From the zeros of the mathematician to the void of the philosophers, from Shakespeare to the empty set, from the ether to the quantum vacuum, from being and nothingness to creatio exnihilo, there is much ado about nothing at the heart of things. Recent exciting discoveries in astronomy are shown to shed new light on the nat

The Book of Nothing

Politics & Social Sciences

Barrow, John D.

Philosophy

TRAFALGAR SQUARE +

A Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless and Endless. Everything you might want to know about infinity — in history, and all the way to today’s cutting-edge science. Throughout history, the Infinite has been a dangerous idea. Men have lost their lives, their careers, or their freedom for talking about it. Where did the idea come from, and what is it telling us about the universe? Can there actually be infinities, or is infinity just a label for something that is never reached? Can you do an infinite number of things in a finite amount of time? Is the universe infinite? Will it exist forever? All manner of paradoxes and fantasies characterize an infinite universe. If our universe is infinite, then an infinite number of exact copies of you are at this very moment reading an identical sentence on an identical planet somewhere else in the universe. So what is it like to live in a universe where nothing is original, where you can live forever, where anything that can be done, is done, over and over again? These are some of the deep questions that the idea of the infinite pushes us to ask. The Infinite Book will explore these provocative questions and the strange answers that scientists, mathematicians, philosophers and theologians have come up with to deal with its threats to our sanity.

The Infinite Book: A Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless and Endless

Science & Math

Mathematics

Vintage Books

This is a book about universes, a story that revolves around a single unusual and unappreciated fact: that Einstein's famous theory of relativity describes universes -- entire universes. Not many solutions of Einstein's tantalizing universe equations have ever been found, but those that have are all very remarkable. Some of them describe universes that expand in size, while others contract, some rotate like a top and others are chaotic. Some are perfectly smooth, while others are lumpy, or shaken in different directions by tides of energy; some oscillate forever, some become lifeless and cold, while others head towards a runaway future of ever-increasing expansion. Some permit time travel into the past, and others allow infinitely many things to happen in a finite amount of time. Only a few allow life to evolve within them; the rest remain unknowable to conscious minds. Some end with a bang, some with a whimper. Some don't end at all. Our story will encounter universes where the laws of physics can change from time to time and from one region to another, universes that have extra hidden dimensions of space and time, universes that are eternal, universes that live inside black holes, universes that end without warning, colliding universes, inflationary universes, and universes that come into being from something else -- or from nothing at all. Gradually, we will find ourselves introducing the latest and the best descriptions of the Universe we see around us today, together with the concept of the 'Multiverse' -- the universe of all possible universes -- that modern theories of physics lead us to contemplate. These are the most fantastic and far-reaching speculations in the whole of science. Other cosmology and astronomy books focus on particular topics -- dark matter, dark energy, the beginning of the universe, inflation, life-supporting coincidences, or the end of the universe -- but this book introduces the reader to whole universes in a coherent and unified way. From the Hardcover edition.

The Book of Universes

100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Sport sheds light on the mysteries of running, jumping, swimming and points scoring across the whole sporting spectrum. Whether you are a competitor striving to go faster or higher, or an armchair enthusiast wanting to understand more, this is a fascinating read with one hundred short pieces that range across a wide number of sports. Find out:   • Why high-jumpers use the Fosbury Flop,    • How fast Usain Bolt can ultimately run and how he could break his records without running any faster,    • Whether there is a limit to human performance,    • Who the strongest man or woman is, pound for pound,    • Why there are so many different scoring systems in sport,    • If a 100-kilogram mass weighs more in London than it does in Singapore,    • What the best strategy for taking football penalties is,    • What the effect of those banned skin-tight swimsuits are,    • Why golf balls are dimpled,    • And last, but not least, why does the bounce of a Superball seem to defy Newton's laws of motion. Written for anyone interested in sport or simple maths, this book will enrich your understanding of sport and enliven your appreciation of maths.

Mathletics: A Scientist Explains 100 Amazing Things About Sport

Sports & Outdoors

Impossibility : The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits [Paperback] [Jan 01, 2005] JOHN D. BARROW

History

Vintage

Published in 1991, John Barrow's Theories of Everything was hailed as "a mind-boggling intellectual adventure" by Publishers Weekly and as "an exhilarating journey...important, engaging, and highly literate" by New Scientist. Now, in New Theories of Everything, Barrow completely updates his classic account of one of the hottest fields in all of science--the search for a cosmic key that will unlock the secrets of the Universe. Will we ever discover a single scientific theory of everything? How can one theory ever explain a world full of chaos and complexity? In thisstimulating volume, Barrow sheds light on these questions as he presents the reader with the very latest ideas and predictions, ranging from the speculations of Stephen Wolfram about the world as a computer program to recent developments in string theory and M theory, new varieties of complexity, new ideas about the nature of mathematics, and much more. He reveals that the field has changed dramatically. Fifteen years ago, scientists sought a single theory uniquely specifying the constants and forces of nature, but today they envision a vast landscape of different logically possible laws and constants in many dimensions, of which our own world is but a tiny facet of a higher dimensional reality. Equally important, Barrow reflects on the philosophical and cultural consequences of those remarkable new ideas, highlighting their implications for our own place in the universe. The Theory of Everything has in recent years become the focus of some of the most exciting and imaginative thinking in science. Now fully revised, New Theories of Everything brings the story of this exhilarating quest completely up to date.

