Título: Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
Autor: Sabine Hossenfelder
Sinopse: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“An informed and entertaining guide to what science can and cannot tell us.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Stimulating . . . encourage[s] readers to push past well-trod assumptions […] and have fun doing so.” —Science Magazine
From renowned physicist and creator of the YouTube series “Science without the Gobbledygook,” a book that takes a no-nonsense approach to life’s biggest questions, and wrestles with what physics really says about the human condition
Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.
According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate.
In this lively, thought-provoking book, Hossenfelder takes on the biggest questions in physics: Does the past still exist? Do particles think? Was the universe made for us? Has physics ruled out free will? Will we ever have a theory of everything? She lays out how far physicists are on the way to answering these questions, where the current limits are, and what questions might well remain unanswerable forever. Her book offers a no-nonsense yet entertaining take on some of the toughest riddles in existence, and will give the reader a solid grasp on what we know—and what we don’t know.
Contexto da obra
Como livro em inglês, esta obra costuma ganhar também uma camada própria de interesse editorial e linguístico. “Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions”, de Sabine Hossenfelder, publicado pela editora Viking, em 2022 e com 272 páginas, integra a categoria Livros em Inglês. Por isso, o interesse da obra tende a se ampliar quando o leitor considera também a relação com a língua em que ela circula.
Editora: Viking
Páginas: 272
Ano: 2022-08-09
Edição:
Linguagem: en
ISBN: 1984879456
ISBN13: 9781984879455
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Viking trazem uma experiência de leitura que alterna entre narrativas densas e reflexivas e obras de não ficção que exploram temas sociais, históricos e culturais com profundidade. O catálogo revela um interesse recorrente por histórias que abordam identidades pessoais e coletivas, como memórias familiares, trajetórias imigratórias e questões de poder, além de investigações sobre fenômenos culturais e econômicos contemporâneos. Há títulos que combinam relatos íntimos e jornalísticos com análises que dialogam com a atualidade, oferecendo um tom acessível, porém rigoroso. A diversidade se manifesta tanto em romances com ambientações históricas e contemporâneas quanto em ensaios que cruzam disciplinas, sugerindo uma linha editorial que valoriza a complexidade do real e do humano.
