NMC Library

Fear of a black universe : (Record no. 522525)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 03989nam a22003018i 4500
001 - CONTROL NUMBER
control field zzv350 b1779594
003 - CONTROL NUMBER IDENTIFIER
control field DLC
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20221103112612.0
008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION
fixed length control field 210327s2021 nyu b 001 0 eng
010 ## - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER
LC control number 2021001977
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 1541699637 (hardcover)
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 9781541699632 (hardcover)
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Original cataloging agency LBSOR/DLC
Language of cataloging eng
Description conventions rda
Transcribing agency DLC
Modifying agency MiTN
050 #4 - LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CALL NUMBER
Classification number QB981
Item number .A449 2021
100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Alexander, Stephon,
245 10 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Fear of a black universe :
Remainder of title an outsider's guide to the future of physics /
Statement of responsibility, etc. Stephon Alexander.
250 ## - EDITION STATEMENT
Edition statement First edition.
263 ## - PROJECTED PUBLICATION DATE
Projected publication date 2108.
264 #1 - PRODUCTION, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURE, AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Place of production, publication, distribution, manufacture New York :
Name of producer, publisher, distributor, manufacturer Basic Books,
Date of production, publication, distribution, manufacture, or copyright notice 2021.
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent pages cm.
504 ## - BIBLIOGRAPHY, ETC. NOTE
Bibliography, etc. note Includes bibliographical references and index.
505 0# - FORMATTED CONTENTS NOTE
Formatted contents note Escape from the jungle of no imaginations -- The changeless changeless -- Superposition -- The zen of quantum fields -- Emergence -- If Basquiat were a physicist -- What banged? -- A dark conductor of quantum galaxies -- Cosmic virtual reality -- Embracing instabilities -- A cosmologist's view of a quantum elephant -- The cosmic biosphere -- Dark ideas on alien life -- Into the cosmic matrix -- The cosmic mind and quantum cosmology.
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Summary, etc. "Where does great physics come from? As a young graduate student, cosmologist Stephon Alexander had a life-changing lesson in the subject. When asked by the legendary theoretical physicist Christopher Isham why he had attended graduate school, Alexander answered: "To become a better physicist." He could hardly have anticipated Isham's response: "Then stop reading those physics books." Instead, Isham said, Alexander should start listening to his dreams. This is only the first of a great many surprising andeven shocking lessons in Fear of a Black Universe. As Alexander explains, greatness in physics requires transgression, a willingness to reject conventional expectations. He shows why progress happens when some physicists come to think outside the mainstream, and both the outsiders and insiders respond to the resulting tensions. He also shows why, as in great jazz, great physics requires a willingness to make things up as one goes along, and a willingness to rely on intuition when the path forward isn't clear. Unfortunately, most physicists are too afraid of being wrong -- and jeopardizing their careers -- to embrace this sort of improvisation. Indeed, for a long time Alexander was, too. Of course, Alexander doesn't mean that physics should be lawless. After all, even jazz musicians must respect the key and tempo of the music their fellow musicians are playing. But it does mean that not all the answers can be found, as Isham argued, as equations in a book. Drawing on Einstein's notion of principle theories -- ideas that constrain the shape that other theories take -- Alexander shows that from general relativity to quantum theory, three principles underlie everything we know about the Universe: the principle of invariance, the quantum principle, and the principle of emergence. Using these three principles as a guide, Alexander takes a stab at some of the greatest mysteries of the Universe, including what happened before the Big Bang; the quantum theory of gravity; the nature of dark energy and dark matter;and the quantum physics of consciousness. Along the way, he explains where our understanding of the universe and those principles don't jibe, as in the nature of the Big Bang, and asks what such discrepancies mean. He shows us what discoveries lie on thehorizon, and crucially, calls on us not just to embrace improvisation and knowledge outside of physics but to diversify our scientific communities by reaching out to people of color. As compelling as it is necessary, Fear of a Black Universe offers us remarkable insight into the art of physics and empowers us all to theorize"--
Assigning source Provided by publisher.
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Cosmology.
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Physics
General subdivision Research
-- Methodology.
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Research
General subdivision Philosophy.
650 #0 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name entry element Research
General subdivision Social aspects.
Holdings
Withdrawn status Lost status Source of classification or shelving scheme Damaged status Not for loan Shelving location Date acquired Total Checkouts Full call number Barcode Date last seen Copy number Koha item type
    Library of Congress Classification     Stacks 11/03/2022   QB981 .A449 2021 33039001501856 08/14/2023 1 Book

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