Existential Physics

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Do we have free will? Is the universe compatible with God? Do we live in a computer simulation? Does the universe think?

Physicists are great at complicated research, but they are less good at telling us why it matters. In this entertaining and groundbreaking book, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder breaks down why we should care. Drawing on the latest research in quantum mechanics, black holes, string theory and particle physics, Existential Physics explains what modern physics can tell us about the big questions.

Filled with counterintuitive insights and including interviews with other leading scientists, this clear and yet profound book will reshape your understanding of science and the limits of what we can know.



Sabine Hossenfelder is a Research Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, where she leads a group studying quantum gravity. She is a leading science communicator and has written for the New Scientist, the New York Times, Aeon, and others. Her YouTube Channel, 'Science Without the Gobbledygook' has over 300,000 subscribers.



Hossenfelder may popularise science but she doesn't dumb it down... she stands between us and total incomprehension... That's my kind of science writer



Hossenfelder is a unique writing talent and a unique science popularizer. You will come away from this book enriched, and will think about the world differently than you did before.



[Existential Physics] takes you on a thought provoking, tantalising and illuminating journey. It clearly delineates what physics can tell us about ourselves and the universe we inhabit, and thus what it cannot.



Hossenfelder rightly believes that a better understanding of the limitations of science will benefit society. This comes across loud and clear in her book, which I found fun to read and really made me think about the scientific method and the big questions in life



If I had six stars to give this book, I'd do it... Highly recommended'



An informed and entertaining guide to what science can and cannot tell us.



Stimulating . . . encourage[s] readers to push past well-trod assumptions [...] and have fun doing so.



Entertaining



Hossenfelder elegantly illustrates complex ideas in straightforward, layfriendly language . . . [She] takes readers on a riveting cerebral journey through surprisingly confounding differences between scientific method and storytelling . . . Existential Physics is spectacular, and a must-read for all who ponder the purpose of existence.



An intriguing book fully of highly opinionated and convincing arguments.



Excellent