Life is simple : how Occam's razor set science free and shapes the universe / Johnjoe McFadden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McFadden, Johnjoe, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

William, of Ockham, approximately 1285-approximately 1349.

William.

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Science--History.

History.

Science--Methodology--History.

Science--Methodology.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vi, 376 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First US edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2021.

Summary:

Centuries ago, the principle of Occam's razor changed our world by showing simpler answers to be preferable and more often true. In Life Is Simple, scientist Johnjoe McFadden traces centuries of discoveries, taking us from a geocentric cosmos to quantum mechanics and DNA, arguing that simplicity has revealed profound answers to the greatest mysteries. This is no coincidence. From the laws that keep a ball in motion to those that govern evolution, simplicity, he claims, has shaped the universe itself. And in McFadden's view, life could only have emerged by embracing maximal simplicity, making the fundamental law of the universe a cosmic form of natural selection that favors survival of the simplest.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I Discovery

1. Of Scholars and Heretics

2. The Physics of God

3. The Razor

4. How Simple Are Rights?

5. The Kindling

6. The Interregnum

pt. II The Unlocking

7. The Heliocentric but Hermetic Cosmos

8. Breaking the Spheres

9. Bringing Simplicity Down to Earth

10. Atoms and Knowing Spirits

11. The Notion of Motion

12. Making Motion Work

pt. III Life's Razors

13. The Vital Spark

14. Life's Vital Direction

15. Of Peas, Primroses, Flies and Blind Rodents

pt. IV The Cosmic Razor

16. The Best of All Possible Worlds?

17. A Quantum of Simplicity

18. Opening Up the Razor

19. The Simplest of All Possible Worlds?.

Notes:

"Originally published in 2021 in Great Britain by Basic Books London"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781541620445

1541620445

OCLC:

1230231938