There is a lot to unpack about this short science book by physicist Ulf Danielsson. It's taken me several months to work my way through it in small batches. What I wanted to get out of this book was an insight into physics and philosophy, The book is heavy on philosophy. I found it difficult at times to follow. This is a book I will likely need to read again. ( )

As a physicist, I appreciate Danielsson's perspective here - when we study the universe, we're creating models, and those models are not reality. Our models may predict reality in the form of measurements, they may describe reality in the form of physical phenomena, but don't actually tell us anything about what reality "really is". From this perspective, we can get past seeming paradoxes like a quantum mechanics using probability distributions to describe the world - what we see around us isn't made up of wave function, rather wave functions are a useful model that produces useable predictions of specific behavior.

I don't know that someone with no knowledge of physics would appreciate the arguments Danielsson makes, but anyone with basic exposure can. And I can highly recommend The World Itself to those interested in this intersection between science and philosophy. ( )

Let me tell you about a fascinating new book. The World Itself, by Ulf Danielsson is an absolutely delightful read. It is most delicious for your thinking side and is filled with ideas and wonderful points of view. Mr. Danielsson is a physicist and he covers a broad range of ideas into the nature of our reality: cutting edge science, philosophy, mathematics, computers, biology etc. He discusses, connects and overlaps these ideas, in a very clear/accessible and personal way, on what can be said about the nature of our world. He illustrates the strengths and limitations of the models, constructs and metaphors we use to understand our universe. Along the way in this journey he taps and connects the thoughts and ideas of many great thinkers from the past and present. He also touches on topics such consciousness, emergence, the limits of mathematics, and free well.

I’ve read many books of popular science and philosophy, but this one is very different. It is organized around its topic extremely well and I have learned and been turned on to ideas and considerations I had never quite considered.

I HIGHLY recommend this work. It comes with a wonderful reading list and I believe it will extend and shape your thinking and understanding and most importantly will leave you with a sense of wonder. ( )

Danielsson's subject is the world itself examined from the viewpoint of a physicist who makes a living “exploring the foundations of the universe with the help of mathematics” (p. 19). One might add that Daniellsson's objective in his book The World Itself: Consciousness and the Everything of Physics (NY : Bellevue Literary Press, c2023) first published in Sweden in 2020 with the title Världen Själv, is to probe with paradox and skepticism the complexities of reality and perception. A list of the book's chapters provides a glimpse of this: (1) Everything is Physics, (2) Living Beings are not Machines, (3) The Univerese is not Mathematics, (4) There is a Difference Between Model and Reality, (5) Computers are not Conscious, (6) Not Everything can be Calculated, (7) Man is not Unique, and (8) Does Free Will Exist?

In Chapter 1, Danielsson argues “that everything is physics and that there is no reality outside of matter. But (he goes on) there is no reason to believe that we are even close to understanding what this world of matter is capable of. Given the limitations set by biology, it is likely that there are central truths about the world that are so far beyond our comprehension that we cannot even formulate the questions.” (p. 20-21) Daniellsson refers to the book, The Phenomenon of Life, by Hans Jonas (1903-1993), student of Martin Heidegger, as fundamental to breaking the hold of Cartesian 'mind-body' dualism on modern scientific method. Daniellson refers also to another work, This Life, by Martin Hägglund, in which its author describes how Saint Augustine was torn between love of the perishable Earth and the allure of eternal Heaven, the problem being the meaninglessness of the transient from the perspective of eternity.

MTF ( )

The book was written by a theoretical physicist from Sweden. He provides some insight information and some of his explanations are a bit difficult to understand. His assertion that everything is physics is an oversimplification, since he ignores other sciences such as chemistry that are critical to existence. He makes a good point about the universe being what it is and our perception of it is limited. We model the universe to make sense of it and use mathematical formulas to try to make predictions that are approximations. While current computers are not conscious it remains to be seen what the future brings. I concur that we are not unique and would argue that there is no free will because we follow our nature in response to our environment. It is an interesting book but obtuse at times. ( )