The Fabric of the Cosmos
Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
by Brian Greene · first published 2004
74% recommend23% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Accessible tour of modern physics for curious laypeople and hobbyists: clear explanations of space, time, relativity and quantum mechanics, with helpful metaphors that build intuition beyond Newtonian thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A magnificent challenge to conventional ideas' Financial Times'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It manages to be both challenging and entertaining: it is highly recommended' the Independent'(Greene) send(s) the reader's imagination hurtling through the universe on an astonishing ride. As a popularizer of exquisitely abstract science, he is both a skilled and kindly explicator' the New York Times'Greene is as elegant as ever, cutting through the fog of complexity with insight and clarity; space and time become putty in his hands' Los Angeles Times Book Review
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…Man Month by Fred Brooks. Timeless coding wisdom. For a laugh, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, or Hitchhiker's Guide. Body Language, Julius Fast. Kitschy but fascinating insights into body language. Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene. Brian is a fluke of nature--a physicist who can explain things realy well! Anything by Phillip K. Dick. Sci-fi stories that make you think.
on “What books would you recommend reading? Why?” ↗…there's value in all genres (and mediums too). These are some of the books I've given an "A" over the last few years, roughly grouped by genre: Nonfiction: - A Short History of Nearly Everything - Fabric of the Cosmos - Dataclysm - The Righteous Mind - Merchants of Doubt - Dead Wake - Man's Search for Meaning - Evicted - The New Jim Crow - Night Sci-fi: - We - The Sirens of Titan - Hyperion - Stories of…
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗…this doesn't answer your question since you asked about math in general, but in case anyone ever starts a "Best Physics books for complete noobie?" thread I'd like to go ahead and suggest Brian Greene's "Fabric of the Cosmos": http://www.amazon.com/Fabric-Cosmos-Space-Texture-Reality/dp...
on “Ask HN: Best Mathematics book for complete noobie?” ↗This is just special relativity (space need not be curved for this description to work). Brian Greene's "Fabric of the Cosmos" gives a good layman's exposition of this idea, using a loaf-of-bread metaphor (this was the first time I saw it explained this way and it made a huge impact on my way of thinking about SR)
on “Faster Than the Speed of Light?” ↗* Linus Pauling's General Chemistry * Richard Dawkins' Ancestor's Tale * Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of Science * Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos
on “Bill Gates: AMA on Reddit” ↗Brian Greene's 'Fabric of the Cosmos'[1] has some great explanations of space and time and their relationship. If you are very interested, I highly recommend Carlo Rovelli's 'The Order of Time.'[2] And 'Your Brain is a Time Machine'[3],…
on “Exotic Physics Phenomenon Involving Time Reversal Observed for First Time” ↗…eternity; e.g. Putin and Assad destroyed my country, Syria (and they’re now doing the same in Ukraine). I hope I see them brought to justice in this world, but if they’re not, I can live with that. 2. The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. Written by someone who might an atheist, but it also demonstrates both theoretically and empirically how humble we and our planet are. He uses genius analogies to simplify complex concepts.…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene. The mind boggling science of the very big and very small laced with small doses of humor and philosophy. The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle. I haven't ever read a single other new age book…
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…seriously. From the outside, it looks like the exciting frontier of modern physics. But that's more about Brian Greene's skill in marketing himself than string theory's explanatory value. That being said, the Fabric of the Cosmos is a good layman's survey of the modern physics landscape: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabric_of_the_Cosmos Just bear in mind that Greene makes a lot of claims that aren't experimentally justified…
on “Theoretical Physics, In Your Own Time” ↗If anyone is interested, this is a great book for the hobbyist curious about this sort of thing: "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality" by Brian Greene
on “Higgs boson 'hints' also seen by US lab” ↗…I was watching a movie, that was compelling by the scene of it, despite not understanding what's going on for the most part.. But it makes you dream.. and makes me want to dive deeper into it all.. Fabric of the Cosmos (Brian Greene) opened my eyes into the world of physics (and string theory). Now I can't wait to find an equally compelling book on the ideas of loop gravity
on “A dialog on quantum gravity (2003)” ↗I'm extremely ignorant, but I've enjoyed Brian Greene's books and I'm currently reading The Fabric of the Cosmos. I've no idea how accurate it is or if I'm even understanding it. He could literally flip around the explanation and I'd have no way of verifying. Yet I still find it very satisfying to read.
on “Quantum Entanglement Drives the Arrow of Time” ↗Personally I recommend Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" as well as Brian Greene's "Fabric of the Cosmos." Hedeigger's masterpiece cover's his exploration of the question of the meaning of "being." This might sound vague, but essentially he's asking questions about the meaning (and significance) of existence…
on “Must-read Non-fiction” ↗I read the book and watched the documentary, "The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene. He gave a good explanation of time. Right before the big bang, the universe was in a 'perfectly' ordered state. Since the big bang the universe has become less and less 'perfect'.…
on “Where Did Time Come From, and Why Does It Seem to Flow?” ↗