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Decoding Reality
- The Universe as Quantum Information
- Narrated by: Jay Russell
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's summary
For a physicist, all the world is information. The universe and its workings are the ebb and flow of information. We are all transient patterns of information, passing on the recipe for our basic forms to future generations using a four-letter digital code called DNA.
In this engaging and mind-stretching account, Vlatko Vedral considers some of the deepest questions about the universe and considers the implications of interpreting it in terms of information. He explains the nature of information, the idea of entropy, and the roots of this thinking in thermodynamics.
He also describes the bizarre effects of quantum behaviour - effects such as "entanglement", which Einstein called "spooky action at a distance", and explores cutting-edge work on harnessing quantum effects in hyperfast quantum computers, and how recent evidence suggests that the weirdness of the quantum world, once thought limited to the tiniest scales, may reach into the macro world.
Vedral finishes by considering the answer to the ultimate question: where did all of the information in the universe come from? The answers he considers are exhilarating, drawing upon the work of distinguished physicist John Wheeler. The ideas challenge our concept of the nature of particles, of time, of determinism, and of reality itself.
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Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that - mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic phenomena that were unknown at the time, but later were proven to be true.
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Origins of Mathematics
- By Rick B on 07-08-21
By: Mario Livio
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What Is Life?
- How Chemistry Becomes Biology
- By: Addy Pross
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventy years ago, Erwin Schrdinger posed a simple, yet profound, question: What is life?. How could the very existence of such extraordinary chemical systems be understood? This problem has puzzled biologists and physical scientists both before, and ever since. Living things are hugely complex and have unique properties, such as self-maintenance and apparently purposeful behaviour which we do not see in inert matter. So how does chemistry give rise to biology?
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Profound & Life Changing...
- By Daegan Smith on 04-06-15
By: Addy Pross
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The Island of Knowledge
- The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning
- By: Marcelo Gleiser
- Narrated by: William Neenan
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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How much can we know about the world? In this audiobook physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing he reaches a provocative conclusion: Science, like religion, is fundamentally limited as a tool for understanding the world. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we face the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know.
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Island of knowledge
- By Joshua Kring on 07-26-15
By: Marcelo Gleiser
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Paradox
- The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Throughout history, scientists have come up with theories and ideas that just don't seem to make sense. These we call paradoxes. The paradoxes Al-Khalili offers are drawn chiefly from physics and astronomy and represent those that have stumped some of the finest minds. With elegant explanations that bring the listener inside the mind of those who've developed them, Al-Khalili helps us to see that, in fact, paradoxes can be solved if seen from the right angle.
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Almost Useless
- By Michael on 06-19-19
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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Quantum Enigma
- Physics Encounters Consciousness
- By: Bruce Rosenblum, Fred Kuttner
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics, the most successful theory in science and the basis of one-third of our economy. They found, to their embarrassment, that with their theory, physics encounters consciousness. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all this in nontechnical terms with help from some fanciful stories and anecdotes about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, emphasizing what is and what is not speculation.
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Wow. Very Informative and mind boggling.
- By Kevin Harper, Realtor on 08-11-17
By: Bruce Rosenblum, and others
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Beyond Biocentrism
- Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death
- By: Robert Lanza, Bob Berman
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In Beyond Biocentrism, acclaimed biologist Robert Lanza and astronomer Bob Berman take the listener on an intellectual thrill ride as they reexamine everything we thought we knew about life, death, the universe, and the nature of reality itself. The first step is acknowledging that our existing model of reality is looking increasingly creaky in the face of recent scientific discoveries.
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Here's the thing
- By Mikal on 11-09-18
By: Robert Lanza, and others
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Jeff Crawford
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.
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Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.
- By LongerILiveLessIKnow on 11-14-13
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The World According to Physics
- By: Jim Al-Khalili
- Narrated by: Jim Al-Khalili
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Shining a light on the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, Jim Al-Khalili invites us all to understand what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics - quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics - showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
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excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-21
By: Jim Al-Khalili
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The Science of Discworld
- A Novel
- By: Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen
- Narrated by: Michael Fenton Stevens, Stephen Briggs
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Not just another science audiobook and not just another Discworld novella, The Science of Discworld is a creative, mind-bending mash-up of fiction and fact, that offers a wizard’s-eye view of our world that will forever change how you look at the universe.
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Not the best Pratchett, but gets there in the end
- By Rachel on 07-30-14
By: Terry Pratchett, and others
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
What listeners say about Decoding Reality
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Gary
- 08-19-11
Excellent on all counts.
