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Impossibility: Limits of Science and the Science of Limits (Paperback)

by John D. Barrow (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (4 Aug 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099772116
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099772118
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 277,651 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

What can we never do? Barrow looks at what limits there might be to human discovery, and what we might find, ultimately, to be unknowable, undoable, or unthinkable, Science is a big success story, but where will it end? And, indeed, will it end? Weaving together a tapestry of surprises, Barrow explores the frontiers of knowledge. We find that the notion of 'impossibility' has played a striking role in our thinking. Surrealism, impossible figures, time travel, paradoxes of logic and perspectives - all stimulate us to contemplate something more than what is. Using simple explanations, it shows the reader that impossibility is a deep and powerful notion; that any Universe complex enough to contain conscious beings will contain limits on what those beings can know about their Universe; that what we cannot know defines reality as surely as what we can know.


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'If you are fascinated by the limits of knowledge, you will be richly rewarded by this book' New Scientist
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars At the edge of popular science, 29 Jun 2002
If you like reading books about codes, navigation, E=mc2, black holes then you will find Impossibility is up your street. But unlike most popular science books that you will read, absorb and then file, you will find Impossibility a mental challenge. It's the sort of book that you will read, skim through a bit then decide that you will keep it handy so you can come back to it when you have had a chance to get your head round it a bit more.

It covers an area that is essential for any intellectual to know about, that is not just the edges of human knowledge, but those areas where we can prove that we will not know everything. When you get over the disappointment about this, you want to know what those areas are and the book is very good at summarising them. It is very well written and the fact that you have to concentrate on the ideas inside is what makes reading it ultimately a very worthwhile and mind-expanding experience.

In the best tradition of popular science the explanations are logical, understandable and flow from one to the other. If I was on a desert island I would take this book rather than any other popular science text, precisely because it would be a daily mental workout.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Without limits there would be no science, 25 May 2005
By Sally-Anne "mynameissally" (Leicestershire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
Who would have guessed that it could be so hard to work out what is and isn't possible? And how astonishing that some people imagine that nothing is impossible and will rail against the notion or sink into depression at the realisation that not everything is knowable. John Barrow prods at all sorts of limits in this book, in order to show us where they are and how to recognise them. He discusses the limits imposed by size (the itsy-bitsy to the astronomical), time and space (they might be two separate things after all, apparently), speed, complexity, our assumptions about the 'constants' of nature, linguistic and mathematical paradoxes, technological limits and the limits of the human mind. He considers what the universe might be like beyond what is visible to astronomers today: is it just more of the same or might it be an eternal, self-reproducing inflationary universe where the laws of nature differ from one area to another, for example? Is time travel possible? What other sorts of extraterrestrial intelligences could exist? There are limits in every direction and area of study. Without them, science would not be possible.

I'm pleased to be able to report that this book is not impossible to understand. It's well written, entertaining and enlightening. There are lots of pithy quotes including a few from some of my favourite authors (eg Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett). I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel a little less dim than I did before I started the book.

Recommended.

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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Defining the limits of science, 2 May 2002
The first hurdle any reader has to overcome when reading this book is the half-title collophon. It reads thus: "John D. Barrow is Professor of Asronomy at hte university of Sussex. He is the authir of several bestselling books, including 'Theories of Everythind' and 'The Bookof Nothing'." Duhhh! - Someone didn't use a spell checker - four error in two sentences is an inauspicious start.

Fortunately for his readers, this seems to be the only editorial contribution made by Vintage Press - the rest of the book is error-free.

Barrow charts a careful course somewhere between the impenetrable, accesible only to those well-versed in science, and the vulgar, readily accessible to interested lay reader. I think he has hit a happy medium that is acceptable to both camps.

The idea of the "end of science" is a scary one and not readily accessible to anyone's intuition. Notions of unknowability and inaccessibility do not immediately appeal to scientists who consider that nature is their oyster - ripe to be prised open.

Barrow does an excellent job of laying out the theoretical limits of knowledge and understanding. His narrative is accessible to the interested lay reader but is not too condescending as to frighten away the professionals.

I found the book an engaging and stimulating read. The illustrations are well chosen to assist the lay reader. I was well entertained for the modest outlay of buying it.

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