Book picks similar to
The Conscious Universe: Parts and Wholes in Physical Reality by Menas Kafatos
science
philosophy
physics
nonfiction
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
Brian Greene - 2011
Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different “multiverse” proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most refined observations of both subatomic particles and the dark depths of space: a multiverse in which you have an infinite number of doppelgängers, each reading this sentence in a distant universe; a multiverse comprising a vast ocean of bubble universes, of which ours is but one; a multiverse that endlessly cycles through time, or one that might be hovering millimeters away yet remains invisible; another in which every possibility allowed by quantum physics is brought to life. Or, perhaps strangest of all, a multiverse made purely of math.Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a captivating exploration of these parallel worlds and reveals how much of reality’s true nature may be deeply hidden within them. And, with his unrivaled ability to make the most challenging of material accessible and entertaining, Greene tackles the core question: How can fundamental science progress if great swaths of reality lie beyond our reach?Sparked by Greene’s trademark wit and precision, The Hidden Reality is at once a far-reaching survey of cutting-edge physics and a remarkable journey to the very edge of reality—a journey grounded firmly in science and limited only by our imagination.
A New Kind of Science
Stephen Wolfram - 1997
Wolfram lets the world see his work in A New Kind of Science, a gorgeous, 1,280-page tome more than a decade in the making. With patience, insight, and self-confidence to spare, Wolfram outlines a fundamental new way of modeling complex systems. On the frontier of complexity science since he was a boy, Wolfram is a champion of cellular automata--256 "programs" governed by simple nonmathematical rules. He points out that even the most complex equations fail to accurately model biological systems, but the simplest cellular automata can produce results straight out of nature--tree branches, stream eddies, and leopard spots, for instance. The graphics in A New Kind of Science show striking resemblance to the patterns we see in nature every day. Wolfram wrote the book in a distinct style meant to make it easy to read, even for nontechies; a basic familiarity with logic is helpful but not essential. Readers will find themselves swept away by the elegant simplicity of Wolfram's ideas and the accidental artistry of the cellular automaton models. Whether or not Wolfram's revolution ultimately gives us the keys to the universe, his new science is absolutely awe-inspiring. --Therese Littleton
Imagining the Tenth Dimension: A New Way of Thinking about Time and Space
Rob Bryanton - 2006
Ten dimensions? Most of us have barely gotten used to the idea that there are four.Using simple geometry and an easygoing writing style, author Rob Bryanton starts with the lower dimensions that we are all familiar with, then uses those concepts to build one layer upon another, ultimately arriving at a way of imagining the tenth dimension.Part scientific exploration, part philosophy, this unique book touches upon such diverse topics as dark matter, Feynman's "sum over paths", the quantum observer, and the soul. It is aimed at anyone interested in leading-edge theories about cosmology and the nature of reality, but it is not about mainstream physics. Rather, Imagining the Tenth Dimension is a mind-expanding exercise that could change the way you view this incredible universe in which we live.
In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality
John Gribbin - 1984
It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power or nuclear bombs, no lasers, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering—at all. John Gribbin tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth far stranger than any fiction. He takes us step-by-step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place—requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrödinger's Cat—a search for quantum reality—as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today—quantum physics.
Is God a Mathematician?
Mario Livio - 2009
Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that—mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the time, but later were proven to be true. Is mathematics ultimately invented or discovered? If, as Einstein insisted, mathematics is “a product of human thought that is independent of experience,” how can it so accurately describe and even predict the world around us? Physicist and author Mario Livio brilliantly explores mathematical ideas from Pythagoras to the present day as he shows us how intriguing questions and ingenious answers have led to ever deeper insights into our world. This fascinating book will interest anyone curious about the human mind, the scientific world, and the relationship between them.
Soulmates
Jess Stearn - 1984
Is it fantasy or reality? In this extraordinary and fascinating book, bestselling author Jess Stearn reveals that perfect love does exist--that you can find it, experience it . . . and with it, change your life forever. Here are the inspiring stories of many real-life soulmates Stearn has met, the innermost secrets of celebrities like Shirley MacLaine, Susan Strasberg, Howard Hughes, and Joan Hackett, who have sought and found the ultimate love.Now you can share in the drama and ecstasy of fulfilling your deepest and most powerful yearnings and desires. You too can find your own true soulmate.
