Synopses & Reviews
From one of our foremost thinkers and public intellectuals, a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos.
What is time?
This deceptively simple question is the single most important problem facing science as we probe more deeply into the fundamentals of the universe. All of the mysteries physicists and cosmologists face — from the Big Bang to the future of the universe, from the puzzles of quantum physics to the unification of forces and particles — come down to the nature of time.
The fact that time is real may seem obvious. You experience it passing every day when you watch clocks tick, bread toast, and children grow. But most physicists, from Newton to Einstein to today's quantum theorists, have seen things differently. The scientific case for time being an illusion is formidable. That is why the consequences of adopting the view that time is real are revolutionary.
Lee Smolin, author of the controversial bestseller The Trouble with Physics, argues that a limited notion of time is holding physics back. Its time for a major revolution in scientific thought. The reality of time could be the key to the next big breakthrough in theoretical physics.
What if the laws of physics themselves were not timeless? What if they could evolve? Time Reborn offers a radical new approach to cosmology that embraces the reality of time and opens up a whole new universe of possibilities. There are few ideas that, like our notion of time, shape our thinking about literally everything, with huge implications for physics and beyond — from climate change to the economic crisis. Smolin explains in lively and lucid prose how the true nature of time impacts our world.
Review
"With rare conceptual daring, Smolin beckons toward a new perspective for doing cosmological theory, a perspective allowing Leibniz's principle of sufficient reason to open surprising possibilities. This horizon not only readmits time as a reality; it enshrines time as the reality, the indispensable point of flux allowing everything else, including the laws of matter and energy, to evolve and change. Embracing time as real, Smolin asserts, will allow cosmologists to convert laws once regarded as timeless into the contingent data they need to develop testable new theories of galactic evolution. More immediately, Smolin anticipates that this paradigm shift will help climatologists understand global warming and economists to ameliorate financial turbulence. A thrilling intellectual ride!" Booklist, Starred Review
Review
"This is a work as much of philosophy as science. Despite the absence of mathematics, it requires close attention, but readers who make the effort will absorb a flood of ideas from an imaginative thinker." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Smolin makes an energetic case for a paradigm shift that could produce mind-boggling changes in the way we experience our world."
Publishers Weekly
Review
"Smolin provides a much-needed dose of clarity about time, with implications that go far beyond physics to economics, politics, and personal philosophy. An essential book for physicists and non-physicists alike, Time Reborn offers a path to better theory and potentially to a better society." Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget and The Fate of Power and the Future of Dignity
Review
"Applying his deep mastery of cosmology, quantum mechanics, general relativity and all the diverse attempts at quantum gravity, in Time Reborn Lee Smolin weaves a convincing and entirely new view of reality. He shows us how contemporary physics eliminates time and argues persuasively that any adequate cosmology rests on making time and 'now' fundamental."
Stuart Kauffman, University of Vermont, author of At Home in the Universe
Synopsis
One of our foremost thinkers and public intellectuals offers a radical new view of the nature of time, and explores its implications for everything from physics and cosmology to economics and climate change.
Synopsis
andquot;If you are looking for a bracing alternative vision of physics built from the ground up, Smolin's Time Reborn will take you to the mountaintop.andquot; andmdash; NPR
What is time?
Itandrsquo;s the sort of question we rarely ask because it seems so obvious. And yet, to a physicist, time is simply a human construct and an illusion. If you could somehow get outside the universe and observe it from there, you would see that every moment has always existed and always will. Lee Smolin disagrees, and in Time Reborn he lays out the case why.
Recent developments in physics and cosmology point toward the reality of time and the openness of the future. Smolinandrsquo;s groundbreaking theory postulates that physical laws can evolve over time and the future is not yet determined. Newtonandrsquo;s fundamental laws may not remain so fundamental. Time Reborn serves as a popular primer and investigation of time, both what it is and how the true nature of it impacts our world.
andquot;He challenges not only Einsteinandrsquo;s relativity, but also the very notion of natural laws as immutable truths.andquot; andmdash; Economist
andldquo;One of the essential books of the twenty-first century . . . Smolin provides a much-needed dose of clarity about time, with implications that go far beyond physics to economics, politics, and personal philosophy.andrdquo; andmdash; Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget
Synopsis
In this illuminating book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that fundamental physics -- the search for the laws of nature -- losing its way. Ambitious ideas about extra dimensions, exotic particles, multiple universes, and strings have captured the publicand#8217;s imagination -- and the imagination of experts. But these ideas have not been tested experimentally, and some, like string theory, seem to offer no possibility of being tested. Yet these speculations dominate the field, attracting the best talent and much of the funding and creating a climate in which emerging physicists are often penalized for pursuing other avenues. As Smolin points out, the situation threatens to impede the very progress of science. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin offers an unblinking assessment of the troubles that face modern physics -- and an encouraging view of where the search for the next big idea may lead.
About the Author
Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist who has made influential contributions to the search for a unification of physics. He is a founding faculty member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His previous books include The Trouble with Physics, The Life of the Cosmos and Three Roads to Quantum Gravity.
Table of Contents
Prefaceand#8195;xiIntroductionand#8195;xxi
Part I
Weight: The Expulsion of Time
and#160;and#160;and#160;1.and#160;and#160;and#160;Fallingand#8195;3
and#160;and#160;and#160;2.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Disappearance of Timeand#8195;12
and#160;and#160;and#160;3.and#160;and#160;and#160;A Game of Catchand#8195;25
and#160;and#160;and#160;4.and#160;and#160;and#160;Doing Physics in a Boxand#8195;37
and#160;and#160;and#160;5.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Expulsion of Novelty and Surpriseand#8195;46
and#160;and#160;and#160;6.and#160;and#160;and#160;Relativity and Timelessnessand#8195;54
and#160;and#160;and#160;7.and#160;and#160;and#160;Quantum Cosmology and the End of Timeand#8195;76
Part II
Light: Time Reborn
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;Interlude: Einsteinand#8217;s Discontentand#8195;93
and#160;and#160;and#160;8.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Cosmological Fallacyand#8195;97
and#160;and#160;and#160;9.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Cosmological Challengeand#8195;105
and#160;and#160;and#160;10.and#160;and#160;and#160;Principles for a New Cosmologyand#8195;116
and#160;and#160;and#160;11.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Evolution of Lawsand#8195;125
and#160;and#160;and#160;12.and#160;and#160;and#160;Quantum Mechanics and the Liberation of the Atomand#8195;142
and#160;and#160;and#160;13.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Battle Between Relativity and the Quantumand#8195;156
and#160;and#160;and#160;14.and#160;and#160;and#160;Time Reborn from Relativityand#8195;166
and#160;and#160;and#160;15.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Emergence of Spaceand#8195;174
and#160;and#160;and#160;16.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Life and Death of the Universeand#8195;188
and#160;and#160;and#160;17.and#160;and#160;and#160;Time Reborn from Heat and Lightand#8195;195
and#160;and#160;and#160;18.and#160;and#160;and#160;Infinite Space or Infinite Time?and#8195;215
and#160;and#160;and#160;19.and#160;and#160;and#160;The Future of Timeand#8195;229
Epilogue: Thinking in Timeand#8195;254
Endnotesand#8195;275
Bibliographyand#8195;297
Acknowledgmentsand#8195;301
Indexand#8195;307