When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Is the apparent 'grand design' of our universe evidence for a benevolent creator who set things in motion? Or does science offer another explanation? In The Grand Design, the most recent scientific thinking about the mysteries of the universe is presented in language marked by both brilliance and simplicity. Model dependent realism, the multiverse, the top-down theory of cosmology, and the unified M-theory - all are revealed here. This is the first major work in nearly a decade by one of the world's greatest thinkers. A succinct, startling and lavishly illustrated guide to discoveries that are altering our understanding and threatening some of our most cherished belief systems, The Grand Design is a book that will inform - and provoke - like no other.

An intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives.
Successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear causes, when actually they are profoundly influenced by randomness and chance. Here, with the sense of narrative and imaginative approach of a storyteller, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how wine ratings, corporate success, school grades, and political polls are less reliable than we believe. Showing us the true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow provides the tools we need for more informed decision making. From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's insights will intrigue, awe, and inspire.

'Both a brilliant scholar and a great writer, Leonard Mlodinow guides us through the fascinating science of what we feel, and why - and what we can do about it. I learned a lot from this wonderful book' Rick Hanson We've been told we need to master our emotions and think rationally to succeed. But cutting-edge science shows that feelings are every bit as important to our success as thinking. You make hundreds of decisions every day, from what to eat for breakfast to how to influence people, and not one of them could be made without the essential component of emotion. It has long been held that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behaviour. But as best-selling author Leonard Mlodinow tells us, extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking. How can you connect better with others? How can you improve your relationship to frustration, fear, and anxiety? What can you do to live a happier life? The answers lie in understanding emotions. Taking us on a journey from the labs of pioneering scientists to real-world scenarios that have flirted with disaster, Mlodinow shows us how our emotions help, why they sometimes hurt, and what we can make of the difference. Cutting-edge research and deep insights into our evolution, biology, and neuroscience promise to help us understand our emotions better and maximize their benefits. Told with characteristic clarity and fascinating stories, Mlodinow's exploration of the new science of feelings is an essential guide to making the most of one of nature's greatest gifts to us.

Winner of the 2013 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
Over the past two decades of neurological research, it has become increasingly clear that the way we experience the world--our perception, behavior, memory, and social judgment--is largely driven by the mind's subliminal processes and not by the conscious ones, as we have long believed. As in the bestselling "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives," Leonard Mlodinow employs his signature concise, accessible explanations of the most obscure scientific subjects to unravel the complexities of the subliminal mind. In the process he shows the many ways it influences how we misperceive our relationships with family, friends, and business associates; how we misunderstand the reasons for our investment decisions; and how we misremember important events--along the way, changing our view of ourselves and the world around us.

#1 "NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLER
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent "grand design" of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion--or does science offer another explanation? In this startling and lavishly illustrated book, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most recent scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity.
According to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history. The authors explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the early universe, and show how quantum theory predicts the "multiverse"--the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature. They conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing our universe that is currently the "only" viable candidate for a "theory of everything" the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, which, if confirmed, would represent the ultimate triumph of human reason.

The bestselling author of The Drunkard's Walk unlocks the secrets of flexible thinking What do Pokemon Go and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein have in common? Why do some businesses survive, and others fail at the first sign of change? What gives the human brain the edge over computers? The answer: Elastic Thinking. It's an ability we all possess, and one that we can all learn to hone in order to succeed, at work and in our everyday lives. Here Leonard Mlodinow, whose own flexible thinking has taken him from physics professor to TV scriptwriter and bestselling author, takes us on a revelatory exploration of how elasticity works. He draws on cutting-edge neuroscience to show how, millennia ago, our brains developed an affinity for novelty, idea generation and exploration. He discovers how flexible thinking enabled some of the greatest artists, writers, musicians and innovators to create paradigm shifts. He investigates the organisations that have demonstrated an elastic ability to adapt to new technologies. And he reveals how you can test your own brain power and increase your capacity for elastic thinking. By uncovering the secrets of our flexible minds, Elastic explains how to thrive in an endlessly dynamic world, at a time when an ability to adapt is more important than ever before.

Stephen Hawking's worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author's engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book's most important concepts. This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author's wish to make its content accessible to readers - as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings. Although this book is literally somewhat 'briefer', it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own, including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory. This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete, unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book-but even more so - A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space. Thirty-eight full-colour illustrations enhance the text and make A Briefer History of Time an exhilarating addition in its own right to the literature of science.

Some of the brightest minds in science have passed through the halls of the California Institute of Technology. In the early 1980s, Leonard Mlodinow joined their ranks to begin a postdoctoral fellowship. Afraid he was not smart enough to be there, despite his groundbreaking Ph.D. thesis, he took his insecurities to Richard Feynman, Caltech's intimidating resident genius and iconoclast. So began a pivotal year in a young man's life. Though a series of fascinating exchanges, Mlodinow and Feynman delve into the nature of science, creativity, love mathematics, happiness, God, art, pleasures and ambition, producing a moving portrait of a friendship and an affecting account of Feynman's final creative years.

