Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe - Hardcover

Smolin, Lee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846142997 ISBN 13: 9781846142994

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2013

Synopsis

In Time Reborn, Lee Smolin, one of our foremost physicists and thinkers offers a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos

Nothing seems more real than time passing. We experience life itself as a succession of moments. Yet throughout history, the idea that time is an illusion has been a religious and philosophical commonplace. We identify certain truths as 'eternal' constants, from moral principles to the laws of mathematics and nature: these are laws that exist not inside time, but outside it. From Newton and Einstein to today's string theorists and quantum physicists, the widest consensus is that the universe is governed by absolute, timeless laws.

In Time Reborn, Lee Smolin argues that this denial of time is holding back both physics, and our understanding of the universe. We need a major revolution in scientific thought: one that embraces the reality of time and places it at the centre of our thinking. E may equal mc squared now, but that wasn't always the case. Similarly, as our understanding of the universe develops, Newton's fundamental laws might not remain so fundamental. Time, Smolin concludes, is not an illusion: it is the best clue we have to fundamental reality. Time Reborn explains how the true nature of time impacts on us, our world, and our universe.

'The strongest dose of clarity in written form to have come along in decades. The implications go far beyond physics, to economics, politics, and personal philosophy. Time Reborn places reality above theory in stronger and clearer terms than ever before, and the result is a path to better theory and potentially to a better society as well. Will no doubt be remembered as one of the essential books of the 21st century' Jaron Lanier

[Praise for Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics]:
'The best book about contemporary science written for the layman that I have ever read . . . Read this book. Twice' Sunday Times

'Unusually broad and deep . . . his critical judgments are exceptionally penetrating' Roger Penrose

'Brave, uniquely well-informed . . . does a tremendous job' Mail on Sunday


Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist who has made important contributions to the search for quantum gravity. Born in New York City, he was educated at Hampshire College and Harvard University. Since 2001 he is a founding faculty member at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His three earlier books explore philosophical issues raised by contemporary physics and cosmology. They are Life of the Cosmos (1997), Three Roads to Quantum Gravity (2001) and The Trouble with Physics (2006). He lives in Toronto.

About this title

Review:

The strongest dose of clarity in written form to have come along in decades. The implications go far beyond physics, to economics, politics, and personal philosophy. Time Reborn places reality above theory in stronger and clearer terms than ever before, and the result is a path to better theory and potentially to a better society as well. Will no doubt be remembered as one of the essential books of the 21st century (Jaron Lanier)

[Praise for Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics]: The best book about contemporary science written for the layman that I have ever read . . . Read this book. Twice (Sunday Times)

Unusually broad and deep . . . his critical judgments are exceptionally penetrating (Roger Penrose)

Brave, uniquely well-informed . . . does a tremendous job (Mail on Sunday)

From the Back Cover:

"If you are looking for a bracing alternative vision of physics built from the ground up, Smolin's Time Reborn will take you to the mountaintop." NPR
What is time?
It s the sort of question we rarely ask because it seems so obvious. And yet, to a physicist, time is simply a human construct and an illusion. If you could somehow get outside the universe and observe it from there, you would see that every moment has always existed and always will. Lee Smolin disagrees, and in Time Reborn he lays out the case why.
Recent developments in physics and cosmology point toward the reality of time and the openness of the future. Smolin s groundbreaking theory postulates that physical laws can evolve over time and the future is not yet determined. Newton s fundamental laws may not remain so fundamental. Time Reborn serves as a popular primer and investigation of time, both what it is and how the true nature of it impacts our world.
"He challenges not only Einstein s relativity, but also the very notion of natural laws as immutable truths." Economist
One of the essential books of the twenty-first century . . . Smolin provides a much-needed dose of clarity about time, with implications that go far beyond physics to economics, politics, and personal philosophy. Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget

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About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1846142997
• ISBN 13: 9781846142994
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352