Einstein's dreams
by Alan P. Lightman · first published 1993
68% recommend32% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, fast-reading fiction in which each chapter imagines a world where time works differently, written by a physicist. Suits readers curious about relativity and the nature of time who want a literary take.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A fictional work in which a twenty-six-year-old Albert Einstein, working in a patent office in Switzerland, imagines possible worlds in which time works differently as he formulates his theory of relativity.
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Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman is also fiction and one of the best books I have ever read. I read it over 20 years ago and some of the stories in it still flash in my mind. Definitely going to re-read it. It is a…
on “Summer Reading List” ↗…back on giving as a gift: Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom A superintelligence is a hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence far surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive…
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗Since that was bad, and the topic is wonderful, may I offer something very good on this topic instead? It is a book called Einstein's Dreams. Thank me later.
on “The clock does not measure time; it produces it” ↗Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman is an imaginative (read fictional) adventure into how Einstein might have come up with his paradigm-making ideas while working as a patent clerk in Bern.. Good coast-to-coast airplane…
on “Einstein: Curiosity trumps intellect” ↗Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman and maybe Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗There is a book, Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman that describes this phenomena beautifully. It's a short and wonderful book.
on “How the Apocalypse Will Bring Out the Best in People” ↗Also recommended: Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman. A literary exploration of relativity.
on “Aging Is a Communication Breakdown” ↗Fiction: Mordecai Roshwald, Level 7 Alexander Dewdney, The Planiverse Joseph Heller, God Knows Alan Lightman, Einstein's Dreams Non-fiction: Jane Goodall, In the Shadow of Man Gian-Carlo Rota, Indiscrete Thoughts C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image Michael E. Brown, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Robert Kegan,…
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗I'd call myself an Alan Lightman fan (Einstein's Dreams is a lovely book) but I think he missed on this one.
on “No Way to Be Human: We now occupy a nearly natureless world” ↗> If that last thought intrigues you, you might enjoy reading Strange Life of Ivan Osokin by P.D. Ouspensky. Also Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman, a collection of short stories where each story is a universe where time functions differently than in our own.
on “Qubits 30 meters apart used to confirm Einstein was wrong about quantum” ↗Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
on “Ask HN: Books that altered your view of reality” ↗Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Einstein's Dreams. Written by a physicist. A great fiction on the nature of how time could be. My favorite example from the book is about how one scenario says that time slows as we go up the mountains and most people…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗Slightly off-topic (as usual), but this reminds me of the book Einstein's Dreams. Different ways of thinking about time. "The book consists of 30 chapters, each exploring one dream about time that Einstein had during this period." The chapters are versions of the world where time…
on “One Tenth of a Second” ↗I would surely read Einstein's Dreams and SuperIntelligence.
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