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The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Order of Time and Reality Is Not What It Seems "One of the year's most entrancing books about science."--The Wall Street Journal "Clear, elegant...a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest ideas in physics."--The New York Times Book Review This playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics briskly explains Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. Carlo Rovelli, a renowned theoretical physicist, is a delightfully poetic and philosophical scientific guide. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. The book celebrates the joy of discovery. "Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world," Rovelli writes. "And it's breathtaking."… (more)
Thanks to my dear friend Jim who sent me this quick read. It's always good to be plunged into thought. Anyone who can attempt to explain what is essentially inexplicable (modern physics) deserves some accolades. To my mind the separation between my sense of reality and a universe that can only be explained by formulae is too wide to bridge. I could not understand why cold does not flow to heat in the way a wet blanket person quells the joy in room full joy. Therefore, I have trouble with the idea that time is heat. And speaking of 'ídeas', where do they come from and how can equations explain how an idea becomes a reality? My sense that physicists have lost the plot entirely is reinforced by this slim tome. ( )
Rovelli is a talented writer--or has a talented English translator, and these basic lectures on physics are engaging and the speculative content is well gauged. What isn't well-gauged is having the audiobook read by Rovelli. It takes a while to get use to his heavily accented English and his tendency to pronounce the "ed" on the end of words as a separate syllable. Still, it does give you a sense of the author's personality you would otherwise miss, and at less than two hours, you don't have to put up with it for too long. ( )
No more than a pamphlet - seven brief newspaper articles collected together - and thus extremely short, such that publishing it is a book is really a bit of a push. But very good for all that, and perhaps because of it. It's brevity is the real accomplishment, the quality of the writing is incidental, the lack of footnotes and sources inevitable. ( )
These lessons were written for those who know little or nothing about modern science. (Preface)
In his youth Albert Einstein spent a year loafing aimlessly.
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Last words
I would like to thank in particular Armando Massarenti, who can be credited with opening up the cultural pages of a Sunday paper to science and allowing light to be thrown on the role of this integral and vital aspect of our culture. (Preface)
The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Order of Time and Reality Is Not What It Seems "One of the year's most entrancing books about science."--The Wall Street Journal "Clear, elegant...a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest ideas in physics."--The New York Times Book Review This playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics briskly explains Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. Carlo Rovelli, a renowned theoretical physicist, is a delightfully poetic and philosophical scientific guide. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. The book celebrates the joy of discovery. "Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world," Rovelli writes. "And it's breathtaking."
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«Ci sono frontiere, dove stiamo imparando, e brucia il nostro desiderio di sapere. Sono nelle profondità più minute del tessuto dello spazio, nelle origini del cosmo, nella natura del tempo, nel fato dei buchi neri, e nel funzionamento del nostro stesso pensiero. Qui, sul bordo di quello che sappiamo, a contatto con l'oceano di quanto non sappiamo, brillano il mistero del mondo, la bellezza del mondo, e ci lasciano senza fiato». Tale è il presupposto di queste «brevi lezioni», che ci guidano, con ammirevole trasparenza, attraverso alcune tappe inevitabili della rivoluzione che ha scosso la fisica nel secolo XX e la scuote tuttora: a partire dalla teoria della relatività generale di Einstein e della meccanica quantistica fino alle questioni aperte sulla architettura del cosmo, sulle particelle elementari, sulla gravità quantistica, sulla natura del tempo e della mente. (piopas)
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