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

Record Type:	Language materials, printed : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe/ Roger Penrose.
Author:	Penrose, Roger.
Published:	Princeton, NJ :Princeton University Press, : c2016.,
Description:	1 online resource (xvi, 501 p.) :ill. :
Subject:	Cosmology. -
Online resource:	http://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781400880287
ISBN:	9781400880287

Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe
Penrose, Roger.

Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe[electronic resource] /Roger Penrose. - 1st ed. - Princeton, NJ :Princeton University Press,c2016. - 1 online resource (xvi, 501 p.) :ill.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Frontmatter --

"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.

ISBN: 9781400880287

Standard No.: 10.1515/9781400880287doiSubjects--Topical Terms:

579761
Cosmology.

LC Class. No.: QC6 / .P46 2016eb

Dewey Class. No.: 530.1

Fashion, faith and fantasy in the new physics of the universe
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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.
588 0 $a Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)
650 0 $a Cosmology. $3 579761
650 0 $a Physics. $3 564049
650 0 $a Quantum theory. $3 568041
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