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John D. Barrow
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The Artful Universeby John D. BarrowISBN 0198539967 (0-19-853996-7)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Artful Universe'Book summary:Our likes and dislikes--our senses and sensibilities--did not fall ready-made from the sky, argues internationally acclaimed author John D. Barrow. We know we enjoy a beautiful painting or a passionate symphony, but what we don't necessarily understand is that these experiences conjure up latent instincts laid down and perpetuated over millions of years. Now, in The Artful Universe, Barrow explores the close ties between our aesthetic appreciation and the basic nature of the Universe, challenging the commonly held view that our sense of beauty is entirely free and unfettered.
Barrow argues that the laws of the Universe, its environments and its astronomical appearance, have imprinted themselves upon our thoughts and actions in subtle and unexpected ways. Why do we like certain types of art or music? What games and puzzles do we find challenging? Why do so many myths and legends have common elements? Who created the cornucopia of constellations in the night sky? And why? In this eclectic and entertaining survey, Barrow answers these questions and more as he explains how the landscape of the Universe has influenced the development of philosophy and mythology, and how millions of years of evolutionary history have fashioned our attraction to certain patterns of sound and color. Barrow casts the story of human creativity and thought in a fascinating light, considering such diverse topics as our instinct for language, the origins and uses of color in Nature, why we divide time into intervals as we do, the sources of our appreciation of landscape painting, and whether computer-generated fractal art is really art. Barrow reconsiders the question of whether intelligent extraterrestrial life exists, showing that the benefits (and even the likelihood) that might follow from the discovery of life on other worlds could be very different from what we might have been led to expect. Remarkably, we find that some of the properties of the Universe that are essential for the existence of any form of life play a key role in determining psychological and religious responses to the Cosmos.
Drawing on a wide variety of examples, from the theological questions raised by St. Augustine and C.S. Lewis to the relationship between the pure math of Pythagoras and the music of the Beatles, The Artful Universe covers new ground and enters a wide-ranging debate about the meaning and significance of the links between art and science. It will change our view of the creation of art and the way we see the world in which we live. [via]More editions of The Artful Universe:
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The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativityby John D. BarrowISBN 0316082422 (0-316-08242-2)
Softcover, Little Brown & Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity'Book summary:In this eclectic and entertaining study of the interrelationship between the arts and the sciences, Barrow explains how the landscape of the Universe has influenced the development of philosophy and mythology, and how millions of years of evolutionary history have fashioned our attraction to certain patterns of sound and color. [via]
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The Book of Nothingby John D. BarrowISBN 0224059629 (0-224-05962-9)
Hardcover, Jonathan Cape
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Nothing'Book summary:From our modern perspective, it is easy to deride the wranglings of medieval scholars over the numbers of angels that could dance on the head of a pin and whether Nature abhorred a vacuum. But as John Barrow reveals in this timely and important book, new discoveries in science have shown that these scholars were right to suspect that Nothing has hidden depths. It is a concept shot through with paradoxes: even innocent-looking phrases like "Nothing is real" flip their meanings as we ponder them, like those illusions that look like a vase one moment, and opposing faces the next. Nothing is fertile too, as Barrow shows with a stunning trick that allows every number one can think of to be built out of nothing at all. But his book is about far more than mind games. Arguably the most important discovery of 20th century physics is that there is no such thing as nothing: even the tightest vacuum is teeming with sub-atomic particles popping in and out of existence according to the dictates of quantum theory. Now many astronomers suspect that such "vacuum effects" may have triggered the Big Bang itself, filling our universe with matter. Indeed, the very latest observations suggest that vacuum effects will dictate the ultimate fate of the universe. As an internationally respected cosmologist, Barrow does a fine job of explaining these new discoveries. The result is a book that is required reading for anyone wanting to understand why there will be much ado about Nothing among scientists in the years ahead --Robert Matthews [via]
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The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universeby John D. BarrowISBN 0375726098 (0-375-72609-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe'Book summary:From our modern perspective, it is easy to deride the wranglings of medieval scholars over the number of angels that could dance of the head of a pin and whether Nature abhors a vacuum. But as John Barrow reveals in this timely and important book, new discoveries in science have shown that these scholars were right to suspect that Nothing has hidden depths.
