The ideas in this book are related to quantum physics, cosmology, biology, etc. As the name states there are probable impossibilities that have given The ideas in this book are related to quantum physics, cosmology, biology, etc. As the name states there are probable impossibilities that have given rise to our own conscious life and Alan guides you through these impossibilities in a way that is philosophical and also at times very poetic. I appreciate scientific writers like Alan who write so well. When my personal study of science seems to push me towards a nihilistic point of view, it’s nice to be brought back to the beauty of being conscious in this reality and how meaningful that can be.
“What I feel and I know is that I am here now, at this moment in the grand sweep of time. I am not part of the void. I am not a fluctuation in the quantum vacuum. Even though I understand that someday my atoms will be scattered in the soil and in air, that I will no longer exist, I am alive now. I am feeling this moment. I can see my hand on my writing desk. I can feel the warmth of the sun through the window. And looking out, I can see a pine-needled path that goes down to the sea” -AL...more
This was the first book I’ve read by Carlo. He has since become my favorite scientific writer. He has this twist of philosophy that he adds to his wriThis was the first book I’ve read by Carlo. He has since become my favorite scientific writer. He has this twist of philosophy that he adds to his writing that I personally love. This book is very small, so he gets straight down to some of the fun and interesting things physics has to show without all the extremely hard concepts and mathematics. So it’s written in a digestible way.
“There are frontiers where we are learning, and our desire for knowledge burns. They are in the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, at the origins of the cosmos, in the nature of time, in the phenomenon of black holes, and in the workings of our own thought processes. Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and beauty of the world. And it’s breathtaking.” -CR...more
Loading...
