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Details
Condition: Brand New
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781838950385
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Overview
Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions is a New York Times bestselling paperback in which theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder tackles the questions that keep us up at night. Do we have free will? Is the universe compatible with God? Do we live in a simulation? Drawing on cutting-edge physics, Hossenfelder cuts through speculation to show what science can, and cannot, actually tell us about meaning, consciousness and the cosmos, in clear, witty prose built for curious general readers.
About the Book
Physicists are brilliant at complicated research but often less good at explaining why any of it matters. In this entertaining and groundbreaking book, Hossenfelder steps outside the lab to answer the big existential questions people actually ask. Drawing on quantum mechanics, black holes, string theory and particle physics, she investigates whether the past still exists, whether particles think, whether the universe was made for us, and whether physics has ruled out free will. Along the way she interviews other leading scientists, weighing up parallel universes, the God particle, and the origins of the big bang against the hard limits of what current theories can prove.
What sets this book apart is Hossenfelder's refusal to overreach. Rather than offering comforting answers, she draws a clear line between established science and the untestable speculation that sometimes creeps into physics itself, arguing that some of her peers indulge in as much unfounded belief as the mystics and theologians they might dismiss. The result is a rigorous yet genuinely entertaining tour of modern physics that respects the reader's intelligence while remaining accessible to anyone without a scientific background. It is a book that reshapes how you think about knowledge, belief and the boundaries of what we can ever truly know.
Key Benefits
- Clear, jargon-free explanations of quantum mechanics, black holes, string theory and particle physics.
- Tackles big philosophical questions with scientific rigour rather than speculation.
- Written by a working theoretical physicist and popular science communicator.
- Includes interviews with other leading scientists on the biggest open questions in physics.
- A brand new paperback, ideal for gifting, book clubs and personal reading.
- A thought-provoking read for anyone curious about science, philosophy or the nature of reality.
About the Author
Sabine Hossenfelder is a theoretical physicist and a Research Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies in Germany. She is the creator of the widely watched YouTube channel "Science without the gobbledygook" and has written the long-running physics blog Backreaction since 2006. Her writing has appeared in Scientific American, New Scientist, The Guardian, Aeon and the New York Times. Her first book, Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, was published in 2018 and drew wide attention for its critique of trends in theoretical physics.
Why You'll Love This Popular Science Book
For readers who want honest, evidence-based answers to life's biggest questions, this witty, rigorous paperback delivers real physics without the jargon, philosophy without the fluff, and plenty to debate long after the final page.
Please Note: Cover design may vary slightly from the image shown; this is the UK paperback edition with ISBN 9781838950385 as listed.
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