Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe /

"What can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy? In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Penrose, Roger (Author)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2016]
Subjects:
Online Access:CONNECT

MARC

LEADER 00000cam a2200000Mi 4500
001 mig00005529480
003 OCoLC
005 20200714085254.1
006 m o d
007 cr |n|||||||||
008 160907t20162016njua ob 001 0 eng d
019 |a 959031893  |a 959590005  |a 984658191 
020 |a 1400880289  |q (electronic bk.) 
020 |a 9781400880287  |q (electronic bk.) 
020 |z 0691119791 
020 |z 9780691119793 
024 7 |a 10.1515/9781400880287  |2 doi 
035 |a (OCoLC)958454617  |z (OCoLC)959031893  |z (OCoLC)959590005  |z (OCoLC)984658191 
035 0 0 |a ocm00000001wrldshrocn958454617 
037 |a 949589  |b MIL 
037 |a EB9B9F86-EDD8-4179-B7D4-4AEF873A91F0  |b OverDrive, Inc.  |n http://www.overdrive.com 
037 |a 22573/ctvc647jt  |b JSTOR 
040 |a IDEBK  |b eng  |e rda  |e pn  |c IDEBK  |d OCLCO  |d N$T  |d YDX  |d WAU  |d IDEBK  |d CCO  |d OCLCF  |d CSAIL  |d OCLCQ  |d CUT  |d MYG  |d NRC  |d OCLCQ  |d DEGRU  |d RRP  |d TEFOD  |d OCL  |d IUL  |d CUS  |d NTG  |d WYU  |d TKN  |d JSTOR 
049 |a TXMM 
050 4 |a QC6  |b .P46 2016eb 
082 0 4 |a 530.1  |2 23 
099 |a Electronic book 
100 1 |a Penrose, Roger,  |e author. 
245 1 0 |a Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe /  |c Roger Penrose. 
264 1 |a Princeton :  |b Princeton University Press,  |c [2016] 
264 4 |c ©2016 
300 |a 1 online resource (xvi, 501 pages) :  |b illustrations 
336 |a text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a computer  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a online resource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
347 |a text file  |b PDF  |2 rda 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-489) and index. 
588 0 |a Print version record. 
505 0 |a Preface -- 1. Fashion -- 2. Faith -- 3. Fantasy -- 4. A new physics for the universe? -- Appendix A: Mathematical appendix. 
520 |a "What can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe? Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy? In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are just as susceptible to these forces as anyone else. In this provocative book, he argues that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes productive and even essential in physics, may be leading today's researchers astray in three of the field's most important areas--string theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. Arguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgment of its plausibility. In the case of quantum mechanics, its stunning success in explaining the atomic universe has led to an uncritical faith that it must also apply to reasonably massive objects, and Penrose responds by suggesting possible changes in quantum theory. Turning to cosmology, he argues that most of the current fantastical ideas about the origins of the universe cannot be true, but that an even wilder reality may lie behind them. Finally, Penrose describes how fashion, faith, and fantasy have ironically also shaped his own work, from twistor theory, a possible alternative to string theory that is beginning to acquire a fashionable status, to 'conformal cyclic cosmology, ' an idea so fantastic that it could be called 'conformal crazy cosmology.' The result is an important critique of some of the most significant developments in physics today from one of its most eminent figures"--Provided by publisher. 
546 |a In English. 
590 |a Books at JSTOR Evidence Based Acquisitions 
650 0 |a Physics. 
650 0 |a Quantum theory. 
650 0 |a String models. 
650 0 |a Cosmology. 
730 0 |a WORLDSHARE SUB RECORDS 
776 0 8 |i Print version:  |z 9781400880287 
776 0 8 |i Print version:  |a Penrose, Roger.  |t Fashion, faith, and fantasy in the new physics of the universe.  |d Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2016]  |z 9780691119793  |w (DLC) 2017941739  |w (OCoLC)1013998393 
856 4 0 |u https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctvc775bn  |z CONNECT  |3 JSTOR  |t 0 
907 |a 4813675  |b 07-16-20  |c 07-16-20 
998 |a wi  |b 07-16-20  |c m  |d z   |e -  |f eng  |g nju  |h 0  |i 1 
994 |a 92  |b TXM 
999 f f |i 8a4f4ed4-25b1-404d-bec4-aa82bc50d487  |s 1fcd5af7-ede6-4538-9f6b-9b32f4e74f5c  |t 0 
952 f f |a Middle Tennessee State University  |b Main  |c James E. Walker Library  |d Electronic Resources  |t 0  |e QC6 .P46 2016eb  |h Library of Congress classification 
856 4 0 |3 JSTOR  |t 0  |u https://ezproxy.mtsu.edu/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctvc775bn  |z CONNECT