Cosmological Koans : a journey to the heart of physical reality / Anthony Aguirre.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aguirre, Anthony (Anthony Nicholas), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Physics--Miscellanea.

Physics.

Cosmology--Miscellanea.

Cosmology.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xvi, 373 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : W.W. Norton & Company, Independent Publishers Since 1923, [2019]

Summary:

"A leading physicist unravels the mysteries of the universe through pleasingly paradoxical Zen- style vignettes. Cosmological Koans takes a fresh approach to explaining the most mind- bending concepts in physics and cosmology by invoking the ancient Zen tradition of the Koan. Anthony Aguirre presents more than fifty beguiling Koans (Could there be a civilization in a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Who cleans the universe?) that explore the strange hinterland between the deep structure of the physical world and our personal experience of it. With a flair for explaining complex science, Aguirre covers cosmic questions from the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes, and shows how scientific giants from Aristotle to Galileo to Heisenberg have grappled with them. A playful and enlightening book, Cosmological Koans gives readers what Einstein himself called "the most beautiful and deepest experience" anyone can have: a sense of the mysterious"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1 The Path Laid Out before Us

1 The Arrow (1630) p. 3

2 Setting Sail (1610) p. 10

3 Being Time (1630) p. 16

4 The Tower (1608) p. 23

5 A Perfect Map (1617) p. 31

6 The Cosmic Now (now) p. 38

7 Drifting Dreams of Venice (1609) p. 44

8 Choose Your Path (1612) p. 53

9 Taking the Leap (1612) p. 60

Part 2 An Uncertain Trail through Treacherous Terrain

10 Releasing the Djinn (1610) p. 71

11 Many Paths Make the Road (1617) p. 81

12 Sufficient Reason for a Roll of the Dice (1611) p. 87

13 Through the Gates (1612) p. 99

14 Splitting the World (1624) p. 108

15 What Cannot Be Known (1627) p. 118

16 What We Talk about When We Talk about Free Will (1610) p. 124

17 The Mind of Ming (1618) p. 134

18 A Halting Problem (1610) p. 142

Part 3 Torn Apart and Reassembled

19 Instructions from the Cook (1625) p. 149

20 Nothing Is Lost (now and then) p. 157

21 Being and Knowingness (1610) p. 166

22 Each Morning Is the Universe (1612) p. 172

23 Wandering in the Desert (1610) p. 179

24 A Hundred Thousand Million Kalpas (1612) p. 184

25 Mountains and Mist (1612) p. 190

26 Hazy Bifurcations in Decohered Histories (1610) p. 196

Part 4 Lofty Peaks with Endless Views

27 Beneath the Firmament (1608) p. 201

28 Celestial Spheres (1611) p. 209

29 Through the Looking Glass (1608) p. 217

30 Theodicy (1610) p. 222

31 The Floating Gardens (1611) p. 229

32 The Painting in the Cave (1613) p. 236

33 A Dialogue concerning Infinitely Many Things (1608) p. 243

34 Sickness unto Death (1615) p. 249

35 An Honored Guest (1611) p. 255

Part 5 Who Am I? Don't Know!

36 Who Sleeps, Perchance to Dream? (unknown) p. 263

37 A Simple Arrangement of Some Bits (1610) p. 268

38 What Survives (1627) p. 275

39 The Ice Garden (1621) p. 284

40 An Unfettered Mind (1612) p. 288

41 The Simulation Argument (unknown) p. 294

42 Time and Free Will (1624) p. 299

43 An Arc of Recohering Trajectories (1610-1641) p. 308

Part 6 Form Is Emptiness; Emptiness Is Form

44 What Is It You Sail In? (1620) p. 313

45 The Clear Blue Sky (1614) p. 318

46 At the Foundation (1620) p. 328

47 The Great Inheritance (1611) p. 334

48 A Long Hidden Game (1629) p. 341

49 The Mind-Only School (1619) p. 348

50 East and West (1630) p. 354

51 The Arrow (1630) p. 360.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780393609219

0393609219

OCLC:

1053996533