Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource The island of knowledge : the limits of science and the search for meaning, Marcelo Gleiser

The island of knowledge : the limits of science and the search for meaning, Marcelo Gleiser

Creator
Author
Summary
Do all questions have answers? How much can we know about the world? Is there such a thing as an ultimate truth? To be human is to want to know, to understand our origins and the meaning of our lives. In The Island of Knowledge, physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing, he reaches a provocative conclusion: science, the main tool we use to find answers, is fundamentally limited. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we are often faced with the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know. Limits to our knowledge of the world arise both from our tools of exploration and from the nature of physical reality: the speed of light, the uncertainty principle, the second law of thermodynamics, the incompleteness theorem, and our own limitations as an intelligent species. Our view of physical reality depends fundamentally on who we are and on how we interact with the cosmos
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxiv, 335 pages
Contents
  • Prologue: The Island of Knowledge
  • Part I. The origin of the world and the nature of the heavens. 1. The will to believe ; 2. Beyond space and time ; 3. To be, or to become? That is the question ; 4. Lessons from Plato's dream ; 5. The transformative power of a new observational tool ; 6. Cracking open the dome of heaven ; 7. Science as nature's grand narrative ; 8. The plasticity of space ; 9. The restless universe ; 10. There is no now ; 11. Cosmic blindness ; 12. Splitting infinities ; 13. Rolling downhill ; 14. Counting universes ; 15. Interlude: A promenade along the string landscape ; 16. Can we test the multiverse hypothesis?
  • Part II. From alchemy to the quantum : the elusive nature of reality. 17. Everything floats in nothingness ; 18. Admirable force and efficacy of art and nature ; 19. The elusive nature of heat ; 20. Mysterious light ; 21. Learning to let go ; 22. The tale of the intrepid anthropologist ; 23. What waves in the quantum realm? ; 24. Can we know what is real? ; 25. Who is afraid of quantum ghosts? ; 26. For whom the bell tolls ; 27. Consciousness and the quantum world ; 28. Back to the beginning
  • Part III. Mind and meaning. 29. On the laws of humans and the laws of nature ; 30. Incompleteness ; 31. Sinister dreams of transhuman machines, or : The world as information ; 32. Awe and meaning
Isbn
9780465031719
Instance
Label
The island of knowledge : the limits of science and the search for meaning
Title
The island of knowledge
Title remainder
the limits of science and the search for meaning
Statement of responsibility
Marcelo Gleiser
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Do all questions have answers? How much can we know about the world? Is there such a thing as an ultimate truth? To be human is to want to know, to understand our origins and the meaning of our lives. In The Island of Knowledge, physicist Marcelo Gleiser traces our search for answers to the most fundamental questions of existence, the origin of the universe, the nature of reality, and the limits of knowledge. In so doing, he reaches a provocative conclusion: science, the main tool we use to find answers, is fundamentally limited. As science and its philosophical interpretations advance, we are often faced with the unsettling recognition of how much we don't know. Limits to our knowledge of the world arise both from our tools of exploration and from the nature of physical reality: the speed of light, the uncertainty principle, the second law of thermodynamics, the incompleteness theorem, and our own limitations as an intelligent species. Our view of physical reality depends fundamentally on who we are and on how we interact with the cosmos
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Gleiser, Marcelo
Dewey number
501
Index
index present
LC call number
Q175.32.M43
LC item number
G57 2014
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Meaning (Philosophy)
  • Science
  • Knowledge, Theory of
  • SCIENCE
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • SCIENCE
  • Knowledge, Theory of
  • Meaning (Philosophy)
  • Science
  • Bedeutung
  • Naturwissenschaften
  • Philosophie
Label
The island of knowledge : the limits of science and the search for meaning, Marcelo Gleiser
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-318) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: The Island of Knowledge -- Part I. The origin of the world and the nature of the heavens. 1. The will to believe ; 2. Beyond space and time ; 3. To be, or to become? That is the question ; 4. Lessons from Plato's dream ; 5. The transformative power of a new observational tool ; 6. Cracking open the dome of heaven ; 7. Science as nature's grand narrative ; 8. The plasticity of space ; 9. The restless universe ; 10. There is no now ; 11. Cosmic blindness ; 12. Splitting infinities ; 13. Rolling downhill ; 14. Counting universes ; 15. Interlude: A promenade along the string landscape ; 16. Can we test the multiverse hypothesis? -- Part II. From alchemy to the quantum : the elusive nature of reality. 17. Everything floats in nothingness ; 18. Admirable force and efficacy of art and nature ; 19. The elusive nature of heat ; 20. Mysterious light ; 21. Learning to let go ; 22. The tale of the intrepid anthropologist ; 23. What waves in the quantum realm? ; 24. Can we know what is real? ; 25. Who is afraid of quantum ghosts? ; 26. For whom the bell tolls ; 27. Consciousness and the quantum world ; 28. Back to the beginning -- Part III. Mind and meaning. 29. On the laws of humans and the laws of nature ; 30. Incompleteness ; 31. Sinister dreams of transhuman machines, or : The world as information ; 32. Awe and meaning
Control code
ocn855606772
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xxiv, 335 pages
Isbn
9780465031719
Lccn
2013046890
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780465031719
  • (OCoLC)855606772
Label
The island of knowledge : the limits of science and the search for meaning, Marcelo Gleiser
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-318) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: The Island of Knowledge -- Part I. The origin of the world and the nature of the heavens. 1. The will to believe ; 2. Beyond space and time ; 3. To be, or to become? That is the question ; 4. Lessons from Plato's dream ; 5. The transformative power of a new observational tool ; 6. Cracking open the dome of heaven ; 7. Science as nature's grand narrative ; 8. The plasticity of space ; 9. The restless universe ; 10. There is no now ; 11. Cosmic blindness ; 12. Splitting infinities ; 13. Rolling downhill ; 14. Counting universes ; 15. Interlude: A promenade along the string landscape ; 16. Can we test the multiverse hypothesis? -- Part II. From alchemy to the quantum : the elusive nature of reality. 17. Everything floats in nothingness ; 18. Admirable force and efficacy of art and nature ; 19. The elusive nature of heat ; 20. Mysterious light ; 21. Learning to let go ; 22. The tale of the intrepid anthropologist ; 23. What waves in the quantum realm? ; 24. Can we know what is real? ; 25. Who is afraid of quantum ghosts? ; 26. For whom the bell tolls ; 27. Consciousness and the quantum world ; 28. Back to the beginning -- Part III. Mind and meaning. 29. On the laws of humans and the laws of nature ; 30. Incompleteness ; 31. Sinister dreams of transhuman machines, or : The world as information ; 32. Awe and meaning
Control code
ocn855606772
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
xxiv, 335 pages
Isbn
9780465031719
Lccn
2013046890
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780465031719
  • (OCoLC)855606772

Subject

Library Locations

    • Waubonsee: Sugar Grove Campus - Todd LibraryBorrow it
      Collins Hall 2nd Floor Waubonsee Community College Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive, Sugar Grove, IL, 60554, US
      41.7974000 -88.45785

Library Links

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Waubonsee Community College. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.