This book is a collection of Hawking's thoughts and reflections on ten "Big Questions" touching on the existence of God, the origins of the universe, and the future of the human race. Not everyone will agree with Hawking's conclusions, but his engaging prose and novel ideas are certainly worth the read.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar is a delightful little book that generates the "a-ha!" moment of understanding philosophical concepts through jokes. The central premise of the book is that philosophy and jokes both "tease the mind in similar ways".
If we accept quantum mechanics as an accurate description of the world at the microscopic level, then we must translate its mathematical framework into an interpretation.
Many laymen will already have heard of this theory in popular science and sci-fi shows, but may be unsure of how plausible it really is. Is the MWI a serious academic proposal? Or is it just a fanciful interpretation that lends itself well to convoluted plot lines in TV shows?
I've seen a lot of accounts on twitter, and instagram that write weekly book reviews, but they tend to focus on fiction. There are so many fascinating books on science and philosophy that expose mind-bending ideas and truths about our world, so I thought it would be a great idea to start writing some reviews of them!
Many Worlds theory is undeniably a serious academic field, yet most know very little about it other than that it claims there are more worlds than this one, and that it has something to do with quantum theory. I hope you will enjoy learning a bit about what this theory is and why it deserves to be taken seriously.
There is nothing in our current understanding of physics that demands the existence of some "immaterial" entity to explain the origin and nature of reality.
Two different methods give two different values for a fundamental constant of cosmology! Have we measured something wrong? Or is this a sign of new physics?
In my review of his book, I will argue that Atkins walks a thin line between established scientific fact and wild speculation, but that he does so in an engrossing and ultimately plausible way. He certainly doesn't establish that the universe can arise from nothing, but he convincingly argues that there's no reason why it couldn't.
In my review of his book, I will argue that Atkins walks a thin line between established scientific fact and wild speculation, but that he does so in an engrossing and ultimately plausible way. He certainly doesn't establish that the universe can arise from nothing, but he convincingly argues that there's no reason why it couldn't.
The Platonic Realm 