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weaselweader's review
4.0
Did the universe come into existence with time or in time?
Whether one addresses questions regarding the duration, the existence, the direction or the meaning of time - then, now, before, after, past, present and future - from the point of view of the mathematics of multi-dimensional differential geometry, the physics of special and general relativity or quantum mechanics, meta-physics, religion, or purely philosophy, there can be no doubt that a full and complete understanding of the nature of time is the single biggest roadblock to the development of that holy grail of science, the Theory of Everything. Indeed, even the often strained acceptance of the Big Bang Theory, which is currently the most widely (but far from universally) accepted version of orthodoxy to explain the “beginning” of the universe hinges on a grotesquely incomplete and poorly understood conceptualization of time.
Paul Davies' extended essay on the current state of understanding of the meaning time is elegantly written, lucid, and, at once, head-scratching, provocative and awe-inspiring. But it’s not lightweight stuff that lends itself to scanning and high-speed reading, by any means. In fact, I had to read some sections several times in order to gather even a basic understanding. On the other hand, Davies’ explanation of special relativity’s time dilation and the weird symmetry of Twins’ Paradox, for example, was the best, the clearest and the simplest to understand of any popular physics book that I’d read in my entire life. I was also thrilled to learn of the subtlety of treating the Big Bang as a boundary to time as opposed to an event that happened IN time!
If you’re a complete beginner to the ideas of cosmology and modern physics, ABOUT TIME is probably not a place for you to begin your journey. On the other hand, if you’ve got a basic grasp of the fundamental ideas of special and general relativity and quantum mechanics and you’re a fan of popular science reading (think Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Neil deGrasse Tyson or Brian Greene, for example), then ABOUT TIME certainly deserves a place on your reading schedule. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Whether one addresses questions regarding the duration, the existence, the direction or the meaning of time - then, now, before, after, past, present and future - from the point of view of the mathematics of multi-dimensional differential geometry, the physics of special and general relativity or quantum mechanics, meta-physics, religion, or purely philosophy, there can be no doubt that a full and complete understanding of the nature of time is the single biggest roadblock to the development of that holy grail of science, the Theory of Everything. Indeed, even the often strained acceptance of the Big Bang Theory, which is currently the most widely (but far from universally) accepted version of orthodoxy to explain the “beginning” of the universe hinges on a grotesquely incomplete and poorly understood conceptualization of time.
Paul Davies' extended essay on the current state of understanding of the meaning time is elegantly written, lucid, and, at once, head-scratching, provocative and awe-inspiring. But it’s not lightweight stuff that lends itself to scanning and high-speed reading, by any means. In fact, I had to read some sections several times in order to gather even a basic understanding. On the other hand, Davies’ explanation of special relativity’s time dilation and the weird symmetry of Twins’ Paradox, for example, was the best, the clearest and the simplest to understand of any popular physics book that I’d read in my entire life. I was also thrilled to learn of the subtlety of treating the Big Bang as a boundary to time as opposed to an event that happened IN time!
If you’re a complete beginner to the ideas of cosmology and modern physics, ABOUT TIME is probably not a place for you to begin your journey. On the other hand, if you’ve got a basic grasp of the fundamental ideas of special and general relativity and quantum mechanics and you’re a fan of popular science reading (think Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Neil deGrasse Tyson or Brian Greene, for example), then ABOUT TIME certainly deserves a place on your reading schedule. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
uroybd's review
5.0
This is a pop-science book for sure. But, not only a pop-science book. It is more of an exposition of whatever we have known and deduced through ages about time- in physics, philosophy, psychology, and often in literature.
While it covered a lot of grounds, it's an open-ended book, which is natural because the subject of the book is not in our grasp in totality.
While it covered a lot of grounds, it's an open-ended book, which is natural because the subject of the book is not in our grasp in totality.
remocpi's review against another edition
5.0
Mi autor favorito (empatado, pero el favorito) hablando sobre mi tema favorito, la naturaleza física del paso del tiempo. Este libro es para leerlo y releerlo. Se adentra en la física lo más que puede y luego complementa desde la filosofía. Muy recomendable.
smcleish's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in January 2000.
About Time is an eminently readable popular account of the current ideas about time in physics, with a short historical section examining philosophical perceptions of time from the ancient Greeks to the time of Newton. The main concerns of the book are to explain the role played by time in the keystones of modern physics, general relativity and quantum mechanics. Since much of physics is concerned with processes, time can be used as a single theme to motivate a discussion of many of the more interesting aspects of modern physics.
The nature of time and its role in the cosmos also lie at the heart of some of the unsolved problems of physics, many people thinking that these issues will provide the key to the next generation of physical theories. Most prominent among these is the asymmetry of time, a major problem when underlying theories would be unchanged if time ran backward rather than forward. In slightly different areas, issues of human perception of time are briefly touched upon as well as what exactly we might be measuring with different kinds of clocks.
The descriptions of relativistic and quantum effects are now the commonplace of popular physics, and the most interesting parts were those dealing with more unusual matters, such as the nature of the interior of black holes or the asymmetry in kaon decay. The device of having a second voice used as a sceptic to facilitate the discussion is slightly annoying but not a big problem.
About Time is an eminently readable popular account of the current ideas about time in physics, with a short historical section examining philosophical perceptions of time from the ancient Greeks to the time of Newton. The main concerns of the book are to explain the role played by time in the keystones of modern physics, general relativity and quantum mechanics. Since much of physics is concerned with processes, time can be used as a single theme to motivate a discussion of many of the more interesting aspects of modern physics.
The nature of time and its role in the cosmos also lie at the heart of some of the unsolved problems of physics, many people thinking that these issues will provide the key to the next generation of physical theories. Most prominent among these is the asymmetry of time, a major problem when underlying theories would be unchanged if time ran backward rather than forward. In slightly different areas, issues of human perception of time are briefly touched upon as well as what exactly we might be measuring with different kinds of clocks.
The descriptions of relativistic and quantum effects are now the commonplace of popular physics, and the most interesting parts were those dealing with more unusual matters, such as the nature of the interior of black holes or the asymmetry in kaon decay. The device of having a second voice used as a sceptic to facilitate the discussion is slightly annoying but not a big problem.
loram's review against another edition
5.0
Paul Davis is one of those names that people who read about time travel theory get to know well. The description says:
"This is a book about the meaning of time, what it is, when it has started, how it flows and where to. It examines the consequences of Einstein's theory of relativity and offers startling suggestions about what recent research may reveal."
This about sums it up. Davies takes us through a rabbit hole of fascinating theory and current knowledge of related Physics that is easy to follow, if mind-bending in its content.
He extrapolates on relativity and explores concepts of worm holes and time warps, sharing some of his own experiences of visiting research sites discussing various theories about time travel.
If this is a subject you're interested in, this is one of the books you really need to read. Davies keeps it accessible for the non-Physicist and holds interest on what is a very academic subject.
"This is a book about the meaning of time, what it is, when it has started, how it flows and where to. It examines the consequences of Einstein's theory of relativity and offers startling suggestions about what recent research may reveal."
This about sums it up. Davies takes us through a rabbit hole of fascinating theory and current knowledge of related Physics that is easy to follow, if mind-bending in its content.
He extrapolates on relativity and explores concepts of worm holes and time warps, sharing some of his own experiences of visiting research sites discussing various theories about time travel.
If this is a subject you're interested in, this is one of the books you really need to read. Davies keeps it accessible for the non-Physicist and holds interest on what is a very academic subject.
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