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

This book far exceeded expectations. The author uses a lucid style, but one that delves easily into complex areas. He addresses meanings and implications of infinity not only in mathematics, but also in metaphysics, and most interesting to me, cosmology. In doing the latter he clears up many concerns that have been troubling me, especially concerning the multiverse and the question of whether we're living in a simulation. The author, a Cambridge don, has written five or six other explanatory books on math and science which I plan to look into. His prose strongly conveys a commitment to explain complexities clearly to a wide lay readership, but without cutting corners. You feel he's ranging over everything he knows on the subject at show more hand, but somehow avoiding obfuscation or condescension. show less

This book is a great book to start into the discussion of ontology. I enjoyed the early history of the thinkers behind infinite concepts. Barrow does a very good job of guiding the reader through the various facets of infinity (even though it can make your eyes cross at times). Once he gets into the nature of the universe and its properties, it becomes less a discussion about infinity and more a treatise on modern cosmological thought. And the last bits about infinitely long life spans and time travel felt a little forced. All in all, however, this was a neat book.

http://lifelongdewey.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/111-the-infinite-book-by-john-d-ba...

A rather boring book - I expected it to be infinitely more interesting. But it had rather more philosophy than maths. Still, I enjoyed enjoying learning about the different kinds of infinity and the implications of an infinite universe with non-zero probability of life elsewhere...

Un po' ripetitivo - sempre che non sia il primo libro di Barrow o affini che si legge; in quel caso, infatti, è un ottimo avvicinamento a una comprensione della matematica e di alcuni aspetti della fisica contemporanea molto diversa da tutto ciò che si insegna (purtroppo) a scuola - almeno nella maggior parte dei casi. In effetti, lo consiglierei agli insegnanti, tanto per farsi venire delle idee originali e coinvolgenti :)

Loved this. Made my brain hurt at first but you soon get used to it. One of those books where you read something a couple of times and then you understand it. Not in a way that you can put into words, but you understand it with a different type of understanding. (I know what I mean!:))

Disappointingly lacks the usual meatiness of a Barrow book, and makes way too much respectful reference to religion. The only kind of writing about religion I can abide is illustrated by the essay contributed by Sam Harris to one of the huge compendia of writings at www.edge.org -- answers to "What is your dangerous idea?"

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

“Mathematicians have also had to face up to the reality of infinity.

For a thousand years, infinity appese in resarch illuminating challenge for the concept of infinity has been studied in mathematics, physics, philosophy, and other fields of research for centuries.Infinity is a mathematical concept that refers to something without any bound or limit. It has been used in many areas of research, such as calculus, geometry, and number theory, to name a few. In physics, infinity has been used to describe,Infinity has also been a subject of philosophical inquiry, as it relates to questions about the nature of the universe and the limits of human knowledge.