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The Dream Universe
- How Fundamental Physics Lost Its Way
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's summary
A vivid and captivating narrative about how modern science broke free of ancient philosophy, and how theoretical physics is returning to its unscientific roots
In the early 17th century, Galileo broke free from the hold of ancient Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy. He drastically changed the framework through which we view the natural world when he asserted that we should base our theory of reality on what we can observe rather than pure thought. In the process, he invented what we would come to call science. This set the stage for all the breakthroughs that followed - from Kepler to Newton to Einstein. But in the early 20th century when quantum physics, with its deeply complex mathematics, entered into the picture, something began to change. Many physicists began looking to the equations first and physical reality second. As we investigate realms further and further from what we can see and what we can test, we must look to elegant, aesthetically pleasing equations to develop our conception of what reality is. As a result, much of theoretical physics today is something more akin to the philosophy of Plato than the science to which the physicists are heirs.
In The Dream Universe, Lindley asks what is science when it becomes completely untethered from measurable phenomena?
Critic reviews
"A striking examination of an important scientific question: 'What, exactly, are scholars of fundamental physics today trying to achieve?'.... A delightful addition to a widespread, ongoing scientific debate." (Kirkus, starred review)
"[An] eye-opening treatise.... Lindley's probing work raises important questions about what science should be, and how it should be approached." (Publishers Weekly)
"A thoughtful, captivating analysis of the history of physics. Lindley makes the fascinating point that present-day fundamental physics has become more akin to Platonic philosophy than to Galileo’s, Newton's, and Faraday's notion of laws deduced from experiments and observations. A wonderful read." (Mario Livio, New York Times best-selling author of Brilliant Blunders and the forthcoming Galileo and the Science Deniers)
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- Craig Doner
- 05-26-20
Provocative Argument
Lindley quite correctly points out the tendency towards idealism that plagues modern theories that dominate fundamental physics. The somewhat inevitable shortcoming in his analysis is the lack of any real coherent alternarive.
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4 people found this helpful
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- John S
- 09-05-22
modern science
Great book author is one of the most unbiased interpreters of modern Partical Physics and cosmology .The only thing I don't like is it takes forever for him to get to the main point.He never stays on the main point.Hes probably the best at describing the lunesy of science.Its not science but fiction.There seems to be a political reason for the transformation in my opinion.Otherwise science would still have to prove their theories like the great physicist in the early 20th century.
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- TS Cormack
- 02-03-23
Thought Provoking
This Inspires a sense of humility when considering ultimate causes. It is well worth contemplating.
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Meaning is where you find it
- By Gary on 07-13-18
By: Paul Broks
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Plight of the Living Dead
- What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World - and Ourselves
- By: Matt Simon
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Zombieism isn’t just the stuff of movies and TV shows like The Walking Dead. It’s real, and it’s happening in the world around us, from wasps and worms to dogs and moose - and even humans. In Plight of the Living Dead, science journalist Matt Simon documents his journey through the bizarre evolutionary history of mind control.
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Real Life is Terrifying - Brilliant Book
- By Azura S on 11-29-18
By: Matt Simon
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The Pleasure Shock
- The Rise of Deep Brain Stimulation and Its Forgotten Inventor
- By: Lone Frank
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The technology invented by psychiatrist Robert G. Heath at Tulane University in 1950s and 60s has been described as one of "the most controversial yet largely undocumented experiments in US history" - controversial to us because Heath's patients included incarcerated convicts and gay men to be 'cured' of their sexual preference; controversial in its day because his work was allegedly part of MKUltra, the CIA's notorious "mind control" project. As a result, Heath's cutting-edge research and legacy were put under lock and key, buried in Tulane's archives.
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Thought provoking
- By Anonymous User on 12-30-22
By: Lone Frank
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Ex Libris
- 100+ Books to Read and Reread
- By: Michiko Kakutani
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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“Books can connect people across time zones and zip codes, across cultures, national boundaries, and historical eras”, Kakutani writes in her introduction to Ex Libris. Here listeners will discover novels and memoirs by some of the most gifted writers working today; favorite classics worth listening or relistening; and nonfiction works, both old and new, that illuminate our social and political landscape and some of today’s most pressing issues, from climate change to medicine to the consequences of digital innovation.
