Book123

    Free register and download UseNet downloader, then you can FREE Download from UseNet.

    Download without Limit " Science/Engineering Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos " from UseNet for FREE!

More

Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes: Charles Seife

The author of Zero explains the scientific revolution that is transforming the way we understand our world

Previously the domain of philosophers and linguists, information theory has now moved beyond the province of code breakers to become the crucial science of our time. In Decoding the Universe, Charles Seife draws on his gift for making cutting-edge science accessible to explain how this new tool is deciphering everything from the purpose of our DNA to the parallel universes of our Byzantine cosmos. The result is an exhilarating adventure that deftly combines cryptology, physics, biology, and mathematics to cast light on the new understanding of the laws that govern life and the universe.

Review:

Decoding the Universe is an accessible discussion of information theory and its effects on thinking about how the universe works. It's probably too simplified to satisfy anyone with a strong physics background, but is written for a more general audience. It discusses the history of mathematical thinking from the beginnings of understanding of the laws of thermodynamics to current views of the interrelations between relativity and quantum theory. I found it to give me the kind of introduction to information theory I was looking for, but suspect that it might be a bit difficult for some to grasp all of the concepts, which aren't easy even being greatly simplified for a more popular audience.

Review:

This is great writing, though not exactly science writing. Because competing or deflating theories or studies are not presented, Seife's arguments are speculative, not of the smoke-and-mirror quality of new-agers, but based upon careful presentation of amazing scientific theory, experiment, mystery. Therefore, I take the book's argument not as an advance over prior theories of physics, but as a provocation of them. As long as the reader takes it for this, it can masterfully explain and strangely entertain. Seife will take you on a marvelous ride, expose you to such intelligibilities as:

Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123