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  • The Big Picture

  • On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
  • Written by: Sean Carroll
  • Narrated by: Sean Carroll
  • Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (112 ratings)

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The Big Picture

Written by: Sean Carroll
Narrated by: Sean Carroll
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Publisher's Summary

Does human purpose and meaning fit into a scientific worldview?

Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?

In short chapters filled with intriguing historical anecdotes, personal asides, and rigorous exposition, listeners learn the difference between how the world works at the quantum level, the cosmic level, and the human level - and then how each connects to the other. Carroll's presentation of the principles that have guided the scientific revolution - from Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe - is dazzlingly unique.

Carroll shows how an avalanche of discoveries in the past few hundred years has changed our world and what really matters to us. Our lives are dwarfed like never before by the immensity of space and time, but they are redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning.

The Big Picture is an unprecedented scientific worldview, a tour de force that will be listened to alongside the works of Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Daniel Dennett, and E. O. Wilson for years to come.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 Sean Carroll (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

Included on Brain Picking’s “The Greatest Science Books of 2016” List and included on NPR Science Friday’s “The Best Science Books of 2016” List

“Weaving the threads of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and philosophy into a seamless narrative tapestry, Sean Carroll enthralls us with what we’ve figured out in the universe and humbles us with what we don’t yet understand. Yet in the end, it’s the meaning of it all that feeds your soul of curiosity.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey)

“With profound intelligence and lucid, unpretentious language, Sean Carroll beautifully articulates the worldview suggested by contemporary naturalism. Thorny issues like free will, the direction of time, and the source of morality are clarified with elegance and insight. The Big Picture shows how the scientific worldview enriches our understanding of the universe and ourselves. A reliable account of our knowledge of the universe, it is also a serene meditation on our need for meaning. This is a book that should be read by everybody.” (Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics)

"Vivid...impressive....Splendidly informative." (The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about The Big Picture

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Maybe angels are transgender...

I'm halfway through this book and I have to confess that I find it excruciating. Mind you, it's beautifully written and it conveys the beauty of science. But it's essentially meditation wrapped in contemplation wrapped in, yes, a bottle of transcendence perfume. Listening to this book felt like being thrown back to the Middle Ages, listening to a medieval theologian telling me that "we're close to understanding everything now about the universe now, stay tuned, the big picture will soon be revealed." And then what? When you've found your stupid single equation, then what? Of course this nice, gentle theologian stands on something he doesn't see, that is, the frame of his understanding of the world. Doesn't seem to give any thought as to what knowledge may be and how contingent it is. We could argue that it's closer to a quest for power and anxiety relief masquerading as a "quest for truth" (strangely, the ultimate resolution of the world and the end of knowledge). Other things that bothered me: no single cause to anything (yes) doesn't mean "no causality" or, to say it in an unnecessary complicated way, no "emergence of increasing complexity in reaction to internal and external contingencies". Books like this one make me wish (dream) that engineers write more books. Why don't they? Probably too busy, and caught up in contingencies.

Now the ultimate question: did Aristotle's body's electrons have free will or were determined? Maybe both? Are angels transgender?

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Amazing book about everything

Sean Carroll is a very engaging writer and speaker (he self-narrates the book). This book is quite ambitious as it sets out to cover pretty much... everything. And it does an incredible job!

Sean's style is very approachable, but he gives his audience a good deal of credit too - this means that you may encounter bits and pieces of the book that are a bit over your head if you are not familiar with the subject matter (this was me with the abiogenesis topic). I still found it interesting and picked up a few things even if I didn't grasp everything.

The book starts explaining Baysianism (this part admittedly is a little slow, but very necessary for understanding the logical structure of his arguments throughout the rest of the book so bear with it), then it goes on to discuss the universe from the very large to the very small. He even dedicates a few chapters to discussing humans, evolution and Earth.

I just recently re-listened to the entire thing and definitely picked up a lot of new things as some of the concepts began to sink in better.

I can't say enough good things about this book. Sean Carroll's best in my opinion, and possibly the best book on "everything" too. Enjoy!

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monotonous

Boring, monotonous, and tedious!
Great as white noise, exactly! "Noise"

I am sorry, I gave it a try for a quarter of the book. Monotone reading and uninteresting material really kills it!

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Incredible

loved it!! Sean Carroll changed my life, this book and his podcast must be listened to by as many people as possible

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Heavy on science but not really convincing

This is not for beginners. Heavy science and not easy to follow. But he makes his case reasonably well. Still is unable to explain why life and the Universe exists. Well written but I am not convinced by his thesis.

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Nice read

Pretty good description of current state of affairs in physics and its influence on biology, conscience and believes

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Evidence based and well written.

In my opinion this book is for the laymen that values intelectual honesty, but doesn’t have an educated background. This book does an incredible job of breaking down difficult concepts and making the core theory accessible to the average person. Highly recommend it.

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TEDIOUSLY PHILISOPHICAL

Very disappointing!! Does not illuminate or explain the big picture but rather completely thrashes in the weeds of various philosophical models that might describe it. Total waste of time and money.

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Bore me to Death

I couldn’t get through this. The narrator droned on. Gave it a far try I think.

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Beautiful voice

easy to listen as the speakers voice was calm, easy to understand explanations, I however would listen few times to fully comprehend this scientific article..

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