Lee Smolin

Lee Smolin

Friday, May 10, 7:30 p.m.

Time reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe

What is time?

This deceptively simple question is the single most important problem facing science as we probe more deeply into the fundamentals of the universe. All of the mysteries physicists and cosmologists face—from the Big Bang to the future of the universe, from the puzzles of quantum physics to the unification of forces and particles—come down to the nature of time.

Lee Smolin has made influential contributions to the search for a unification of physics. He is a founding faculty member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His previous books include The Trouble with Physics, The Life of the Cosmos, and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity.

Location: Street: 1010 El Camino Real City: Menlo Park, Province: California Postal Code: 94025-4349 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

A program for adults, Monday May 6, 7:30 pm-9:00 pm, Free
Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level

Please join theoretical physicist Lee Smolin as he discusses his latest book, Time Reborn, a radical new approach to cosmology that embraces the reality of time and opens up a whole new universe of possibilities. There are a few ideas that, like our notion of time, shape our thinking about literally everything, with major implications for physics and beyond from climate change to the economic crisis. Smolin explains in lively and lucid prose how the true nature of time impacts our world.

Lee Smolin is a leading pioneer in the field of quantum gravity and cosmology. He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and three popular books, Life of the Cosmos, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity and The Trouble with Physics.
For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603
Sponsored by Vancouver Writers Fest
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/ (starfishian)… (more)

Join us for an insightful investigation into the nature of time itself in Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe. Since the ancients, physicists and philosophers have argued that time is not real, that our experience of time passing is just a human illusion in a timeless universe operating on predetermined laws.

Lee Smolin, a senior faculty member and founder of the Perimeter Institute in Theoretical Physics and the bestselling author of The Trouble with Physics and Three Roads To Quantum Gravity, brilliantly shows how this thinking came about, and makes the bold case that time may in fact be the only thing that is real. (thebookpile)… (more)

Jaron Lanier discusses You Are Not A Gadget.; Lee Smolin discusses The Life of the Cosmos.

Join the conversation between two of the world’s most respected scientific minds on the philosophy of consciousness and information. A pioneer in virtual reality, a Silicon Valley visionary since the 1980s, and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2010, Jaron Lanier is the author of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto . His provocative and cautionary book examines how the Internet elevates the “wisdom” of mobs and computer algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals. A founding member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Lee Smolin is well known for his contributions to our understanding of quantum gravity, elementary particle physics, quantum mechanics and theoretical biology. His three books, Life of the Cosmos, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity and The Trouble with Physics, all explore the philosophical issues raised by contemporary physics. Tickets $15 / $10 reduced. Free for festival members. (thebookpile)… (more)