Thought-Forms
Annie Besant - 1905
A study on the nature and power of thoughts this is the most well-known book of the prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator.
Solar Energy: The physics and engineering of photovoltaic conversion, technologies and systems
Arno Smets - 2016
The book is also ideal for university and third-level physics or engineering courses on solar photovoltaics, with exercises to check students' understanding and reinforce learning. It is the perfect companion to the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Solar Energy (DelftX, ET.3034TU) presented by co-author Arno Smets. The course is available in English on the nonprofit open source edX.org platform, and in Arabic on edraak.org. Over 100,000 students have already registered for these MOOCs.
The View from the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos
Joel R. Primack - 2006
For four hundred years, since early scientists discovered that the universe did not revolve around the earth, people have felt cut off-adrift in a meaningless cosmos. That is about to change. In their groundbreaking new book, The View from the Center of the Universe, Joel R. Primack, Ph.D., one of the world's leading cosmologists, and Nancy Ellen Abrams, a philosopher and writer, use recent advances in astronomy,physics, and cosmology to frame a compelling new theory of how to understand the universe and our role in it. While most of us think of the universe as empty space peppered with stars separated by vast distances, the truth, the authors argue, is far richer and more meaningful. For the first time in history, we know that the universe is more coherent and spiritually significant than anyone ever imagined and that our place in it is actually central to the expanding universe in important ways. According to Primack and Abrams, this new cosmology clarifies how the universe operates, what it's made of, how it may have originated, and how it is evolving. Even more surprising, these startling ideas spring from both cutting-edge science and the metaphors of ancient symbols. The result is a very human book that satisfies our fundamental need for order and meaning in our world and in our lives.
The Secret of Light
Walter Russell - 1947
It lays a spiritual foundation under the material one of science; one upon which the current New Age movement is built.A century and more ahead of his time, Walter Russell, in The Secret of Light presents a unique Cosmogony, that of a universe in which Creator and Creation are proven to be a seamless, unified whole, and in which the dualism of “mind and matter” disappears.In revelation of what he terms “natural science,” Russell presents a two-way, magnetic-electric thought-wave universe, cyclic in nature and eternally “creating,” as opposed to the “created, expanding, entropic universe” of current science.Russell’s philosophy of the science of Being, the invisible world of Cause—the nature of consciousness, knowing, thinking, sensing, inspiration, intuition, energy, and the creative process—and the science of Expressed Being, the visible world of Effect—the nature of light, the wave structure of universal creation, the creation of the elements that make up our visible world, and the cycle nature of life and death— are proven a unified continuum.The Secret of Light illuminates the many questions regarding the nature of “science and consciousness.” Dr. Francis Trevelyan Miller (LITT.D., LL.D.), Historical Foundations, New York, wrote in 1947 of The Secret of Light,“I hasten to congratulate you on your epoch-making achievement in giving the world The Secret of Light. In this little volume, with its tremendous magnitude of thought, you have given Science and human knowledge a rebirth—a transmigration from its physical plane to its potential grandeur on the cosmic plane.”“You have opened the door into the infinite—science must enter. It may hesitate; it may engage in controversy, but it cannot afford to ignore the principles you have established which eventually will revolutionize man’s concept of himself, his world, his universe, and his human problems.”“You have done for us in the Twentieth Century what Ptolemy, Euclid, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler did for their earlier centuries. But you have further penetrated all physical barriers and extended your discoveries into definite forms of the infinite law which created our universe and keeps it in operation with mathematical precision through the millions of years.”“Hitherto, Science while delving into these infinite sources has not attempted to define them. It has left the terminology to the ecclesiastics and theological dialectics. You have the courage and vision to start where they leave off — to explore the creative or spiritual law which motivates everything that exists: principles of far greater import than Einstein’s relativity. I hail you as a forerunner of our New Age of Science.”Part I: Omniscience, The Universe of KnowingPart II: Omnipotence, The Universe of Power Part III: Omnipresence; The Universe of Being
The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet
Matthieu Ricard - 2000
