The Universe That Discovered Itself,9780192862006

The Universe That Discovered Itself

by
Edition: 2nd
ISBN13: 9780192862006
ISBN10: 0192862006
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2000-05-16
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
  • Free Shipping Icon

    This Item Qualifies for Free Shipping!*

    *Excludes marketplace orders.

List Price: $17.80

Rent Book

Select for Price
Add to Cart
There was a problem. Please try again later.

New Book

We're Sorry
Sold Out

Used Book

We're Sorry
Sold Out

eBook

We're Sorry
Not Available

Buy from our Marketplace starting at $8.80

How Marketplace Works:

  • This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
  • Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
  • Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
  • Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
  • Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.

Summary

A retitled and wholly revised edition of "The World Within the World, " Barrow's extraordinary study of how we view the universe, this book traces the development of the human concept of what the laws of nature are and how we might better come to know them. Illustrations.

Author Biography


John Barrow is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

Table of Contents

Prologue
1(29)
Introduction
1(2)
The urge to predict and control
3(2)
The paradox of predictability
5(2)
The external world: a first approximation
7(2)
Description or prescription?
9(1)
The different views of science
10(3)
Pros and cons
13(8)
Labels
21(1)
Accidental, legal, and statistical laws
22(4)
Intelligibility
26(4)
Time past
30(64)
Primitive beginnings
30(4)
Social and religious precursors
34(5)
Chinese science
39(3)
The Greeks
42(7)
Plato
49(4)
Aristotle
53(6)
Aristotle's laws of motion
59(2)
The Aristotelian legacy
61(3)
Laws and rules of Nature
64(3)
Newton, the Newtonians, and Newtonianism
67(17)
The rationality of the world
84(6)
Darwinian laws
90(4)
Unseen worlds
94(80)
Mechanism without a mechanism
94(1)
Force fields
95(3)
Electricity and magnetism
98(5)
The Sandemanian world-view
103(1)
The end of visualization?
104(2)
Mathematical modelling
106(2)
Space and time intertwine
108(7)
Curved space-time
115(6)
Invariance
121(3)
Symmetry
124(3)
The laws of chance
127(5)
Thermodynamics
132(5)
Untidy desks
137(2)
Demons at work
139(3)
The eternal return
142(1)
Quantum laws: Nature East of Eden
143(1)
Schizophrenic matter
144(6)
Intrinsic uncertainty
150(4)
Waves of chance
154(3)
The nature of quantum reality
157(1)
The `EPR paradox'
158(6)
That crazy mixed-up cat
164(2)
Quantum ailurophobia
166(2)
How many worlds do we need?
168(3)
The quantum legislature
171(3)
Inner space and outer space
174(96)
Setting the scene
174(2)
A world within the world
176(9)
Dissecting the atom
185(2)
Brave new world
187(2)
Incestuous matter?
189(2)
Quarks
191(1)
Quantum fields
192(3)
The fundamental legislation of inner space
195(5)
Unification
200(6)
A new dimension
206(3)
Why are there three dimensions of space?
209(1)
What are the ultimate building blocks of matter?
210(4)
The second string revolution
214(2)
The inner space `credo'
216(2)
Outer space
218(2)
Unique aspects of cosmology
220(9)
The goals of theory
229(3)
The legacy of the steady statesmen
232(3)
Chaotic cosmology
235(3)
Inflation
238(4)
The future
242(5)
Questions about the superfuture
247(1)
Creation out of nothing?
247(13)
Cosmology and the law
260(2)
Time travel
262(4)
The nature of time
266(2)
Where have all the dimensions gone?
268(2)
Why are the laws of Nature mathematical?
270(58)
A puzzle
270(2)
What is mathematics?
272(15)
A shock for the formalists
287(3)
Consequences for physical science
290(3)
What is truth?
293(2)
Computability
295(4)
Inherently difficult problems
299(6)
Maxwell on determinism
305(6)
Chaos
311(2)
Equations
313(2)
Law without law
315(9)
Are the laws of Nature computable?
324(2)
The cosmic code---a final speculation
326(2)
Are there any laws of Nature?
328(42)
Heretical notions
328(2)
Between a rock and a hard place
330(5)
Too many laws?
335(1)
Spontaneous order
336(3)
Does life transcend the laws of Nature?
339(2)
Accidental symmetries
341(1)
Places where the laws of Nature break down
342(5)
Black hole ontogenesis
347(3)
Cosmic censorship
350(4)
Can we probe a singularity?
354(1)
Staccato time
355(3)
Constants of Nature
358(3)
Weights and measures
361(2)
Varying constants?
363(3)
A window onto extra dimensions?
366(2)
The outer limits
368(2)
Selection effects
370(58)
Patterns in the trees
370(8)
The phantoms of the laboratory
378(1)
Errors
379(4)
The `Groucho Marx Effect'
383(3)
Beauty
386(8)
The Anthropic Principle
394(7)
Coincidences
401(2)
The speculative Anthropic Principle
403(1)
Life and observership
404(3)
Is the Anthropic Principle an argument for the existence of God?
407(3)
The time of your life
410(3)
Cosmology, stars, and life
413(8)
The misanthropists
421(7)
Select Bibliography 428(13)
Index 441

An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.

This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.

By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.

Digital License

You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.

More details can be found here.

A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.

Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.

Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.