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"Stimulating . . . encourage[s] readers to push past well-trod assumptions [...] and have fun doing so." --Science Magazine

"Hossenfelder is a rare gem. There are other theoretical physicists out there who can write for a popular audience, but very few of them are able to do so in such a no-nonsense way. The result is not just illuminating, but enjoyable." --Charles Seife, author of Decoding the Universe

From renowned physicist and creator of the YouTube series "Science without the Gobbledygook," a book that takes a no-nonsense approach to life's biggest questions, and wrestles with what physics really 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.

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Preface xiii

A Warning xvii

1 Does the Past Still Exist? 1

2 How Did the Universe Begin? How Will It End? 23

Other Voices #1 Is Math All There Is? An Interview with Tim Palmer 43

3 Why Doesn''t Anyone Ever Get Younger? 51

4 Are You Just a Bag of Atoms? 79

Other Voices #2 Is Knowledge Predictable? An Interview with David Deutsch 95

5 Do Copies of Us Exist? 105

6 Has Physics Ruled Out Free Will? 125

Other Voices #3 Is Consciousness Computable? An Interview with Roger Penrose 143

7 Was the Universe Made for Us? 151

8 Does the Universe Think? 169

Other Voices #4 Can We Create a Universe? An Interview with Zeeya Merali 191

9 Are Humans Predictable? 199

Epilogue: What''s the Purpose of Anything Anyway? 217

Acknowledgments 225

Glossary 227

Notes 231

Index 239