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How going online messes with your head
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So many realities
Jean-Luc Bertini/picturetank
Brian Greene demystifies multiverse theories and their place in modern physics
The Hidden Reality: Parallel universes and the deep laws of the cosmos by Brian Greene, Alfred A. Knopf, $29.95/ Allen Lane, £25 Reviewed by Amanda Gefter
ARCANE yet exciting physics, wrapped up in effortless prose. Yes, Brian Greene has done it again. His new book, The Hidden Reality, does for multiverses what his bestseller The Elegant Universe did for string theory: it provides the general reader with a thorough, engaging survey of the subject that manages to make highly abstract ideas sound implausibly comprehensible. The notion that our universe may be one of perhaps infinitely many universes that compose an unimaginably vast multiverse has become fashionable in physics these days – and for good reason. As Greene explains, no
matter where physicists turn, they seem to run into some kind of parallel world. From basic quantum physics to cosmology to string theory, the equations are oozing universes. At the same time, the subject has tensions flaring between physicists who view the multiverse as a panacea for all of physics’s ills and those who deride it as untestable metaphysics. As Greene puts it, the multiverse has become the “battleground for the very soul of science” (see Interview, New Scientist, 5 February, p 30). So there couldn’t be a better time for a book to sort out the many strange passages of the multiverse. To start, there is more than one notion of a multiverse; Greene tackles nine. They range from the bubble universes spawned by a continuous chain of big bangs to the possibility that we may one day create simulated universes on our desktops. You may be reading this in a simulated world right now. Or perhaps
infinite versions of you are reading this over and over, scattered throughout relentlessly expansive space. One thing, though, is common to all views: reality is not what it seems. I found the most intriguing multiverse to be the holographic variety. The idea is that our world, with its three spatial dimensions, is actually a holographic projection of a parallel world residing on its two-dimensional boundary. It is an idea that Greene explores in fascinating depth, and no wonder: it literally had him dancing with joy. “I faced the audience, threw my right hand to my left shoulder and my left hand to my right shoulder, and then with both hands in succession grabbed the seat of my pants, bunny-hopped and made a quarter turn.” You may recognise these moves as the Macarena – Greene was dancing it at a 1998 physics conference in excitement over the theoretical holographic universe discovered by physicist Juan Maldacena. Heyyyy, Maldacena! Most importantly, even while making the subject accessible, Greene doesn’t shy away from important nuances or profound philosophical questions. I suspect that this will be a hugely popular book – in this universe and many, many others.
Alien real estate Strange New Worlds by Ray Jayawardhana, Princeton University Press, $24.95/£16.95 Reviewed by Rachel Courtland
WITH the seemingly endless stream of news about discoveries of alien planets, it’s easy to forget that just 20 years ago exoplanets were no more than a theoretical possibility. Now astronomer Ray Jayawardhana tells the story of how the dramatic hunt has unfolded, from the early days of
stellar astronomy to present-day speculation about life outside our solar system. An exoplanet insider, Jayawardhana focuses on the science, answering questions that might plague regular followers of exoplanet news. He explains why, for example, star wobbles can only tell you the minimum mass of the planet that is doing the tugging. But the book is at its most exciting during the rare moments when we catch glimpses of individual exoplanet hunters’ passion for their quarry. Like habitable new worlds, there seem to be truly compelling stories hiding just out of reach.
