Existential Physics

A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions

De: Sabine Hossenfelder

Narrado por: Gina Daniels

A contrarian scientist wrestles with the big questions that modern physics raises, and what physics says about the human condition


Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.

According to Sabine Hossenfelder, it is not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy have become the go-to explanations of alternative healers, or that people believe their deceased grandmother is still alive because of quantum mechanics. Science and religion have the same roots, and they still tackle some of the same questions: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? How much can we know? The area of science that is closest to answering these questions is physics. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate.

In this lively, thought-provoking book, Hossenfelder takes on the biggest questions in physics: Does the past still exist? Do particles think? Was the universe made for us? Has physics ruled out free will? Will we ever have a theory of everything? She lays out how far physicists are on the way to answering these questions, where the current limits are, and what questions might well remain unanswerable forever. Her book offers a no-nonsense yet entertaining take on some of the toughest riddles in existence, and will give the reader a solid grasp on what we know—and what we don’t know.


* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with key visual figures included in the book.

I wish the author had read the book

I love watching Sabine on YouTube. She has a subtle delivery and delightful humor that was written into the book but it wasn't captured by the narrator.
It was a fun read and got me thinking. I argued back with my own thoughts about things. Those are the best books, really.
I especially loved her answer to multiple universes.

Great as long as focused on physics

Great story, much in the spirit of the previous book. Many human issues, such as consciousness or free will, are being analysed from the scientific, or quantum mechanics, viewpoint, That part was truly great, especially when the author would convinvingly deal with those problems and clearly distinguish what human beliefs can be classified as consistent with science and which ones are a-scientific. That was the case until the book covers the problems of AI, the discussion of which was limited to the author's personal opinion and possibly faith. While anybody nowadays claims expertise to pass their biased opinion on the ethics of AI, the end of the book clearly viotated its own rules of engagement with scientific evaluation of facts.

Genuine and honest

The world would be s better place if more people could approach big, complex ideas with the humility, care, and rigor presented in this book. If you identify as religious, scientific, or (gasp) both, this is a must-read.

Understandable and Approachable

I will not pretend to say I understood everything in this book. However, Sabine Hossenfelder has the ability to take concepts nearly incomprehensible for lay people and translate them into terms the rest of us can understand. As a non-initiate into the wonders of physics, I feel like I understand things just a little bit better when she explains them to me.

Is Dr. H Predictable?

There's a lot of pseudoscientific or a-scientific stuff out there. It behooves the informed individual to understand what science is, where its limits are, and what it can/can't tell us about deeply philosophical questions we tend to ask. Does free will exist? Are humans predictable? What can science say about the creation of the universe, how it will end, and what happened before? Sabine Hossenfelder is incisive in cutting through the more speculative stuff to something less decorated with bullcrap. I find this refreshing.