Reality Is Not What It Seems
The Journey to Quantum Gravity
by Carlo Rovelli · first published 2017
15mentions
4recommended by
6HN commenters
2018–2025first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
This is an English translation of "La realtà non è come ci appare" originally written in Italian.
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on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗Someone already mentioned “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, so I’ll go with something I read last year, Carlo Rovelli’s, “Reality is Not What it Seems.” I don’t think I really ever grasped the concept of relativity fully until reading that book — at least the aspects of time. [edit: well, not “fully”, I’m sure — but at least a lot more than I have…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗I just finished Rovelli's "Reality Is Not What It Seems" last weekend and enjoyed it. It is a broad and high level summary of the progress of physics and the book ends with some of the more speculative ideas being pursued. I especially enjoyed the "thermal…
on “Relational Quantum Mechanics” ↗(0) is a great book that explains very neatly why even long disproved models of physics were right, only less right then newer models. (0) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Is_Not_What_It_Seems
on “The Relativity of Wrong (1989)” ↗From my favorite theoretical physicist (author of "The order of time", "Reality is not what it seems", "Helgoland", etc.) comes yet another book referencing his fascinating work.
on “A New Book by Carlo Rovelli: “White Holes”” ↗I’m listening to Carlo Rovelli’s book, “Reality is not what it seems”, and I’m still hung up on the concept of the “extended now”. The way he describes it, everything being relativistic, there’s no such thing as an “objective” point of view. So, if I understand his take…
on “A Black Hole Threw a Star Out of the Milky Way Galaxy” ↗In Carlo Rovelli's, Reality is Not What it Seems [0], he speaks of this final point in its short, final chapter. He starts by using an example from Plato's, Phaedo, where Plato acknowledges the limits of the knowledge of his time – in relation to Socrates…
on “A new experiment hints at surprising hidden mechanics of quantum superpositions” ↗…when they are in the same inertial frame – from special relativity. In addition, there is gravitational time dilation. Thus, the "reality" is that no two clocks are in sync. As Rovelli points out in "Reality Is Not What It Seems", with the precise clocks we have today, it's possible to measure this effect for a difference in altitude of a few centimetres.
on “Carlo Rovelli on the ‘greatest remaining mystery’: The nature of time” ↗Same — first time I’ve read that story and I’ve been following Atkinson’s work for years. His trip description really resonated with me, just having finished Rovelli’s “Reality is Not What it Seems.”
on “Bill Atkinson: Reflections on the 40th anniversary of my joining Apple” ↗Carlo Rovelli -- reality is not what it seems The takeaway that stayed most with me: all laws of physics are proven to be wrong at some point in time, and get step by step replaced by less wrong versions. Sapiens, no introduction needed
on “Ask HN: Books that teach you to think” ↗Baader-Meinhof complex in action: I have _just_ ordered a book of Rovelli's (Reality is Not What It Seems - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Is_Not_What_It_Seems), it should be in my hands by the end of the week. I am fascinated by the ongoing work in quantum gravity, it's tantalising by its nature.…
on “Carlo Rovelli’s radical perspective on reality” ↗The History of Medieval Europe by Maurice Keen Reality is Not What it Seems by Carlo Rovelli The Brain: The Story of You by David Eagleman I had a crack at reading the first Game of Thrones novel (I think it's just called A Game of Thrones) but my brain seems to be in non-fiction…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗Beautifully written. Felt a bit prepared for this having recently read, “Reality is Not What it Seems”, but these concepts are still so hard to grasp. I just recommended the Dalai Lama’s “Universe in a Single Atom” in another thread and there’s something in that book that to me sounds like what Smolin…
on “The world is not enough” ↗…replaced by a less wrong model, in steps. In fact the author argues that all those wrong models are perfectly fine and usable, for their period of time and applications. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_Is_Not_What_It_Seems
on “Your Brain Is Not An Onion With A Tiny Reptile Inside (2020)” ↗…expression. That said, indeed saying 'I know God exists' is misleading. It is trying to convince by stating beliefs as being True. The thing is, i believe knowing is simply a colloquial term. I read the book 'reality is not what it seems'. We make models of the world. Those models are wrong but mostly good enough to get along, but over time science prooves that each should be replaced by a less wrong model. Models stay wrong ad infinitum.…