Hiding in the Mirror: The Quest for Alternate Realities, from Plato to String Theory (by way of Alicei n Wonderland, Einstein, and The Twilight Zone) by Lawrence M. Krauss (PDF)

Description

An exploration of mankind’s fascination with worlds beyond our own-by the bestselling author of The Physics of Star Trek Lawrence Krauss -an international leader in physics and cosmology-examines our long and ardent romance with parallel universes, veiled dimensions, and regions of being that may extend tantalizingly beyond the limits of our perception. Krauss examines popular culture’s current embrace (and frequent misunderstanding) of such topics as black holes, life in other dimensions, strings, and some of the more extraordinary new theories that propose the existence of vast extra dimensions alongside our own. BACKCOVER: “An astonishing and brilliantly written work of popular science.” -Science a GoGo “A brilliant, thrilling book . . . You’ll have so much fun reading that you’ll hardly notice you’re getting a primer on contemporary physics and cosmology.” -Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐For those of us not physicists or mathematicians, the concepts in this book are challenging but also enlightening. To understand the very nature of the universe and everything in between, is the very foundation of a species that explores its own existence and truths.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, albeit at times the challenge of truly comprehending all the content was above where I need to be. People may be afraid to try to read complex theories but it is important we all do comprehend the discovery that is the essence of who we are and where we are going.If you are up for that challenge, then you have to read this book.

⭐This is a fascinating book. It works a bit as a history of the interest in dimensions – the three of our apparent experience and the exploration many have made of the possibilities that there are more. In this LMK ties in how literary uses of developments came about or reflected – ha! – this. As for example, Charles Dodgson and Alice through the looking glass. So it explores not just the mathematical concepts – a great history of what led to Einstein’s theories – Time Travel and such – but our interest in these theories as psychological escapism.

⭐I have always been interested in science. In the late 70’s I came across a book by Martin Gardner called “The Ambidextrous Universe” and it rekindled that interest. Lawrence Krauss has taken that to the next level. I have read “Atom” and “A Universe From Nothing” and this was every bit as engrossing. This book puts Mr. Krauss at the top of my list of people I would most like to meet at a cocktail party. Seriously, I would so like that conversation!

⭐Fascinating little book – easy reading – profound concepts presented in the inimitable Krauss style.

⭐Low quality printing. Hard to read words in the middle.

⭐to read it is a…MUST., to enhance your mind trying to understand the WORLD.

⭐Interesting read.