Net gain? Is The Internet Changing the Way You Think? The net’s impact on our minds and future by John Brockman, Harper Perennial, $14.99 Reviewed by Samantha Murphy
FOR its annual question about science and tech for 2010, the Edge asked: how is the internet changing the way you think? Now the answers are on offer in book form. Some of the world’s leading thinkers on the issue prove deliciously divided. Technology author Nicolas Carr is alarmed by the impact of the internet, whereas cognitive scientist Steven Pinker’s response is entitled “Not at all”. Thinking around the debate, Andy Clark, a philosopher of the theory of mind, asks: “What kind of a dumb question is that?” The book’s conversational tone makes for enjoyable, intellectually engaging reading. I can’t help but think, however, that as science marches on we will look back on these perspectives and see a sort of 2010 time capsule. But if you are looking for a place to gather crucial questions for research whose answers will shape the world, look no further. 12 February 2011 | NewScientist | 49
So many realities
Jean-Luc Bertini/picturetank
Brian Greene demystifies multiverse theories and their place in modern physics
The Hidden Reality: Parallel universes and the deep laws of the cosmos by Brian Greene, Alfred A. Knopf, $29.95/ Allen Lane, £25 Reviewed by Amanda Gefter
ARCANE yet exciting physics, wrapped up in effortless prose. Yes, Brian Greene has done it again. His new book, The Hidden Reality, does for multiverses what his bestseller The Elegant Universe did for string theory: it provides the general reader with a thorough, engaging survey of the subject that manages to make highly abstract ideas sound implausibly comprehensible. The notion that our universe may be one of perhaps infinitely many universes that compose an unimaginably vast multiverse has become fashionable in physics these days – and for good reason. As Greene explains, no
matter where physicists turn, they seem to run into some kind of parallel world. From basic quantum physics to cosmology to string theory, the equations are oozing universes. At the same time, the subject has tensions flaring between physicists who view the multiverse as a panacea for all of physics’s ills and those who deride it as untestable metaphysics. As Greene puts it, the multiverse has become the “battleground for the very soul of science” (see Interview, New Scientist, 5 February, p 30). So there couldn’t be a better time for a book to sort out the many strange passages of the multiverse. To start, there is more than one notion of a multiverse; Greene tackles nine. They range from the bubble universes spawned by a continuous chain of big bangs to the possibility that we may one day create simulated universes on our desktops. You may be reading this in a simulated world right now. Or perhaps
infinite versions of you are reading this over and over, scattered throughout relentlessly expansive space. One thing, though, is common to all views: reality is not what it seems. I found the most intriguing multiverse to be the holographic variety. The idea is that our world, with its three spatial dimensions, is actually a holographic projection of a parallel world residing on its two-dimensional boundary. It is an idea that Greene explores in fascinating depth, and no wonder: it literally had him dancing with joy. “I faced the audience, threw my right hand to my left shoulder and my left hand to my right shoulder, and then with both hands in succession grabbed the seat of my pants, bunny-hopped and made a quarter turn.” You may recognise these moves as the Macarena – Greene was dancing it at a 1998 physics conference in excitement over the theoretical holographic universe discovered by physicist Juan Maldacena. Heyyyy, Maldacena! Most importantly, even while making the subject accessible, Greene doesn’t shy away from important nuances or profound philosophical questions. I suspect that this will be a hugely popular book – in this universe and many, many others.
Alien real estate Strange New Worlds by Ray Jayawardhana, Princeton University Press, $24.95/£16.95 Reviewed by Rachel Courtland
WITH the seemingly endless stream of news about discoveries of alien planets, it’s easy to forget that just 20 years ago exoplanets were no more than a theoretical possibility. Now astronomer Ray Jayawardhana tells the story of how the dramatic hunt has unfolded, from the early days of
stellar astronomy to present-day speculation about life outside our solar system. An exoplanet insider, Jayawardhana focuses on the science, answering questions that might plague regular followers of exoplanet news. He explains why, for example, star wobbles can only tell you the minimum mass of the planet that is doing the tugging. But the book is at its most exciting during the rare moments when we catch glimpses of individual exoplanet hunters’ passion for their quarry. Like habitable new worlds, there seem to be truly compelling stories hiding just out of reach.
Net gain? Is The Internet Changing the Way You Think? The net’s impact on our minds and future by John Brockman, Harper Perennial, $14.99 Reviewed by Samantha Murphy
FOR its annual question about science and tech for 2010, the Edge asked: how is the internet changing the way you think? Now the answers are on offer in book form. Some of the world’s leading thinkers on the issue prove deliciously divided. Technology author Nicolas Carr is alarmed by the impact of the internet, whereas cognitive scientist Steven Pinker’s response is entitled “Not at all”. Thinking around the debate, Andy Clark, a philosopher of the theory of mind, asks: “What kind of a dumb question is that?” The book’s conversational tone makes for enjoyable, intellectually engaging reading. I can’t help but think, however, that as science marches on we will look back on these perspectives and see a sort of 2010 time capsule. But if you are looking for a place to gather crucial questions for research whose answers will shape the world, look no further. 12 February 2011 | NewScientist | 49