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. Not always, though, have they stayed on the scientific side of the debate. Over the last century, physicists have learned a lot about which spiritual ideas are still compatible with the laws of nature. 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. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.Īccording 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.

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. Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. This comes across loud and clear in her book, which I found fun to read and really made me think about the scientific method and the big questions in life * Physics World * If I had six stars to give this book, I'd do it.A contrarian scientist wrestles with the big questions that modern physics raises, and what physics says about the human condition

* Physics Education * Hossenfelder rightly believes that a better understanding of the limitations of science will benefit society. It clearly delineates what physics can tell us about ourselves and the universe we inhabit, and thus what it cannot. * Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist and bestselling author * takes you on a thought provoking, tantalising and illuminating journey. You will come away from this book enriched, and will think about the world differently than you did before. That's my kind of science writer * Daily Mail * Hossenfelder is a unique writing talent and a unique science popularizer. she stands between us and total incomprehension. Hossenfelder may popularise science but she doesn't dumb it down.

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