New Theories of Everything (Gifford Lectures)

Astronomy & Space Science

Oxford University Press, USA

Ever since Copernicus, scientists have continually adjusted their view of human nature, moving it further and further from its ancient position at the center of Creation. But in recent years, a startling new concept has evolved that places it more firmly than ever in a special position. Known as the Anthropic Cosmological Principle, this collection of ideas holds that the existence of intelligent observers determines the fundamental structure of the Universe. In its most radical version, the Anthropic Principle asserts that "intelligent information-processing must come into existence in the Universe, and once it comes into existence, it will never die out." This wide-ranging and detailed book explores the many ramifications of the Anthropic Cosmological Principle, covering the whole spectrum of human inquiry from Aristotle to Z bosons. Bringing a unique combination of skills and knowledge to the subject, John D. Barrow and Frank J. Tipler--two of the world's leading cosmologists--cover the definition and nature of life, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the interpretation of the quantum theory in relation to the existence of observers. The book will be of vital interest to philosophers, theologians, mathematicians, scientists, and historians, as well as to anyone concerned with the connection between the vastness of the universe of stars and galaxies and the existence of life within it on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way.

The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford Paperbacks)

Literature & Fiction

Tipler, Frank J.

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Until recently "popular science" has produced neither rigorously scientific works nor especially popular ones. Only in the last three or four years have scientists begun to realize the field's full potential with books aimed at the intelligent non-scientist presenting more challenging subjects previously reserved for scholars. Still, none of these studies fully addresses the question of whether laws of Nature really exist and are just waiting to be discovered; or how the notion of laws of Nature arose and how they can be so well described by mathematics; or even how our own existence limits what we can learn about the Universe. John D. Barrow, renowned scientist and philosopher of science, fills the gap by responding to these and myriad other questions in this remarkably wide-ranging interdisciplinary study of the evolving concept of laws of Nature. Tackling the philosophical and theological problems raised by modern physics and mathematics, he goes well beyond the familiar ground of relativity and quantum theory. From the magical notions of primitive cultures to the latest ideas about chaos, black holes, inflation, and superstrings, he traces the gradual development of our understanding of what laws of Nature mean and how we have come to know them. Written in a serious but non-technical style, The World Within the World will fascinate scientists, philosophers, and general readers alike.

The World Within the World

Are there really laws of nature out there waiting to be discovered? Or are they simply an illusion?A retitled and revised edition of The World Within the World, this is John Barrow's extraordinary study of how we view the universe. Covering the magical notions of primitive cultures to the latest ideas about chaos, black holes, inflation, and superstrings, the book traces the development of ourconcept of what the laws of nature are and how we come to know them. Entertaining and inspiring, it is a journey to the edge of space and time.'the sort of book that an archaeologist in the distant future would be delighted to have unearthed an educational wonder'TLS'an excellent and entertaining book balancing at the crumbling edge of thought'New Scientist'wonderfully wide-ranging Barrow explores not only a wide gamut of topics in the zone between physics and astronomy, but he wrestles with their philosophical contexts as well'Nature'Written like a detective story, this book shows how scientists are creating a synthesis that will explain all the basic forces of nature in one theory.'Observer

The Universe That Discovered Itself

The origins of life on earth, the workings of the human mind, the mysteries of the Universe itself--profound questions such as these were once the province of philosophy and theology alone. Today they have become the staple--and indeed the hallmark--of the finest writing about science. And few science writers have tackled the big questions as persistently and as insightfully as astronomer John Barrow. Now, in Between Inner Space and Outer Space, Barrow brings together dozens of essays that offer a sweeping account of his explorations along the boundary lines of science, philosophy, and religion. Here is an invigorating tour of topics such as cosmology, evolution, Grand Unified Theories, complexity and chaos, the nature of time, super string theory, quantum mechanics, particle physics, Big Bang theory, and much more. Barrow's range is remarkable. He examines, for instance, what science can tell us about our love of music or why certain paintings appeal to us. He recounts the dramatic discoveries made by the satellite COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer) and reveals what these findings tell us about the origins of the Cosmos. He discusses the debate over the nature of the universe waged by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. And he offers a thoughtful review of E.O. Wilson's Consilience, seconding Wilson's criticism of social scientists who remain quite ignorant of the key insights made by the life sciences. Leavened with a sprightly sense of humor, Between Inner Space and Outer Space illuminates modern science as it provides much food for thought about life's ultimate questions.

Between Inner Space And Outer Space: Essays on Science, Art, and Philosophy

Oxford University Press, U.S.A.

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