The Hidden Reality
by Brian Greene, Céline Laroche · first published 2011
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Surveys multiverse theories and parallel-universe ideas in physics for general readers. It offers a clear, engaging overview of modern cosmology and string theory.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the best-selling author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos comes his most expansive and accessible book to date—a book that takes on the grandest question: Is ours the only universe? There was a time when “universe” meant all there is. Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different “multiverse” proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most refined ob
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2019–2022Three Roads to Quantum Gravity
Lee Smolin
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2014–2023Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders
Warren Buffett
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
2015–2022About time
Paul Davies
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2009–2022Hyperspace
Michio Kaku
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2015–2025The First Three Minutes
Steven Weinberg
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 98 recommend · 9 mention8 recommend · 98 recommend
Feynman QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter; Penrose The road to reality; Greene The elegant universe; Greene The fabric of cosmos; Greene The hidden reality; Hofstadter Gödel, Escher, Bach; Asimov Understanding Physics; Ivanov Easy as pi; Boyer a history of Mathematics; Robbins What is Mathematics?; Russel principia mathematica;
on “Ask HN: Books with a high signal to noise ratio?” ↗String theory is probably the one scientific topic I spend the most of my free time learning about. It is fascinating. I have read Brian Greene's 'The Hidden Reality' over five times, I think. I recently watched his conversation with Sam Harris and was intrigued by a point Brian made, albeit about quantum mechanics and the 'many worlds' theory. Brian claims that…
on “String Theory Does Not Win a Nobel, and I Win a Long Bet” ↗…Hyperspace - Michio Kaku[4] Not Even Wrong - Peter Woit[5] The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin[6] About Time - Paul Davies[7] Time Reborn - Lee Smolin[8] The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene[9] The Hidden Reality - Brian Greene[10] The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene[11] Quantum Space: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe - Jim Baggott[12] The Universe Speaks…
on “Ask HN: Recommended Books on Physics?” ↗…Calabi-Yau manifold for life, and (unsurprisingly) we find ourselves living in that universe. This is the landscape multiverse theory. (I originally read about this theory in Brian Greene's excellent book The Hidden Reality, which describes many other multiverse theories too.) Now, something important to note is that all this is still highly conjectural. String theory has many pleasing theoretical properties, but about…
on “Why the Tiny Weight of Empty Space Is Such a Mystery” ↗…Steven Weinberg Hyperspace - Michio Kaku Not Even Wrong - Peter Woit The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin About Time - Paul Davies Time Reborn - Lee Smolin The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene The Hidden Reality - Brian Greene The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene Quantum Space: Loop Quantum Gravity and the Search for the Structure of Space, Time, and the Universe - Jim Baggott The Universe Speaks in Numbers:…
on “Ask HN: Which books you have read till now that were worth investing time in?” ↗Although the Luzin affair is more serious, the institutional problems with Soviety math remained at least up to the '80s; Edward Frenkel's recent book Love and Math: The Heart of a Hidden Reality discusses the anti-Semitism that kept him and other Jews from top schools and positions. In his case, the opening and then crumbling of the Soviet Union got him out, but the book itself is worth reading.…
on “The Tragedy of Mathematics In Russia” ↗Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality - by Edward Frenkel http://www.amazon.com/Love-Math-Heart-Hidden-Reality/dp/0465... Such a great book for people who love math. The end of the book gets a little bit hairy with more complex subjects…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?” ↗For a fun intro to modern math I highly recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Math-Heart-Hidden-Reality/dp/046.... This paper touches on a lot of the aspects in that book. With it and some undergrad math one can appreciate the brilliance of the paper. Also a good reading from earlier from the same author:…
on “Polymathematics: Is mathematics a single science or a set of arts? (1999) [pdf]” ↗…credible theoretical physicist who teaches at Columbia and has written several books. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Greene Greene wrote a book published in 2011 about multiple universes called "The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos". http://www.amazon.com/The-Hidden-Reality-Parallel-Universes/... When he was doing his book tour for that one, the 9News article was written and…
on “Parallel Worlds exist and will soon be testable, expert says” ↗To be fair, this only kills one of the multiverse hypotheses. I'm reading Brian Greene's "The Hidden Reality" right now, and he describes about 8 independent (or semi-independent) multiverse hypotheses. From what I understand (and I'm no physicist), this just provides evidence against the anthropic principle,…
on “At Multiverse Impasse, a New Theory of Scale” ↗