in this book from religion, existentialism, business and science, there is a fountain of knowledge for people who want to understand a universal and coherent philosophy of politics.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1982
Category : Existential psychology
ISBN : IND:30000108459243

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Review of Existential Psychology & Psychiatry by Anonim Pdf

Author : Al Condeluci
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2020-09-29
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781000154559

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Beyond Difference by Al Condeluci Pdf

This book explores the painful experience of being different, and offers solutions for society and for individuals to heal and to grow beyond difference. It examines the societal impact of difference, a pecking order that emerges, and the extent to which people can be distantiated.

Author : Thomas Lin
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2018-12-04
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780262350525

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Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire by Thomas Lin Pdf

Accessible and essential coverage of today's challenging, speculative, cutting-edge science from Quanta Magazine. If you're a science and data nerd like me, you may be interested in "Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire" and "The Prime Number Conspiracy" from Quanta Magazine and Thomas Lin. - Bill Gates These stories reveal the latest efforts to untangle the mysteries of the universe. Bringing together the best and most interesting science stories appearing in Quanta Magazine over the past five years, Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire reports on some of the greatest scientific minds as they test the limits of human knowledge. Quanta, under editor-in-chief Thomas Lin, is the only popular publication that offers in-depth coverage of today's challenging, speculative, cutting-edge science. It communicates science by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves. In the title story, Alice and Bob—beloved characters of various thought experiments in physics—grapple with gravitational forces, possible spaghettification, and a massive wall of fire as Alice jumps into a black hole. Another story considers whether the universe is impossible, in light of experimental results at the Large Hadron Collider. We learn about quantum reality and the mystery of quantum entanglement; explore the source of time's arrow; and witness a eureka moment when a quantum physicist exclaims: “Finally, we can understand why a cup of coffee equilibrates in a room.” We reflect on humans' enormous skulls and the Brain Boom; consider the evolutionary benefits of loneliness; peel back the layers of the newest artificial-intelligence algorithms; follow the “battle for the heart and soul of physics”; and mourn the disappearance of the “diphoton bump,” revealed to be a statistical fluctuation rather than a revolutionary new particle. These stories from Quanta give us a front-row seat to scientific discovery. Contributors Philip Ball, K. C. Cole, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Dan Falk, Courtney Humphries, Ferris Jabr, Katia Moskvitch, George Musser, Michael Nielsen, Jennifer Ouellette, John Pavlus, Emily Singer, Andreas von Bubnoff, Frank Wilczek, Natalie Wolchover, Carl Zimmer

Author : Christopher Bek
Publisher : FriesenPress
Page : 20 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2015-11-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781460275542

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The Theory of One by Christopher Bek Pdf

Christopher Bek has produced a revolutionary physics theory and claims that this theory of one (2001) solves the greatest scientific problem of all time by uniting relativity theory (1905) with quantum theory (1925). According to Bek, it proves that the universe is bounded at light speed and Planck's constant, that there is only one photon (i.e. a being of light), that one photon is God, and that reality is an illusion--meaning the moon does not exist when no one is looking at it. He says that physicists are ignoring the theory because it effectively pulls-their-pants-down. The theory is dead simple and can be explained in just a few minutes. The theory of one brings the reader face to face with the stunning realization that the universe is bounded-rather than unbounded, as Einstein and others have asserted. The theory of one delivers the ocean. It is the theory that spells the end of physics. It is the monolith of 2001-a spacetime odyssey.

Author : Alex Comfort
Publisher : State University of New York Press
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1984-06-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780791499597

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Reality and Empathy by Alex Comfort Pdf

Once in a century an overview shakes the mold of preconception and makes a world model fall into shape. This is such a book—absorbing, provocative, original, skeptical, and often very funny in spite of formidable scholarship. The focus of the book is on the change in self-perception which physics might bring about if it were made in some way empathically real to non-physicists. The common man's "existential" attitude is a product now of nineteenth-century, mechanistic models. But in pursuing this, the author lays out a comprehensive survey of impending changes in the philosophy of science, and ranges through physics, biology, mathematics, Jungian psychology, and evolutionary theory, turning also to look at other, non-Western-scientific, world models. "In the task of reshaping the world model of scientists and others, only commitment to the discipline of science will do. It can be combined with enough controlled lunacy to bring conventionally self-evident ideas of reality into question (in mathematics this has always been a winning mixture), but it has to produce testable predictions." "What we are now looking at is the prospect of 'Jungian physics': a physics model which also addresses the image-forming mechanism and possibly even the non-locality of mind." "The hard-hat model of an objective reality has had to yield to a growing perception that the objective is, in form at least, a construct: what we appear to see is a function of the manner of seeing (hardly a new idea to Greek philosophy), but with the awkward complication that the cogitating I arises from the structures which it sees and orders."