It is a concept shot through with paradoxes: even innocent-looking phrases like "Nothing is real" flip their meanings as we ponder them, like those illusions that look like a vase one moment, and opposing faces the next. Nothing is fertile, too, as Barrow shows via a stunning trick that allows every number one can think of to be built out of nothing at all.
But his book is about far more than mind games. Arguably, the most important discovery of 20th-century physics is that there is no such thing as nothing: even the tightest vacuum is teeming with subatomic particles popping in and out of existence, according to the dictates of quantum theory. Now, many astronomers suspect that such "vacuum effects" may have triggered the Big Bang itself, filling our universe with matter. Indeed, the very latest observations suggest that vacuum effects will dictate the ultimate fate of the universe.
As an internationally respected cosmologist, Barrow does a fine job of explaining these new discoveries. The result is a book that is required reading for anyone who wants to understand why there will be much ado about Nothing among scientists in the years ahead. --Robert Matthews, Amazon.co.uk [via]
More editions of The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe:
- The Book of Nothing : Vacuums, Voids and the Latest Ideas about the Origins of the Universe: ISBN 0375420991 (0-375-42099-1)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group - The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe: ISBN 0375726098 (0-375-72609-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc
- The Book of Nothing : Vacuums, Voids and the Latest Ideas about the Origins of the Universe: ISBN 0375420991 (0-375-42099-1)
The Constants of Nature: From Alpha to Omegaby John D. BarrowISBN 0224061356 (0-224-06135-6)
Hardcover, Jonathan Cape
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The Constants of Nature : From Alpha to Omega - The Numbers That Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universeby John D. BarrowISBN 0375422218 (0-375-42221-8)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Constants of Nature : From Alpha to Omega - The Numbers That Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe'Book summary:A major contribution to our understanding of the basic laws of the universe -- from the author of The Book of Nothing.
The constants of nature are the fundamental laws of physics that apply throughout the universe: gravity, velocity of light, electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. They encode the deepest secrets of the universe, and express at once our greatest knowledge and our greatest ignorance about the cosmos.
Their existence has taught us the profound truth that nature abounds with unseen regularities. Yet while we have become skilled at measuring the values of these constants, our frustrating inability to explain or predict their values shows how much we have still to learn about inner workings of the universe.
What is the ultimate status of these constants of nature? Are they truly constant? And are there other universes where they are different?
John D. Barrow, one of our foremost mathematicians and cosmologists, discusses the latest thinking about these and many more dramatic issues in this accessible and thought-provoking book. [via]More editions of The Constants of Nature : From Alpha to Omega - The Numbers That Encode the Deepest Secrets of the Universe:
Explanations: Styles of Explanation in Scienceby John D. BarrowISBN 0198607784 (0-19-860778-4)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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The Infinite Book : A Short Guide to the Boundless, Timeless, Endlessby John D. BarrowISBN 0375422277 (0-375-42227-7)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universeby John D. Barrow , Joseph SilkISBN 0465038972 (0-465-03897-2)
Softcover, Perseus Books Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe'More editions of The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe:
- The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe: ISBN 0434047600 (0-434-04760-0)
Hardcover, Heinemann Educational Books - The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe: ISBN 0465038956 (0-465-03895-6)
Hardcover, Perseus Books Group - The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe: ISBN 0465038972 (0-465-03897-2)
Softcover, Perseus Books Group
- The Left Hand of Creation: The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe: ISBN 0434047600 (0-434-04760-0)
New Theories of Everythingby John D. BarrowISBN 019954817X (0-19-954817-X)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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Pi in the Sky: Counting, Thinking, and Beingby John D. BarrowISBN 0316082597 (0-316-08259-7)
Softcover, Back Bay Books
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Theories of Everything: The Quest for Ultimate Explanationby John D. BarrowISBN 0449907384 (0-449-90738-4)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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The World Within the Worldby John D. BarrowISBN 0198519796 (0-19-851979-6)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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