By: Michiko Kakutani
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Physical Intelligence
- The Science of How the Body and the Mind Guide Each Other Through Life
- By: Scott Grafton
- Narrated by: Jack Armstrong
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Elegantly written and deeply grounded in personal experience - works by Oliver Sacks come to mind - Physical Intelligence gives us a clear, illuminating examination of the intricate, mutually responsive relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don’t engage) in all manner of physical action. Ever wonder why you don’t walk into walls or off cliffs? How you decide if you can drive through a snowstorm? How high you are willing to climb up a ladder to change a lightbulb?
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Tales of Bears, Monkeys, Hominids, Neuroscience
- By Christy S. Redenbach on 01-15-20
By: Scott Grafton
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Tales of Two Planets
- Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World
- By: John Freeman - editor
- Narrated by: full cast, Bahni Turpin, Roy Vongtama, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Building from his acclaimed anthology Tales of Two Americas, beloved writer and editor John Freeman draws together a group of our greatest writers from around the world to help us see how the environmental crisis is hitting some of the most vulnerable communities where they live. In the past five years, John Freeman, previously editor of Granta, has launched a celebrated international literary magazine, Freeman's, and compiled two acclaimed anthologies that deal with income inequality as it is experienced.
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A so needed book!
- By Joce on 10-02-20
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The Nature of Life and Death
- Every Body Leaves a Trace
- By: Patricia Wiltshire
- Narrated by: Patricia Wiltshire
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A riveting blend of science writing and true-crime narrative, The Nature of Life and Death details Wiltshire's unique journey from college professor to crime fighter: solving murders, locating corpses, and exonerating the falsely accused. Along the way, she introduces us to the unseen world all around us and underneath our feet: plants, animals, pollen, spores, fungi, and microbes that we move through every day. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and reveals how our relationship with the vast natural world reaches far deeper than we might think.
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Fascinating Welsh granny
- By Kirby C. on 01-16-20
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Sleeping with Strangers
- How the Movies Shaped Desire
- By: David Thomson
- Narrated by: David Thomson
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In this wholly original work of film criticism, David Thomson, celebrated author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film, probes the many ways in which sexuality has shaped the movies - and the ways in which the movies have shaped sexuality.
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Another good read from David Thomson
- By Boxing Fan on 07-23-23
By: David Thomson
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The Butterfly Effect
- Insects and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Edward D. Melillo
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Insects might make us recoil in repugnance, but they also manufacture - or make possible in other ways - many of the things we take for granted in our daily lives. When we bite into a shiny apple, listen to the resonant notes of a violin, try on the latest fashions, receive a dental implant, or get a manicure, we are mingling with the by-products of their everyday lives.
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Informative And Entertaining
- By Eugenia on 11-15-20
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The Eight Master Lessons of Nature
- What Nature Teaches Us About Living Well in the World
- By: Gary Ferguson
- Narrated by: Gary Ferguson
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Through cutting-edge data and research, drawing on science, psychology, history, and philosophy, The Eight Master Lessons of Nature will leave listeners with a feeling of hope, excitement, and joy. It is a dazzling statement about the powers of physical, mental, and spiritual wellness that come from reclaiming our relationship with Mother Nature. Lessons about mystery, loss, the fine art of rising again, how animals make us smarter, and how the planet’s elders make us better at life are unforgettable and transformative.
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Stupendous book!
- By Mary Mumma Brown on 05-11-21
By: Gary Ferguson
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Einstein's War
- How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I
- By: Matthew Stanley
- Narrated by: Matthew Stanley
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Few recognize how the Great War, the industrialized slaughter that bled Europe from 1914 to 1918, shaped Einstein’s life and work. While Einstein never held a rifle, he formulated general relativity blockaded in Berlin, literally starving. He lost 50 pounds in three months, unable to communicate with his most important colleagues. Some of those colleagues fought against rabid nationalism; others were busy inventing chemical warfare - scientists trapped in the power plays of empire. Meanwhile, Einstein struggled to craft relativity and persuade the world that it was correct.
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Great story but they should have hired a pro to read it
- By Richard Rozier on 06-18-19
By: Matthew Stanley
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Surfacing
- By: Kathleen Jamie
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In this remarkable blend of memoir, cultural history, and travelogue, poet and author Kathleen Jamie touches points on a timeline spanning millennia, and considers what surfaces and what reconnects us to our past. From the thawing tundra linking a Yup'ik village in Alaska to its hunter-gatherer past to the shifting sand dunes revealing the impressively preserved homes of neolithic farmers in Scotland, Jamie explores how the changing natural world can alter our sense of time.
By: Kathleen Jamie
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The New World Economy
- A Beginner's Guide
- By: Randy Charles Epping
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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