Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Brilliant and fascinating. No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting. Bill Bryson
A captivating journey to the outer frontiers of human knowledge by the popular presenter of Netflix s The Story of Maths
Ever since the dawn of civilization we have been driven by a desire to know to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? This tantalizing question has inspired scientists and functioned as a spur to innovation. Now, Marcus du Sautoy invites us to join him on a journey to the outer reaches of human understanding as there are still lots of deep mysteries waiting to be solved. Are some things beyond the predictive powers of science? Or are those challenges simply the next big discovery waiting to happen?
Du Sautoy takes us into the minds of science s greatest innovators and reveals the fraught circumstances of their discoveries. He reminds us that major breakthroughs were often ridiculed at the time of their discovery. And he carries us on a whirlwind tour of seven Edges of knowledge chaos theory, matter, quantum physics, the universe, time, consciousness and infinity --grounding a deeply personal exploration in simple concepts like the roll of dice, the notes of a cello, or how a clock measures time.
At once exhilarating, mind-bending and accessible, The Great Unknown will challenge you to think in new ways about every aspect of the known world. It gives us the tools to understand the riddles our most creative scientists are struggling to solve and invites us to consider bigger questions about who we are and the nature of God that even the most creative scientists have yet to answer definitively."
Synopsis
"Brilliant and fascinating. No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting." --Bill Bryson
A captivating journey to the outer reaches of human knowledge
Ever since the dawn of civilization we have been driven by a desire to know--to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? Are some things simply beyond the predictive powers of science? Or are those challenges the next big discovery waiting to happen?
In The Great Unknown, one of the world's most beloved mathematicians takes us into the minds of science's greatest innovators as he probes the many deep mysteries we have yet to solve. He reminds us that major breakthroughs were often ridiculed at the time of their discovery and takes us on a whirlwind tour of seven frontiers of knowledge, where scientists are grappling with the unknown. Can you locate consciousness in the brain? Is our universe infinite? What is dark energy made of? What happens to time in space? Is it possible to beat ageing?
At once exhilarating and mind-bending, The Great Unknown will challenge you to think in new ways about every aspect of the known world. It invites us to consider big questions--about who we are and the nature of God--that even the most creative scientists have yet to answer definitively.
Synopsis
"An engaging voyage into some of the great mysteries and wonders of our world." --Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dream and The Accidental Universe "No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting." --Bill Bryson Brain Pickings and Kirkus Best Science Book of the Year
Ever since the dawn of civilization we have been driven by a desire to know--to understand the physical world and the laws of nature. But are there limits to human knowledge? Are some things beyond the predictive powers of science, or are those challenges simply the next big discovery waiting to happen?
Marcus du Sautoy takes us into the minds of science's greatest innovators and reminds us that major breakthroughs were often ridiculed at the time of their discovery. Then he carries us on a whirlwind tour of seven "Edges" of knowledge - inviting us to consider the problems in quantum physics, cosmology, probability and neuroscience that continue to bedevil scientists who are at the front of their fields. He grounds his personal exploration of some of science's thorniest questions in simple concepts like the roll of dice, the notes of a cello, or how a clock measures time.
Exhilarating, mind-bending, and compulsively readable, The Great Unknown challenges us to think in new ways about every aspect of the known world as it invites us to consider big questions - about who we are and the nature of God - that no one has yet managed to answer definitively.