Bibliograph

Probable impossibilities, musings on beginnings and endings, Alan Lightman

Type

Label

Probable impossibilities, musings on beginnings and endings, Alan Lightman

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Probable impossibilities

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1161997924

Responsibility statement

Alan Lightman

Sub title

musings on beginnings and endings

Summary

"Before the discovery of quarks, we hadn't imagined anything smaller than protons and neutrons. Are quarks the end of the line, the smallest imaginable objects in nature? Can the universe be divided into infinitely smaller units in the same way the universe is ever-expanding? Alan Lightman explores these questions in his characteristic accessible and lyrical prose, considering the igniting element behind consciousness, the origin of life, the anatomy of a smile, our fickle memories. Probable Impossibilities brings together recently published and four original essays. Throughout, Lightman guides a discussion on what we know of the universe, life, the mind, and the conception of things vastly larger than ourselves in time and space"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Probable impossibilities -- Between nothingness and infinity -- What came before the big bang? -- On nothingness -- Atoms -- Modern Prometheus -- One hundred billion -- Smile -- The anatomy of attention -- Immortality -- The ghost house of my childhood -- In defense of disorder -- Miracles -- Our lonely home in nature -- Is life special? -- Cosmic biocentrism -- The man who knows infinity

Target audience

adult

resource.variantTitle

Musings on beginnings and endings

Classification