Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions (Unabridged)
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4.6 • 18 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A contrarian scientist wrestles with the big questions that modern physics raises, and what physics 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.
* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with key visual figures included in the book.
Customer Reviews
Parts are good, other parts are confusing
Meh…. Parts of the book are good including the chapter on multiverses and infinite copies of oneself. Science provides no evidence for this so the author makes the case these theories are just guesses - makes sense. I struggled mightily on the chapter on free will. The author states as ad nauseam “The future is fixed except for the occasional quantum events we cannot influence” as absolute fact, with no evidence. Her argument is essentially a 100% deterministic universe such that if the Big Bang were repeated with exactly the same starting conditions I would again, be writing this review 14+ billion years later. She dismisses arguments of free will and emergence put forth by Carlo Rovelli and Sean Carroll. She provides multiple citations from philosophy and psychology, confusing these arguments with physics. She provides a horrific example of a woman placed on death row for a murder she committed, making the argument that it could not have been otherwise given the background and past trauma of the woman. From a psychological, societal or sociological point of view this argument may have merit, but what does this have to do with physics and the underlying nature of reality? This is reductionism to an extreme - but it doesn’t matter because neither you nor the author have any control over your thoughts or opinions on this review - it’s already all been determined. Sigh…. Frustrating read in some chapters.
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