The Big Picture
by Sean M. Carroll · first published 2016
54% recommend46% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Accessible tour of cosmology, entropy and the arrow of time that connects physics to questions about meaning and belief; praised as one of the best cosmology books in a long while, suited to laypeople with basic physics.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…this is the world we have to deal with and there is no indication we can influence the (supposed) simulation. If our world/universe is a simulation, it is simply too good. I also recommend to read "The Big Picture" by Sean Carrol, chapter 11 "Is It Okay to Doubt Everything?" deals with these kinds of thought experiments (including Bostrom). The 2016 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate was about "Is the Universe a Simulation?":…
on “Odds are we're living in a simulation, says Elon Musk” ↗…to the popular Innovator's Dilemma book. I like the sequel much better because it tries to give solutions to the dilemma. The book packs tons of counter intuitive insights. Highly recommended. 3. The Big Picture by Sean Carrol. The best cosmology book I have read in a long while 4. First break all the rules. If you are a first time manager, I highly recommend reading this book. 5. Deep Work by Cal Newport.…
on “Ask HN: What was the best book you read in 2016?” ↗As a layperson with only basic undergraduate physics (not necessary for the book; just, I'm no expert), I'll second Carroll's The Big Picture.
on “Einstein's description of gravity just got much harder to beat” ↗…books. This is one to pick if you want something impactful to your system of belief. I would also recommend a book I think is very similar to this (if for some reason Yudkowsky prose throws you off) "The Big Picture" from Sean Carroll, I think he introduces much of the same ideas in a very different manner.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗I highly agree and also recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVmeOCJjOU And I will add: The Big Picture: From the Big Bang to the Meaning of Life - with Sean Carroll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JsKwyRFiYY Mysteries of Modern Physics by Sean Carroll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBpR0LBsUfM
on “Where do space, time and gravity come from?” ↗Entropy. Both in information and in thermodynamics, and how brilliantly they are connected. The audiobook "The Big Picture" by Sean Carroll has helped a lot.
on “Ask HN: Concepts that clicked only years after you first encountered them?” ↗As entropy goes up in the universe complexity first increases and then decreases. And life is probably a consequence of this. Sean Carroll explains it quite well in his book The Big Picture and also in this video series from minute physics https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoaVOjvkzQtyZF-2VpJrxPz...
on “Is the emergence of life an expected phase transition in the evolving universe?” ↗…have been _too_ obvious, because it presents a viewpoint that isn't quite physicalism and isn't quite dualism, and people have been arguing back and forth about that for a long time. Sean Carroll, The Big Picture https://www.amazon.com/Big-Picture-Origins-Meaning-Universe/...
on “The Meta-Problem of Consciousness [pdf]” ↗…publicized it very much yet: https://goose.us/thoughts/the-purpose-of-life/ (TL;DR - the purpose of life is to maximize the area under the complexity curve for our enclosing system. I use Sean Carroll's The Big Picture and some MinutePhysics/Earth videos to help make the point.) Right now I'm learning more about complex systems while practicing writing and speaking in order to refine the message for wider consumption.…
on “Ask HN: What is your “mission” in work and life?” ↗…there's another constraint on conditions of the universe, where we have physical laws that create consciousness. Is this just an anthropic principle of some sort? I was listening to Sean Carroll's "The Big Picture" audiobook. He argues that I can't really be sure I'm not a p-zombie. But I think I can: I'm with Descartes on this one - it's the one thing I actually _can_ be sure of. I'm sure I have an inner experience…
on “Zombies Must Be Dualists: Zombies and Our Philosophy of Mind” ↗…our choice of prior credences. We’re allowed to pick priors however we want. [...] We have every right to give high credence to views of the world that are productive and fruitful." —Sean Carroll, The Big Picture (p.91)
on “Big Bounce Simulations Challenge the Big Bang” ↗I'm reading "The Big Picture" (Sean Carroll) right now. I'd love to have a real physicist explain this, but: When we think of what a particle IS, we often think as though it were dirt, or a billiard ball, or something. As though…
on “What Is a Particle? (2020)” ↗Sean Carroll, author of the book The Big Picture and host of the Mindscape podcast, has been this for me. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_M._Carroll
on “The Demon-Haunted World” ↗