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Something Deeply Hidden

Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime

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Something Deeply Hidden

By: Sean Carroll
Narrated by: Sean Carroll
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About this listen

 INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

As you read these words, copies of you are being created.

Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and one of this world’s most celebrated writers on science, rewrites the history of 20th century physics. Already hailed as a masterpiece, Something Deeply Hidden shows for the first time that facing up to the essential puzzle of quantum mechanics utterly transforms how we think about space and time. His reconciling of quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity changes, well, everything.

Most physicists haven’t even recognized the uncomfortable truth: physics has been in crisis since 1927. Quantum mechanics has always had obvious gaps—which have come to be simply ignored. Science popularizers keep telling us how weird it is, how impossible it is to understand. Academics discourage students from working on the "dead end" of quantum foundations. Putting his professional reputation on the line with this audacious yet entirely reasonable book, Carroll says that the crisis can now come to an end. We just have to accept that there is more than one of us in the universe. There are many, many Sean Carrolls. Many of every one of us.

Copies of you are generated thousands of times per second. The Many Worlds Theory of quantum behavior says that every time there is a quantum event, a world splits off with everything in it the same, except in that other world the quantum event didn't happen. Step-by-step in Carroll's uniquely lucid way, he tackles the major objections to this otherworldly revelation until his case is inescapably established.

Rarely does a book so fully reorganize how we think about our place in the universe. We are on the threshold of a new understanding—of where we are in the cosmos, and what we are made of. Physics Science Mathematics Student Black Hole Cosmology
All stars
Most relevant
really comes together in the final chapters. a difficult book worthy of everyone, excellent work from sean once again. ❤

truly hidden

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If you have an interest in quantum physics this book is a good follow on from Carlo Rovelli et al. The book covers a lot of territory and yet manages to be coherent and interesting along the way. There are a few slightly laborious moments related to particle observation and entanglement however the following chapters coalesce what seemed to be at first disparate ideas nicely.

A satisfying journey

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and was well rewarded

Over the years, I had read several popular science books on similar subjects, and in recent years watched PBS Space Time and listened to Sean Carroll's Mindscape. I had been left with questions and despaired for answers. This book anticipated these, and corrected some errors for which I had not even formed questions. Its probably the case that to do better requires actually studying the math.

This book did an exceptional job in clearly explaining the route through the consensus and onto the quantum interpretation that it championed. As history of science, I found it very satisfying. I would have loved the book to have engaged directly with the philosophy of mathematics or of science. Without expertise in either, I nevertheless feel confident they would offer cogent critiques of the interpretation. In particular, I cannot help but be unsettled by the sense in which it seems to settle the interpretation of probability as being a real property of the universe.  

I was the right audience for this book

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Sean has a way of explaining complicated concepts in a very visual way. I found myself finally starting to understand and visualise some  fundamental concepts in quantum physics. I learnt about entropy, entanglement, what a Hamiltonian is, particles, waves, the Everettian interpretations of quantum mechanics; basically things that blew my mind. I didn't really do any maths or science at school (clearly the concept of science wasn't explained to me very well at school, I thought it had something with to do with a bunson burner) so finding out so many amazing things about our universe has been awesome. Of course I had to listen to every chapter three times. And by three I mean seven. The point is some of this started to sink into my brain. So buy this book. Sean's podcasts are also great. 

This book is bloody brilliant

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From time to time Planet Earth is blessed with Human Genius. Sean Carroll grew up to be a giant in Astro Physics. I loved this book from the very first sentence. Sean teaches us in layman’s language just what and who we are in This Univers but not only this Universe but who we are in many other Universes. His Multiverse or Many Worlds Theory captivated my imagination and explained also that we may have lost Loved ones in this world but that out in the Multiverse they are living quite happily, To grasp this is very exciting. And it’s a Theory or Belief that is taking hold of many of the great minds of our time. I will listen again to this book to gain an even better understanding of our Universe and the infinite number of Other Universes….. Cliff

BRILLIANCE AT ITS BEST

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