Leonard Mlodinow's The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives is an exhilarating, eye-opening guide to understanding our random world. Randomness and uncertainty surround everything we do. So why are we so bad at understanding them? The same tools that help us understand the random paths of molecules can be applied to the randomness that governs so many aspects of our everyday lives, from winning the lottery to road safety, and reveals the truth about the success of sporting heroes and film stars, and even how to make sense of a blood test. The Drunkard's Walk reveals the psychological illusions that prevent us understanding everything from stock-picking to wine-tasting - read it, or risk becoming another victim of chance. 'A wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives' Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time

CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, DAILY TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN AND BBC SCIENCE FOCUS 'An intimate, unique, and inspiring perspective on the life and work of one of the greatest minds of our time. Filled with insight, humour, and never-before-told stories, it's a view of Stephen Hawking that few have seen and all will appreciate' James Clear, author of Atomic Habits An icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius: not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a position in popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and their collaboration, offering an intimate account of this giant of science. The two met in 2003, when Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him, the follow up to the bestselling A Brief History of Time. As they spent years working on a second book, The Grand Design, they forged a deep connection and Leonard gained a much better understanding of Stephen's daily life and struggles -- as well as his compassion and good humour. Together they obsessed over the perfect sentence, debated the physics, and occasionally punted on Cambridge's waterways with champagne and strawberries. In time, Leonard was able to finish Stephen's jokes, chide his sporadic mischief, and learn how the hardships of his illness helped forge that unique perspective on the universe. By weaving together their shared story with a clear-sighted portrayal of Hawking's scientific achievements, Mlodinow creates a beautiful portrait of Stephen Hawking as a brilliant, impish and generous man whose life was not only exceptional but also genuinely inspiring.

Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard's Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking) and War of the Worldviews (with Deepak Chopra) here examines how the unconscious mind shapes our experience of the world, and how, for instance, we often misperceive everything from our relationships with family, friends and business associates, the reasons for our investment decisions, to our own past. Your preference in politicians, the amount of tip you give the waiter-all our judgments and perceptions-reflect the workings of our mind on two levels, the conscious, of which we are aware, and the unconscious, which is hidden from us. The latter has long been the subject of speculation, but over the past two decades scientific researchers have developed remarkable new tools for probing the hidden, or subliminal, workings of the mind. The result of this explosion of research is a new science of the unconscious, and a sea change in our understanding of how the mind affects the way we live. These cutting-edge discoveries have revealed that the way we experience life-our perception, behavior, memory, and social judgment-is largely driven by the mind's subliminal processes and not by the conscious ones, as we have long believed. Employing his trademark wit and his lucid, accessible explanations of the most obscure scientific subjects, Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a tour of this research, unraveling the complexities of the subliminal self, increasing our understanding of how the human mind works, and how we interact with friends, strangers, spouses and coworkers. In the process he changes our view of ourselves and the world around us. Leonard Mlodinow received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of California, Berkeley, was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute, and now teaches at the California Institute of Technology. His previous books include War of the Worldviews (with Deepak Chopra); the two national best sellers The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking) and The Drunkard's Walk (a New York Times Notable Book and short-listed for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books); Feynman's Rainbow; and Euclid's Window. He also wrote for the television series MacGyver and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

From One of the Most Brilliant Minds of Our Time
Comes a Book that Clarifies His Most Important Ideas
Stephen Hawking's worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time," " remains one of the landmark volumes in scientific writing of our time. But for years readers have asked for a more accessible formulation of its key concepts--the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, and the history and future of the universe.
Professor Hawking's response is this new work that will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space....
Although "briefer," this book is much more than a mere explanation of Hawking's earlier work. A Briefer History of Time both clarifies and expands on the great subjects of the original, and records the latest developments in the field--from string theory to the search for a unified theory of all the forces of physics. Thirty-seven full-color illustrations enhance the text and make A Briefer History of Time an exhilarating and must-have addition in its own right to the great literature of science and ideas.
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Euclid’s Window takes us on a brilliantly entertaining journey through 3,000 years of genius and geometry, introducing the people who revolutionized the way we see the world around us.

Ever since Pythagorus hatched a ‘little scheme’ to invent a set of rules describing the entire universe, scientists and mathematicians have tried to seek order in the cosmos: Euclid, who in 300BC defined the nature of space; Descartes, a fourteenth-century gambler and idler who invented the graph; Gauss, the fifteen-year-old genius who discovered that space is curved; Einstein, who added time to the equation; and Witten, who ushered in today’s weird new world of extra, twisted dimensions. They all show how geometry is the key to understanding the universe. Once you have viewed life through Euclid’s Window, it will never be the same again.

An icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius: not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a position in popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and their friendship, offering an intimate account of this giant of science. The two met in 2003, when Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him, the follow up to the bestselling A Brief History of Time. As they spent years working on a second book, The Grand Design, they forged a deep connection and Leonard gained a much better understanding of Stephen's daily life and struggles - as well as his compassion and good humour. Together they obsessed over the perfect sentence, debated the physics, and occasionally punted on Cambridge's waterways with champagne and strawberries. In time, Leonard was able to finish Stephen's jokes, chide his sporadic mischief, and learn how the hardships of his illness helped forge that unique perspective on the universe. By weaving together their shared story with a clear-sighted portrayal of Hawking's scientific achievements, Mlodinow creates a beautiful portrait of Stephen Hawking as a brilliant, impish and generous man whose life was not only exceptional but also genuinely inspiring.

Two bestselling authors first met in a televised Caltech debate on "the future of God," one an articulate advocate for spirituality, the other a prominent physicist. This remarkable book is the product of that serendipitous encounter and the contentious--but respectful--clash of worldviews that grew along with their friendship.
In "War of the Worldviews" these two great thinkers battle over the cosmos, evolution and life, the human brain, and God, probing the fundamental questions that define the human experience.
How did the universe emerge?
What is the nature of time?
What is life?
Did Darwin go wrong?
What makes us human?
What is the connection between mind and brain?
Is God an illusion?
This extraordinary book will fascinate millions of readers of science and spirituality alike, as well as anyone who has ever asked themselves, What does it mean that I am alive?

"From the Hardcover edition."