
Life as No One Knows It
The Physics of Life's Emergence
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Narrated by:
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Sara Imari Walker
About this listen
An intriguing new scientific theory that explains what life is and how it emerges.
What is life? This is among the most difficult open problems in science, right up there with the nature of consciousness and the existence of matter. All the definitions we have fall short. None help us understand how life originates or the full range of possibilities for what life on other planets might look like.
In Life as No One Knows It, physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker argues that solving the origin of life requires radical new thinking and an experimentally testable theory for what life is. This is an urgent issue for efforts to make life from scratch in laboratories here on Earth and missions searching for life on other planets.
Walker proposes a new paradigm for understanding what physics encompasses and what we recognize as life. She invites us into a world of maverick scientists working without a map, seeking not just answers but better ways to formulate the biggest questions we have about the universe. The book culminates with the bold proposal of a new theory for identifying and classifying life, one that applies not just to biological life on Earth but to any instance of life in the universe. Rigorous, accessible, and vital, Life as No One Knows It celebrates the mystery of life and the explanatory power of physics.
©2024 Sara Imari Walker (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Bracingly original. . . . This has the potential to be a game changer."—Publishers Weekly (★starred review★)
"An honorable addition to a small genre that began with Noble Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrodinger’s What Is Life? . . . Ingenious."—Kirkus Reviews
“With wit and clarity, Walker outlines a radical new approach to bridge the conceptual gap between non-life and life.”—Paul Davies, author of What’s Eating the Universe and The Demon in the Machine
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Story
For particularly brilliant theoretical physicists like James Clerk Maxwell, Paul Dirac, or Albert Einstein, the search for mathematical truths led to strange new understandings of the ultimate nature of reality. But what are these truths? What are the mysterious numbers that explain the universe? In Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them, the leading theoretical physicist and YouTube star Antonio Padilla takes us on an irreverent cosmic tour of nine of the most extraordinary numbers in physics, offering a startling picture of how the universe works.
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Exciting, Strange, Difficult = Meh
- By Michael on 05-23-23
By: Antonio Padilla
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The Disordered Cosmos
- A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred
- By: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the leading physicists of her generation, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is also one of fewer than one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black and queer feminist lineages. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein urges us to recognize how science, like most fields, is rife with racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. She lays out a bold new approach to science and society, beginning with the belief that we all have a fundamental right to know and love the night sky.
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Stunning
- By Amazon Customer on 04-05-21
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The River of Consciousness
- By: Oliver Sacks
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Kate Edgar
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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A collection of essays that displays Oliver Sacks' passionate engagement with the most compelling and seminal ideas of human endeavor: evolution, creativity, memory, time, consciousness, and experience. The River of Consciousness is one of two books Sacks was working on up to his death, and it reveals his ability to make unexpected connections, his sheer joy in knowledge, and his unceasing, timeless project to understand what makes us human.
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Important but Less Interesting
- By Michael on 11-16-17
By: Oliver Sacks
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Alien Earths
- The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos
- By: Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Riveting and timely, a look at the research that is transforming our understanding of the cosmos in the quest to discover whether we are alone.
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I really enjoyed her perspective on the subject
- By Vladimir Randy Jeune on 11-02-24
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Turning to Stone
- Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks
- By: Marcia Bjornerud
- Narrated by: Rebecca Stern
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Earth has been reinventing itself for more than four billion years, keeping a record of its experiments in the form of rocks. Yet most of us live our lives on the planet with no idea of its extraordinary history, unable to interpret the language of the rocks that surround us. Geologist Marcia Bjornerud believes that our lives can be enriched by understanding our heritage on this old and creative planet. Contrary to their reputation, rocks have eventful lives—and they intersect with our own in surprising ways.
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Very unusual book by a profound writer
- By F Shaw on 09-17-24
By: Marcia Bjornerud
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Purpose
- What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence
- By: Samuel T. Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Generations have been taught that evolution implies there is no overarching purpose to our existence. Some scientists take this logic one step further, suggesting that evolution is intrinsically atheistic and goes against the concept of God. But is this true? By integrating emerging principles from a variety of scientific disciplines—ranging from evolutionary biology to psychology—Yale Professor Samuel Wilkinson provides a framework of evolution that implies not only that there is an overarching purpose to our existence, but what this purpose is.
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Remarkably Well Written
- By Kindle Customer on 03-17-25
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The Address Book
- What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power
- By: Deirdre Mask
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names, houses their numbers, and what it reveals about class, race, power, and identity. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.
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Simply OK
- By CJFLA on 07-18-20
By: Deirdre Mask
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Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- By: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
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A rare glimpse into the inner world of physics
- By Joe on 12-08-18
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Lucid Dying
- The New Science Revolutionizing How We Understand Life and Death
- By: Sam Parnia MD PhD
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Today, for the first time in history, the scientific exploration of death and what happens when we die is real, active and ongoing. Contrary to popular perceptions, this subject is no longer the remit of philosophy, religion, or personal opinion. Truly remarkable scientific discoveries that will fundamentally affect everyone’s lives now and in the future are taking place, yet very few people are aware of them. Most people—including scientists and doctors—maintain strong beliefs about death and its experience. Those beliefs are rooted in traditional, and often cultural, notions of death.