Eventually he left his life in science to study with Tibetan teachers, and he is now a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, living in the Shechen monastery near Kathmandu in Nepal. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but became intrigued by the explosion of discoveries in astronomy during the 1960s. He made his way to the prestigious California Institute of Technology to study with some of the biggest names in the field and is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed. When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Or is our universe one in a series of infinite universes with no end and no beginning? Is the concept of a beginning of time fundamentally flawed? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? Is the stunning fine-tuning of the universe, which has produced just the right conditions for life to evolve, a sign that a “principle of creation” is at work in our world? If such a principle of creation undergirds the workings of the universe, what does that tell us about whether or not there is a divine Creator? How does the radical interpretation of reality offered by quantum physics conform to and yet differ from the Buddhist conception of reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve? Can consciousness exist apart from a brain generating it?The stimulating journey of discovery the authors traveled in their discussions is re-created beautifully in The Quantum and the Lotus, written in the style of a lively dialogue between friends. Both the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and the discoveries of contemporary science are introduced with great clarity, and the reader will be profoundly impressed by the many correspondences between the two streams of thought and revelation. Through the course of their dialogue, the authors reach a remarkable meeting of minds, ultimately offering a vital new understanding of the many ways in which science and Buddhism confirm and complement each other and of the ways in which, as Matthieu Ricard writes, “knowledge of our spirits and knowledge of the world are mutually enlightening and empowering.” “The Quantum and the Lotus is a mind-expanding, eye-opening exploration of the exciting parallels between cutting-edge thinking in physics and Buddhism–a scintillating conversation any thinking person would delight in overhearing.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence“The Quantum and the Lotus is the rich and inspiring result of a deeply interesting dialogue between Western science and Buddhist philosophy. This remarkable book will contribute greatly to a better understanding of the true nature of our world and the way we live our lives.” —His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
Albert Einstein - 1916
Having just completed his masterpiece, The General Theory of Relativity—which provided a brand-new theory of gravity and promised a new perspective on the cosmos as a whole—he set out at once to share his excitement with as wide a public as possible in this popular and accessible book.Here published for the first time as a Penguin Classic, this edition of Relativity features a new introduction by bestselling science author Nigel Calder.
Psychology in Minutes: 200 Key Concepts Explained in an Instant
Marcus Weeks - 2015
From Pavlov's dogs to experimental ethics and from the development of personality to cognitive behavioural therapy, this book will take you from the foundations of psychological thought to modern-day applications, drawing on recent research and established theories. Each essay is accompanied by an illustration or diagram to help unravel complex ideas. The principles of psychology apply to each and every one of us as they shed light on everything from our childhood development to our interaction with others - and Psychology in Minutes is the perfect insight to this fascinating subject. Contents include: Behaviourism, Experimental ethics, Problem solving, Illusions and paradoxes, Dream analysis, Management and leadership, Compliance and conformity, Attitudes and prejudices, Attraction, Moral development, Gender development, The big five personality traits, Classification of mental disorders, Criticisms of psychoanalysis, Positive psychology, Advertising and the media and The working environment.
Schaum's Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables
Murray R. Spiegel - 1968
The topics range from elementary to advanced - from algebra, trigonometry and calculus to vector analysis, Bessel functions, Legendre polynomials, and elliptic integrals.
Heart, Self & Soul: The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance, and Harmony
Robert Frager - 1999
Western psychotherapy aims largely to help us eliminate neurotic traits formed in childhood and adapt to society. In contrast, the Sufi goal is ultimately spiritual: Yes, we need to transform our negativity and be effective in the world; but beyond that, we need to reach a state of harmony with the Divine. Full of stories, poetry, meditations, journaling exercises, and colorful everyday examples, this book will open the heart, nourish the self, and quicken the soul.