The author takes a very complicated subject and makes it understandable. He tells you what he's going to tell you, says it and then tells you what he said. He really does connect the dots between information and quantum theory. As he says, "information is physical" and explains what he means by that.
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10 people found this helpful
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- BlackShahn
- 09-21-17
Magical HomeRun!
Thought provoking stance of information on information with attention to detail every step of the way. This book, in its entirety, hits home on the points and sums up information easy to understand by relating modern and past examples of physics. 3 Thumbs Up!
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1 person found this helpful
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- serine
- 04-03-16
written for the every day person
Vedral set out to write a book for the non-scientist and did an amazing job of making complex concepts simple. However, I feel to some degree the concepts were, at times, made too simple. The scientifically minded non-physicist need only read the epilogue to understand Vedral's entire argument. He has published over 200 academic papers. I was hoping this book would, in addition to introducing the history and current understanding of information theory, give more of a summary of his own work. Such a summary could really help a scientifically minded non-physics get a better understanding of his entire body of work without having to sift through all of his papers. I would like the book to have been twice as long so that it could have addressed things in a deeper, less simplistic, way.
Vedral's simplistic approach did have it's advantages. And, not matter how simple or complex the approach, Vedral's concepts are among my favorites of any scientist. Vedral provides extremely accessible introductions to Shannon's information theory, Botlzmann's entropy, Maxwell's Demon, the holographic principle, quantum computing (which was particularly excellent and simplified for the interested reader), and more.
Above all, Vedral helps the reader see the universe in an entirely different way, as pure information. Unlike other authors who get caught up in philosophical arguments that frustrate a great number of readers, Vedral's perspective is always quite solid and easy to follow. For this reason alone, anyone interested in information theory should make this a must read.
As an aside, Michael Brooks provided a vary short summary of Vedral's work and information theory in general in his book At the Edge of Uncertainty. It is an even more condensed summary than Vedral's book. But, it is worth reading if you have an interest in the field.
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- Philo
- 07-13-12
Free-ranging, creative, connecting many dots
I don't think the author establishes his thesis here, but it is a fun ride. He ranges in and out of biology, financial markets, and other areas with the common thread based on (a nimbly but simplistically-explained version of) Claude Shannon's information theory. I think sometimes he overestimates his knowledge and his (few) formulas' applications (his confident proclamations about finance being an example). But, there is virtue in this ease and simplicity, in that it allows a very loose and imaginative walk, connecting disciplines and ideas, in ways I had been searching for, and a listenable way. So, I will continue to make disciplined studies in these fields, while feeling richer from his imaginative whirlwind tour. Some thinkers serve us best by drilling unerringly into the technicalities and presenting rigorous proofs; others, like this, have a lighter step that poses possibilities to us.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Renaissance_Cajun
- 04-25-11
Excellent Content but Poor Delivery
The content of this book is presented in a manner that I believe would be friendly to people without a serious background in physics - I only took a minor in physics in college with no formal coursework in quantum mechanics, so I think I can make that judgment properly - and the notion of quantum information theory is something that relates to everyone's "everyday" life. However, the narration is annoying in a way that's hard to quantify - almost too conversational at points that should be more serious, something just "not right" for the subject matter. Still worth the listen in my opinion though - I've listened to the whole thing twice in fact..
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5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-28-15
Valuable
I greatly enjoyed this book. I was intrigued and convinced by his conclusion that the universe is essentially informational. However, he does very poorly in trying to prove that this information comes from nothing. It seemed that he was trying awfully hard to avoid divine implication. I'm not sure why science writers can do so well with the intricacies of quantum mechanics and be such poor philosophers.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Bernd Lamberts
- 04-07-15
Great book worth listening twice
I really liked the book it grew on me . it's not very technical however that's fine for an audio book
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1 person found this helpful
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- Pete
- 04-26-16
Thesis unmet; however, worth listening to.
I appreciated the extrapolation of quantum information. However, I believe the thesis was unfulfilled by the book.
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- James S.
- 08-01-20
Highly underrated
This book helped me make connections between concepts in physics that no other book has even come close to matching. For example, the connection between the curvature of space and entropy, mass and energy, black holes and holography, etc. And these connections are all made without the need of equations; just very well-written and narrated thought experiments.
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Overall
- Scott
- 07-06-11
Excellent Listen
If you are interested in learning about quantum physics, this is a great read. When you are finished with the book, you will have a general understanding of quantum physics as well as the critical role information plays in the formation of our reality. The chapters step nicely through the theory and the narrator’s slow tone is perfect for a topic that requires digestion as you listen to it. This is a book that can be understood by anyone despite the complex topic.
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7 people found this helpful