Synchronicity

The Epic Quest to Understand the Quantum Nature of Cause and Effect

De: Paul Halpern

Narrado por: Jeff Hoyt

From Aristotle's Physics to quantum teleportation, learn about the scientific pursuit of instantaneous connections in this insightful examination of our world.

For millennia, scientists have puzzled over a simple question: Does the universe have a speed limit? If not, some effects could happen at the same instant as the actions that caused them -- and some effects, ludicrously, might even happen before their causes. By one hundred years ago, it seemed clear that the speed of light was the fastest possible speed. Causality was safe. And then quantum mechanics happened, introducing spooky connections that seemed to circumvent the law of cause and effect. Inspired by the new physics, psychologist Carl Jung and physicist Wolfgang Pauli explored a concept called synchronicity, a weird phenomenon they thought could link events without causes. Synchronicity tells that sprawling tale of insight and creativity, and asks where these ideas -- some plain crazy, and others crazy powerful -- are taking the human story next.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"An elegant and smoothly written account of how fundamental physics has informed our view of the cosmos from ancient times to the present. An engaging and informative blend of the scientific advances and the lives of the people who made them. A great read!"
—IanStewart, author of Do Dice Play God?

"Writing beautifully, Halpern describes with lucidity and great verve the whole story of how physics has led us to rethink what synchronicity means and ultimately to examine what Einstein once called "spooky action at a distance."—Gino Segre, author of The Pope ofPhysics

"A masterful account of the developments of fundamental physics over the past century."—Marcus Chown, author of Solar System

"Synchronicity is a very informative and thought-provoking account of humankind's efforts from antiquity to the present to understand the causal structure of the everyday world and, during the past century, to unite that understanding with the apparently acausal nature of the quantum world of atoms and particles. Paul Halpern writes with remarkable clarity and insight in a very accessible and engaging style."—David C. Cassidy, author of Beyond Uncertainty

"Paul Halpern, a gifted expositor of science, takes the reader on an exciting ride through history, showing how physicists and their antecedent philosophers have sought to understand nature through its connections-through synchronicity."—Kenneth W. Ford, author of Building the H Bomb

"Paul Halpern has zeroed in on one of the biggest mysteries in physics: objects with no mechanical linkage somehow act in harmony. He gives it a human face by digging into the Pauli-Jung collaboration-there is nothing else quite like it in the history of science."—George Musser, author of Spooky Action at a Distance

"In this beautifully written page-turner, physicist Paul Halpern reveals as much about the secrets of the universe as he does about his own masterful ability to uncover hidden patterns in the history of ideas. With elegance, clarity, and penetrating insight, Synchronicity takes its readers on a sweeping journey through a dazzling array of intellectual traditions in search of what connects everything around us and beyond. A superb intellectual achievement."—Julien Musolino, author of The Soul Fallacy

A book titled Synchronicity that’s not about Synchronicity.

Interesting rant on atomic physics and its history but hardly a word about synchronicity until the end. Feels more like an attempt to argue using science that synchronicities are all meaningless by a person that has clearly never experienced a profound one.

Not about synchronicity

Good information, but the examples of coincidences the autbor used to trash the concept are idiotic. Hes one of these guys who thinks it can either be proven or it and of not it's not real. Except for quantum mechanics, which kind of admits that we don't know enough.

Good enough for lay audience, but lacks depth

Halpern is a great writer for the lay person who has no more than a high school science education. But just when it seems he's going to go to the next level of awesome and explain clearly some profound and deep concept that everyone else is afraid to even touch, he drops you on your head and moves on to the next subject.

I liked his other book about Feynman and Wheeler, "The Quantum Labyrinth", more than this one. It offers more insights into the physics, and more interesting character development. He still drops you on your head, but at least you have a smile of intrigue while you land.

The narrator for this audible has a great voice, with good intonation, but dammit why do the publishers allow people who have no clue about the history of physics to read a book on the history of physics??? As soon as these guys pronounce gymnasium as if it's where students go to play basketball, you've lost your credibility as a legit narrator with the type of audience that listens to these physics audibles.

Not what I thought. More of a history

I thought this book would help explain entanglement and such concepts. Instead, it was a review of the history of physics over several millennia with an eye toward this concept. In the last few chapters he got more into this. It was enjoyable as I like reading about the history of physics and there were good insights there into these physicists.

An unexpected justification for synchronicity

Halperin takes a thoroughly scientific perspective on the curious concept of synchronicity. One might expect that such perspective calls for its complete dismissal, but in a surprising twist the author salvages it as a principle that os manifested objectively through fundamental symmetries of quantum physics. The only peeve I have is a bit excessive dive into antiquity..