∎ [PDF] Free The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene 9780307265630 Books

The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene 9780307265630 Books

Download As PDF : The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene 9780307265630 Books

The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene 9780307265630 Books

I can't say anything in this review that has not already been said dozens of times in the hundreds of reviews here. In microcosm, this is a well written account of some of the research being done on the bleeding edge of the physics of multiple universes. Like his other books Dr. Greene has written for the layman and tries, and in most cases succeeds in making difficult concepts relatively clear in layman's terms. But it is wise to keep in mind that almost all of what is being talked about in this volume is entirely theoretical. Some physicists do not agree with Dr. Greene's String Theorist approach.

Still it is interesting to see the direction being taken by some of the great names in Cosmology and Quantum Physics. While there is little chance that any of this material will be proven through experimentation in our lifetime, the consideration of such concepts fires the imagination and stimulates the creative mind to consider realms well outside the box of everyday thought.


Tags : Buy The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders,Brian Greene,The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos,Knopf,0307265633,SCI055000,Physics - General,Cosmology,General relativity (Physics),Physics - Philosophy,Physics;Philosophy.,Quantum theory,Quantum theory.,Cosmology & the universe,Cosmology (Astronomy),Philosophy,Physics,SCIENCE Cosmology,SCIENCE Physics Astrophysics,SCIENCE Physics General,SCIENCE Physics Quantum Theory,Science,ScienceMathematics,SciencePhysics - General,Universe

The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Brian Greene 9780307265630 Books Reviews

Dr Greene has written a book that deals with the multiverse and in particular, and the reason I bought the book,
is he deals with the possibilities of us being in a SImulation. (Look out, Twilight Zone!) Chapter 10 deals with the concept of what is reality -- since all is filtered thru our brains/senses -- what are we not seeing, or how are we seeing whatever is there? A case in point is the movie Thirteenth Floor, as well as Matrix, wherein the main characters are not dealing with 3D physical reality -- they have more of a SImulation, and this idea intrigues Dr Greene.

The application of the idea also intrigued the author of Virtual Earth Graduate and he (Hegland) goes into quite some detail in 2 chapters relating how Earth really could be a SImulation, albeit a very sophisticated one. And there are many physicists who are now saying the same thing about Earth and offer credible reasons for thinking thus... including Nick Bostrom.

While the idea sounds silly on the surface, one of Dr Greene's key points (there are several) is that physical constants of the Universe should not be changing -- the speed of light, the decay rate of radioactive material, C-14 dating, etc... and they are -- which would happen if we were in a SImulation whose 'envelope was being pushed' by the mathematical rounding errors that are beginning to (eventually) overwork the system, and Dr Green reminds us "Logic alone cannot ensure that we are not in a computer SImulation." (p 289). To really get a sense of this issue, one needs to see the movie Thirteenth Floor.

And if we are simulated, is the next level 'up' which drives our SImulation itself simulated? And then do we live in a SImulated Multiverse? And what happens when one of the simulations crashes? Dr Greene's book is fascinating in this regard. He also looks at the Double-slit Problem, Parallel Universes, Black Holes, Branes and Strings.

Dr Greene's other main point was that over time, with mathematics that is not carried to decimal points with infinite precision, there are going to be recursions of the same formulas and their outputs which will suffer rounding and approximations to the point where internal consistency is lost, sections of the SImulation would become incoherent, and the Simulation will crash -- is that what happened to the Maya back in AD 800 when they just all disappeared?
(See Virtual Earth Graduate for a better, longer review of this issue.)

Other physicists suggest that the Earth may be in a quantum computer running "qubits" and they theorize that just the Earth (not the universe) would be scalable to run within the memory confines of the largest computer that we can build nowadays... and all it would have to do is create just those scenes into which the ensouled human moves, suggesting as did JIm Elvidge in The Universe Solved that many humans would be Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) as in any VR Game. If this idea fascinates you, check out those books mentioned. Parts of the concept are not froo-froo and this gives cause to reflect...

In short, if quantum physics annoys you, or you just can't feature some of the strange postulates, then try Dr Paul LaViolette's Genesis of the Cosmos book -- he says that Subquantum Kinetics (using the ether) has better answers than does quantum physics with its Dark Matter...
I enjoy reading about parallel and multiverses that come about from some areas in current theoretical research in fundamental physics. I selected this book of the many on the topic of parallel universes since it was written by Brian Greene who is a string theorist and is working on a variety of these topics. He is a person truly gifted with explaining complex topics in physics in ways that make them easier to understand. I have enjoyed his book "The Elegant Universe" on string/M-theory along with the NOVA series DVD's on this book. I also enjoyed his NOVA series DVD's based on his second book "The Fabric of the Cosmos". With this in mind I read The Hidden Reality Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. Greene in this book lays out and explains nine different versions of parallel universes. The deep laws are those of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Some physicists would say that string/M-theory which he describes are not deep laws. The explanations of all subjects are as expected clear and supported with an excellent notes section in the back. If you want to learn about parallel universes and the ideas that they come from this is an excellent book to read. That's why the book gets a four star rating.

The subtitle says the Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos. All nine of the parallel universes are based on speculative physics. Some much more speculative than others.That these theories are speculative he admits throughout the book for which he deserves credit. However, in reading this book I got the feeling that this book was the long version of a grant proposal submitted to be funded. This comes about in the numerous places in which he says much has been done but give us more time to work on these ideas. Part of the reason is that some of the parallel universes he describe depend upon string/M-theory which is a controversial topic in physics. This is because in the 30-40 years of its existence, string/M-theories have yet to make any unique predictions that have been observed experimentally in support of these theories. The theory so far is not even falsifiable. Lee Smolin addresses these concerns in his book "Trouble with Physics" as does Peter Woit in his book "Not Even Wrong". The same criticism is also true for the multiverses that come from inflationary. cosmology. However, there are a large number of sharp physicists working in these areas so it is unclear what the future holds. Parallel universe's from Hugh Everett's thesis work on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, now known as the many worlds interpretation is another area of current research in physics and philosophy. This work is based on the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. Greene suggests an experiment in the notes to test this theory, but it is unclear if this has been clearly thought out and if this experiment is even possible.

The discussion on computer simulated universes is interesting. It describes a universe similar to that in the movie "The Thirteenth Floor". While not a parallel universe in ways that physics suggests a simulated universe would make the ultimate computer game. A virtual reality that could absorb the programmers life into the simulation. Almost the ultimate drug. Live life to its fullest would have an additional impetus if you live in a simulated universe so that the creator of the simulation would not get bored with you and stop the simulation. However, since you can't prove that you are living in a simulated universe, do you need to live a life to satisfy the simulator? Interesting.

The final chapter entitled "The Limits of Inquiry Multiverses and the Future" is well written and makes an interesting conclusion to the book.
I can't say anything in this review that has not already been said dozens of times in the hundreds of reviews here. In microcosm, this is a well written account of some of the research being done on the bleeding edge of the physics of multiple universes. Like his other books Dr. Greene has written for the layman and tries, and in most cases succeeds in making difficult concepts relatively clear in layman's terms. But it is wise to keep in mind that almost all of what is being talked about in this volume is entirely theoretical. Some physicists do not agree with Dr. Greene's String Theorist approach.

Still it is interesting to see the direction being taken by some of the great names in Cosmology and Quantum Physics. While there is little chance that any of this material will be proven through experimentation in our lifetime, the consideration of such concepts fires the imagination and stimulates the creative mind to consider realms well outside the box of everyday thought.