Into the Unknown

The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos

De: Kelsey Johnson

Narrado por: Kelsey Johnson

A leading astronomer and gifted teacher takes listeners on a wondrous tour of how science confronts the big questions—about the universe’s origins, destiny, and fundamental nature—and how it contends with the limits of our knowledge

Humans have learned a lot about the world around us and the universe beyond. We have had powerful insights and created profound theories about the universe and everything in it. Surely the ultimate theory must be waiting, just beyond our current knowledge.

Well, maybe. In Into the Unknown, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson takes us to the edge of scientific understanding about the universe: What caused the Big Bang? What happens inside black holes? Are there other dimensions? She doesn’t just celebrate what we know but rather what we don’t, and asks what it means if we never find that knowledge. Exploring the convergence of science, philosophy, and theology, Johnson argues we must reckon with possibilities—including those that may be beyond human comprehension. The very places where we run smack into total ignorance are the places where the most important questions—about the philosophy of knowledge, the nature of our cosmos, and even the existence of God—await.

As accessible as it is profound, Into the Unknown invites each of us to join in the great quest for knowledge.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Dr. Kelsey Johnson (P)2024 Basic Books

Loved it

Absolutely loved learning more about all the craziness in our (and possibly other) universe(s)! Author was excellent, and a solid narrator (which isn’t always the case when authors narrate their own books). Thoroughly enjoyed and will listen again in the future to pick up more details I probably missed the first time around.

Wonderful listen, love the supplementary materials!

I could go on about this for a while but the short of it is that I feel like I have always had these kinds of questions about the universe and our place in it but lacked the ability or opportunity to vocalize them because I do not move in circles where these kinds of conversations are had. So I have no one to ask and I wouldn’t know where to start anyway. This book started and finished the kinds of conversations I’ve been wanting to have but didn’t know how to start. (probably a little more math than I would ask about but all of the content that explained the laws of nature and the various concepts through the book was excellent!).

There were some heavy topics that I had to listen to twice, but the author is engaging and does not go overboard on the math. It’s just enough to understand the larger concept and other related ideas. I really gained a lot from listening to this and want to hear/read more from this author. Her depth of knowledge and ability to present it in speaking format is incredible.

informative and insightful

Excellent content and delivery. Concepts are explained in a way that is easy to understand without oversimplifying. I found it provided insight without dictating what I need to believe or think. Definitely a multi-listen book.

A superficial summary of Physics

It seems like so many physicist these days are trying to write these kind of Lehman’s perspective type of books, but they really don’t say anything original or new. When I read a book trying to describe the implication of modern physics in our everyday understanding of reality, I expect something of a unique perspective from the author not just an overview of what physics already knows. There’s a million books like that, so how about try and tell us your unique take on its implications philosophically or existentially? I think that Kelsey has a unique perspective, but she’s unwilling to really deep dive into it for whatever reason (afraid of sticking her neck out amongst her peers?). Physicists are showing such a lack of courage these days challenging the gatekeepers so instead she chooses to take a very patronizing tone throughout the entire book, treating us like children. Physics is easy to understand and explain mechanically (and there are a lot of books out there that do a much better job than this and don’t treat us like idiots). It’s really the mathematics that a lot of people fall short of, so we have to take their word for it (and their bona fide credits in their field) so once you established that you have a perspective, and you are respected in your field, tell us your perspective and what you think it all means - or might mean - to the average person? That should’ve been the central driving question of this book, but it just fell short on every level. Choosing instead to talk down to the audience as if we are too dumb to understand, but we should somehow be awed by some vague implications that she never actually lands on. I was very disappointed,. I bought this book based on an interview I heard from her where she was offering some interesting unique perspectives on possible extra dimensional spaces, and I thought she would expand on that in this book, but I was sorely mistaken. I have to say this was a waste of time. And I did listen to the whole thing trying to give her a chance to divulge a unique or interesting theory. Let me save you the time. There isn’t one. Maybe she’ll try again and tell us what she really thinks without assuming we’re all too dumb to grasp her theories and musings. As she says in her book here “you probably came here because you’re curious” - yeah! So tell us something interesting that no one has offered before.