Will we ever discover a single scientific theory that tells us
everything that has happened, and everything that will happen, on
every level in the Universe? The quest for the theory of everything -
a single key that unlocks all the secrets of the Universe - is no
longer a pipe-dream, but the focus of some of our most exciting
research about the structure of the cosmos. But what might such a
theory look like? What would it mean? And how close are we to getting
there? In New Theories of Everything, John D. Barrow describes the
ideas and controversies surrounding the ultimate explanation. Updating
his earlier work Theories of Everything with the very latest theories
and predictions, he tells of the M-theory of superstrings and
multiverses, of speculations about the world as a computer program,
and of new ideas of computation and complexity. But this is not solely
a book about modern ideas in physics -- Barrow also considers and
reflects on the philosophical and cultural consequences of those
ideas, and their implications for our own existence in the world. Far
from there being a single theory uniquely specifying the constants and
forces of nature, the picture today is of a vast landscape of
different logically possible laws and constants in many dimensions, of
which our own world is but a shadow: a tiny facet of a higher
dimensional reality. But this is not to say we should give up in
bewilderment: Barrow shows how many rich and illuminating theories and
questions arise, and what this may mean for our understanding of our
own place in the cosmos.
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The Quest for Ultimate Explanation
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780191579370
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter