Cosmological Koans : a journey to the heart of physical reality

"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. 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"--;Part 1. The path laid out before us -- Part 2. An uncertain trail through treacherous terrain -- Part 3. Torn apart and reassembled -- Part 4. Loft peaks with endless views -- Part 5. Who am I? Don't know! -- Part 6. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. Cosmological Koans invites the reader into an intellectual adventure of the highest order. Through more than fifty Koans―pleasingly paradoxical vignettes following the ancient Zen tradition―leading physicist Anthony Aguirre takes the reader across the world from West to East, and through ideas spanning the age, breadth, and depth of the Universe. Using these beguiling Koans ( Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Who cleans the universe? ) and a flair for explaining complex science, Aguirre covers cosmic questions that scientific giants from Aristotle to Galileo to Heisenberg have grappled with, from the meaning of quantum theory and the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes. A playful and enlightening book, Cosmological Koans explores the strange hinterland between the deep structure of the physical world and our personal experience of it, giving readers what Einstein himself called “the most beautiful and deepest experience” anyone can have: a sense of the mysterious. 27 illustrations ** "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 “Playful and enchanting.” —Priyamvada Natarajan, Wall Street Journal Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Using pleasingly paradoxical vignettes, known as Koans, that follow the ancient Zen tradition and have a flair for explaining complex science, physicist Anthony Aguirre tackles cosmic questions from the meaning of quantum theory and the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes.