Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality

Author:   Anthony Aguirre (Foundational Questions Institute)
Publisher:   WW Norton & Co
ISBN:  

9780393609219


Pages:   384
Publication Date:   04 June 2019
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality


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Overview

Through more than fifty Koans—pleasingly paradoxical vignettes following the ancient Zen tradition—leading physicist Anthony Aguirre takes the reader across the world from West to East, and through ideas spanning the age, breadth, and depth of the Universe. Using these beguiling Koans (Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Who cleans the universe?) and a flair for explaining complex science, Aguirre covers cosmic questions that scientific giants from Aristotle to Galileo to Heisenberg have grappled with, from the meaning of quantum theory and the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes. A playful and enlightening book, Cosmological Koans explores the strange hinterland between the deep structure of the physical world and our personal experience of it, giving readers what Einstein himself called “the most beautiful and deepest experience” anyone can have: a sense of the mysterious.

Full Product Details

Author:   Anthony Aguirre (Foundational Questions Institute)
Publisher:   WW Norton & Co
Imprint:   WW Norton & Co
Dimensions:   Width: 16.50cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 24.40cm
Weight:   0.634kg
ISBN:  

9780393609219


ISBN 10:   0393609219
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   04 June 2019
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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Reviews

The universe is apparently paradoxical, but ultimately sensible. How better to illuminate that dichotomy than through Zen koans? This book is calisthenics for the mind-it will stretch your imagination almost to the breaking point, and your understanding of reality will come away more healthy and flexible than before. -- Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture A truly creative exploration of physics and its profound insights into the Universe. The questions at the heart of Koans have been used in Zen practice for more than a thousand years to open the eyes of Buddhist practitioners. Aguirre, an adapt practitioner of physics, ably builds his own Koans to reveal the depths of understanding scientists have gained into the nature of Space, Time and Matter. A masterful writer, Aguirre has composed an accessible and entertaining exploration of the Cosmos and our place in it. This book is a delightful addition to popular accounts of both the foundations and frontiers of physics. -- Adam Frank, author of Light of the Stars This unique and beautifully written masterpiece by a leading cosmologist transforms the deepest mysteries of our Universe into a captivating and accessible quest for personal enlightenment. -- Max Tegmark, author of Life 3.0 The tremendous insights into the natural world which are the precious gift of the current research in physics and cosmology can be popularized by simplifying and trivializing them; or they can be made to sparkle, looking in the eyes the abyssal questions they open. This is what Anthony Aguirre does, with shining intelligence and profound human sensitivity, in this gem of a book. -- Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics


Author Information

Anthony Aguirre is professor of physics at the University of California–Santa Cruz and cofounder of the Foundational Questions Institute. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

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