With Royal Society Professor of astronomy, Sir Martin Rees, making
waves in the press with his claim that life, the universe and
everything may, after all, be little more than a complex computer
programme, Poidevin's book on time and space is more topical than
ever. Poidevin asks few questions that haven't been looked at since
Aristotle. The strength of his book lies in a clear, lucid style
that makes easy reading of what must be the hardest notions in
philosophy and physics: do we exist, is time-travel possible? How
can we ever know anything for certain? The nature of time and
space, indeed, the very fabric of reality are now being examined as
never before. Poidevin cannot offer conclusive answers regarding
reality, his book however, ensures that when it comes to discussing
areas of physics few scientists really clearly understand you'll be
able to do so knowledgeably and with aplomb. (Kirkus UK)
Space and time are the most fundamental features of our experience
of the world, and yet they are also the most perplexing. Does time
really flow, or is that simply an illusion? Did time have a
beginning? What does it mean to say that time has a direction? Does
space have boundaries, or is it infinite? Is change really
possible? Could space and time exist in the absence of any objects
or events? Are our space and time unique, or could there be other,
parallel worlds with their own space and time? What, in the end,
are space and time? Do they really exist, or are they simply the
constructions of our minds? Robin Le Poidevin provides a clear,
witty, and stimulating introduction to these deep questions, and
many other mind-boggling puzzles and paradoxes. He gives a vivid
sense of the difficulties raised by our ordinary ideas about space
and time, but he also gives us the basis to think about these
problems independently, avoiding large amounts of jargon and
technicality. His book is an invitation to think philosophically
rather than a sustained argument for particular conclusions, but Le
Poidevin does advance and defend a number of controversial views.
He argues, for example, that time does not actually flow, that it
is possible for space and time to be both finite and yet be without
boundaries, and that causation is the key to an understanding of
one of the deepest mysteries of time: its direction. Travels in
Four Dimensions draws on a variety of vivid examples and stories
from science, history, and literature to bring its questions to
life. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required to enjoy this
book. The universe might seem very different after reading it.
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