⭐This author knows what’s going on -E.G. From the WSJ June 26, 2009God and Science Don’t MixA scientist can be a believer. But professionally, at least, he can’t act like one.By LAWRENCE M. KRAUSSMy practice as a scientist is atheistic. That is to say, when I set up an experiment I assume that no god, angel or devil is going to interfere with its course; and this assumption has been justified by such success as I have achieved in my professional career. I should therefore be intellectually dishonest if I were not also atheistic in the affairs of the world.– J.B.S. Haldane”Fact and Faith” (1934)Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in several exciting panel discussions at the World Science Festival in New York City. But the most dramatic encounter took place at the panel strangely titled “Science, Faith and Religion.” I had been conscripted to join the panel after telling one of the organizers that I saw no reason to have it. After all, there was no panel on science and astrology, or science and witchcraft. So why one on science and religion?I ended up being one of two panelists labeled “atheists.” The other was philosopher Colin McGinn. On the other side of the debate were two devoutly Catholic scientists, biologist Kenneth Miller and Vatican astronomer Guy Consolmagno. Mr. McGinn began by commenting that it was eminently rational to suppose that Santa Claus doesn’t exist even if one cannot definitively prove that he doesn’t. Likewise, he argued, we can apply the same logic to the supposed existence of God. The moderator of the session, Bill Blakemore, a reporter with some religious inclination, surprised me by bursting out in response, “Then I guess you are a rational atheist.”Our host was presumably responding to all those so-called fundamentalist atheists who have recently borne the brunt of intense attacks following the success of books like Sam Harris’s “The End of Faith,” and Richard Dawkins’s “The God Delusion.”These scientists have been castigated by believers for claiming that science is incompatible with a belief in God. On the one hand, this is a claim that appears manifestly false — witness the two Catholic scientists on my panel. And on the other hand, the argument that science suggests God is a delusion only bolsters the view of the of the fundamentalist religious right that science is an atheist enemy that must either be vanquished or assimilated into religion.Coincidentally, I have appeared numerous times alongside Ken Miller to defend evolutionary biology from the efforts of those on various state school boards who view evolution as the poster child for “science as the enemy.” These fundamentalists are unwilling to risk the possibility that science might undermine their faith, and so they work to shield children from this knowledge at all costs. To these audiences I have argued that one does not have to be an atheist to accept evolutionary biology as a reality. And I have pointed to my friend Ken as an example.This statement of fact appears to separate me from my other friends, Messrs. Harris and Dawkins. Yet this separation is illusory. It reflects the misperception that the recent crop of vocal atheist-scientist-writers are somehow “atheist absolutists” who remain in a “cultural and historical vacuum” — in the words of a recent Nature magazine editorial.But this accusation is unfair. Messrs. Harris and Dawkins are simply being honest when they point out the inconsistency of belief in an activist god with modern science.J.B.S. Haldane, an evolutionary biologist and a founder of population genetics, understood that science is by necessity an atheistic discipline. As Haldane so aptly described it, one cannot proceed with the process of scientific discovery if one assumes a “god, angel, or devil” will interfere with one’s experiments. God is, of necessity, irrelevant in science.Faced with the remarkable success of science to explain the workings of the physical world, many, indeed probably most, scientists understandably react as Haldane did. Namely, they extrapolate the atheism of science to a more general atheism.While such a leap may not be unimpeachable it is certainly rational, as Mr. McGinn pointed out at the World Science Festival. Though the scientific process may be compatible with the vague idea of some relaxed deity who merely established the universe and let it proceed from there, it is in fact rationally incompatible with the detailed tenets of most of the world’s organized religions. As Sam Harris recently wrote in a letter responding to the Nature editorial that called him an “atheist absolutist,” a “reconciliation between science and Christianity would mean squaring physics, chemistry, biology, and a basic understanding of probabilistic reasoning with a raft of patently ridiculous, Iron Age convictions.”When I confronted my two Catholic colleagues on the panel with the apparent miracle of the virgin birth and asked how they could reconcile this with basic biology, I was ultimately told that perhaps this biblical claim merely meant to emphasize what an important event the birth was. Neither came to the explicit defense of what is undeniably one of the central tenets of Catholic theology.Science is only truly consistent with an atheistic worldview with regards to the claimed miracles of the gods of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Moreover, the true believers in each of these faiths are atheists regarding the specific sacred tenets of all other faiths. Christianity rejects the proposition that the Quran contains the infallible words of the creator of the universe. Muslims and Jews reject the divinity of Jesus.So while scientific rationality does not require atheism, it is by no means irrational to use it as the basis for arguing against the existence of God, and thus to conclude that claimed miracles like the virgin birth are incompatible with our scientific understanding of nature.Finally, it is worth pointing out that these issues are not purely academic. The current crisis in Iran has laid bare the striking inconsistency between a world built on reason and a world built on religious dogma.Perhaps the most important contribution an honest assessment of the incompatibility between science and religious doctrine can provide is to make it starkly clear that in human affairs — as well as in the rest of the physical world — reason is the better guide.Mr. Krauss, a cosmologist, is director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University. His most recent book is “Hiding in the Mirror” (Viking, 2005).

⭐Great book..!!!

⭐Enjoyable

⭐This book was received in terrible condition. There are multiple holes in the front cover that go all the way through to page 23, the side of the book is bent and crumpled and some pages torn. The package itself was in fine condition but the book inside was very damaged meaning that this book was already in poor condition when shipped. I am incredibly disappointed with this purchase.

⭐For anyone interested in non-human animal thoughts and feelings, and evidence of these, this is indeed your book. Reviewed in New Scientist, July 11, p 42, it describes experiences by qualified observers that make it abundantly clear why we should believe elephants, orcas, and wolves, as well as many other animals, experience many of the emotions we humans tend to regard as solely our perogative.

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