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Excited to See Scientific Rigor Applied to This Vital Topic
- By Mav on 08-27-24
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A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence
- What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going
- By: Michael Wooldridge
- Narrated by: Glen McCready
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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From Oxford's leading AI researcher comes a fun and accessible tour through the history and future of one of the most cutting edge and misunderstood field in science: artificial intelligence.
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very basic.
- By Placeholder on 11-11-21
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Civilized to Death
- The Price of Progress
- By: Christopher Ryan
- Narrated by: Christopher Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Most of us have instinctive evidence the world is ending - balmy December days, face-to-face conversation replaced with heads-to-screens zomboidism, a world at constant war, a political system in disarray. We hear some myths and lies so frequently that they feel like truths: Civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment. Progress is undeniable. Count your blessings. You’re lucky to be alive here and now. Civilized to Death counters the idea that progress is inherently good, arguing that the "progress" defining our age is analogous to an advancing disease.
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I couldn't stop listening.
- By Andrew in Ohio on 10-08-19
By: Christopher Ryan
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The Human Tide
- How Population Shaped the Modern World
- By: Paul Morland
- Narrated by: Zeb Soanes
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The rise and fall of the British Empire; the emergence of America as a superpower; the ebb and flow of global challenges from Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Soviet Russia. These are the headlines of history, but they cannot be properly grasped without understanding the role that population has played. The Human Tide shows how periods of rapid population transition - a phenomenon that first emerged in the British Isles but gradually spread across the globe - shaped the course of world history.
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dry
- By Ralph C. on 05-02-19
By: Paul Morland
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Our Fragile Moment
- How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis
- By: Michael E. Mann
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The conditions that allowed humans to live on this earth are fragile, incredibly so. Climate variability has at times created new niches that humans or their ancestors could potentially exploit, and challenges that at times have spurred innovation. But there’s a relatively narrow envelope of climate variability within which human civilization remains viable. And our survival depends on conditions remaining within that range. In this book, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann will arm listeners with the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis.
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Outstanding
- By R.C. Olson on 12-30-24
By: Michael E. Mann
What listeners say about Life as No One Knows It
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- Amanda N
- 09-11-24
Amazing
This is such an interesting concept that not only challenges the growth of our current understanding but provides a very interesting philosophy of how to perceive life. I will certainly listen to this again over time.
Personally, understanding how important the passing of time and the building of information are gives me great comfort. Now knowing how even the mundane things in life are actually so critically important and everlasting is a game changer. I have always felt that on a spiritual level but now can directly connect that to reality.
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- Ty Sowry
- 11-14-24
Fantastic introduction to Assembly Theory
Great book introducing an emerging idea of life and the physics that governs it. Assembly Theory is innovative, fresh, and deeply intriguing. The writing is engaging and the narration quite pleasant. 10/10, will read again, highly recommend.
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- Gustavo Medina Tanco
- 11-09-24
Superficial
The objective of the book is not very clear. Furthermore, it lacks depth. It sounds like a forced collection of trivial scientific facts coming from a broad area of physics, not clearly related to the subject suggested by the title, and not well justified speculations, all presented superficially. The voice, cadence and lack of luster of the reader makes the experience even worse.
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- Sequoia Spencer
- 08-09-24
very interesting
Interesting and entertaining, could have been longer. I love it when the author narrates.
I would recommend.
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- John linden
- 09-10-24
Fascinating thought patterns
Engaging and thought provoking views on the universe. A great way of explaining we don't know what we don't know.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-19-24
I hope there's more to come.
I've enjoyed following Sara Walker's work since her Big Biology interview several years ago. I love her way of thinking and find her theories thought provoking. I think the book was less illuminating and more confusing than her various podcast appearances. I was hoping for a deep dive into how assembly theory worked. This book felt like an introduction, and the audio reading was fairly monotoned and staccato. In the end, I hope she writes another and keeps at it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-27-24
Very interesting
Great primer on assembly theory. The theory treats life as the proverbial ship of Theseus, constantly reconstituting itself but having identity as a lineage of information for making more things like it. It defines life in terms of assembly number, or how many steps of recursively constructed objects is required to make an object, where a higher assembly number can only come from life.
Candidly, I had a lot of questions. A standard thought experiment in physics is the "Boltzman brain" that imagines a fully formed brain complete with current memory popping into existence. The author says it is not possible, but in an infinite universe, it is not clear why that is the case. Unfortunately, this book had more filler than answers to these questions. It tantalized with the key questions -- what is information? what is causation? -- without necessarily answering them. Still, it gave a lot to think about and research. Recommended.
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- Donna
- 12-06-24
Too dense for me
Incredibly intelligent woman with a great voice. As much as I tried for weeks forcing myself to listen, i just had to stop. I thought after listening to her on StarTalk I’d be captivated by her argument. Alas it is just to in the weeds for me to enjoy.
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- Datta
- 04-26-25
Deep but too long winded
Very strong content but the author touches too any tangential topics . Refers too many collaborators and other scientists, tries to touch too many ideas before getting to her point. At times it’s hard to keep up from sentence to sentence. Get to the point quickly and keep the references contextual
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- J. Doggett
- 10-02-24
A new approach to Origin of Life research
I found this to be an excellent introduction to a novel approach to origin of life research. It was credible, well thought out, and supported with solid reasoning. My only detraction would be that it was narrated by the author, and not very well. She should have enlisted a professional narrator,
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1 person found this helpful