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The Emperor's New Mind
- Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
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What Is Life?
- With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
- Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, Roger Penrose - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the 20th century. A distinguished physicist's exploration of the question which lies at the heart of biology, it was written for the layman but proved one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. It appears here together with "Mind and Matter", his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.
Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, and others
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I Am a Strange Loop
- Written by: Douglas R. Hofstadter
- Narrated by: Greg Baglia
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks where the self comes from - and how our selves can exist in the minds of others. I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop" - a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called "I". The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.
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Interesting subject, but arguments long.
- By Arpad Benedek on 2021-01-12
Written by: Douglas R. Hofstadter
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Fundamentals
- Ten Keys to Reality
- Written by: Frank Wilczek
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Frank Wilczek
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the 10 profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world.
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Loved this book
- By Randy Holmes on 2021-11-27
Written by: Frank Wilczek
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Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
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Good Public Wake-up Call
- By Shesophist on 2019-05-01
Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
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Existential Physics
- A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
- Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Gina Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.
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Enjoyed it greatly
- By James on 2023-06-11
Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
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Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- Written by: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Great book for neardy people
- By Daniel Gonzalez on 2023-07-16
Written by: Steven Strogatz
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What Is Life?
- With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches
- Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, Roger Penrose - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the 20th century. A distinguished physicist's exploration of the question which lies at the heart of biology, it was written for the layman but proved one of the spurs to the birth of molecular biology and the subsequent discovery of the structure of DNA. It appears here together with "Mind and Matter", his essay investigating a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.
Written by: Erwin Schrödinger, and others
-
I Am a Strange Loop
- Written by: Douglas R. Hofstadter
- Narrated by: Greg Baglia
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks where the self comes from - and how our selves can exist in the minds of others. I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop" - a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called "I". The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.
-
-
Interesting subject, but arguments long.
- By Arpad Benedek on 2021-01-12
Written by: Douglas R. Hofstadter
-
Fundamentals
- Ten Keys to Reality
- Written by: Frank Wilczek
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Frank Wilczek
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our great contemporary scientists reveals the 10 profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical world.
-
-
Loved this book
- By Randy Holmes on 2021-11-27
Written by: Frank Wilczek
-
Lost in Math
- How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
- Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Laura Jennings
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether pondering black holes or predicting discoveries at CERN, physicists believe the best theories are beautiful, natural, and elegant, and this standard separates popular theories from disposable ones. This is why, Sabine Hossenfelder argues, we have not seen a major breakthrough in the foundations of physics for more than four decades. The belief in beauty has become so dogmatic that it now conflicts with scientific objectivity: Observation has been unable to confirm mindboggling theories, like supersymmetry or grand unification, invented by physicists based on aesthetic criteria.
-
-
Good Public Wake-up Call
- By Shesophist on 2019-05-01
Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
-
Existential Physics
- A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions
- Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
- Narrated by: Gina Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Not only can we not currently explain the origin of the universe, it is questionable we will ever be able to explain it. The notion that there are universes within particles, or that particles are conscious, is ascientific, as is the hypothesis that our universe is a computer simulation. On the other hand, the idea that the universe itself is conscious is difficult to rule out entirely.
-
-
Enjoyed it greatly
- By James on 2023-06-11
Written by: Sabine Hossenfelder
-
Infinite Powers
- How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
- Written by: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Infinite Powers recounts how calculus tantalized and thrilled its inventors, starting with its first glimmers in ancient Greece and bringing us right up to the discovery of gravitational waves. Strogatz reveals how this form of math rose to the challenges of each age: how to determine the area of a circle with only sand and a stick; how to explain why Mars goes "backwards" sometimes; how to turn the tide in the fight against AIDS.
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Great book for neardy people
- By Daniel Gonzalez on 2023-07-16
Written by: Steven Strogatz
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The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
- Space, Time, and Motion
- Written by: Sean Carroll
- Narrated by: Sean Carroll
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.
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Fascinating book for anyone interested in math and science
- By Anonymous User on 2023-04-18
Written by: Sean Carroll
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The Quantum Universe
- (And Why Anything That Can Happen, Does)
- Written by: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In The Quantum Universe, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible - and fascinating - to everyone.The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way.
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Failed attempt to explain the complex matter
- By Georgiy Zhukovskiy on 2023-07-04
Written by: Brian Cox, and others
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Other Minds
- The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
- Written by: Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Peter Godfrey-Smith, a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver, tells a bold new story of how subjective experience crept into being—how nature became aware of itself. As Godfrey-Smith stresses, it is a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind’s fitful development, Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing, acting, and signaling.
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Excellent
- By Paulette on 2020-04-09
Written by: Peter Godfrey-Smith
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The Language Instinct
- How the Mind Creates Language
- Written by: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In this classic, the world’s expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association....
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Fantastic! ...but not as an audiobook.
- By Alexandre L'Écuyer on 2019-06-26
Written by: Steven Pinker
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Reality+
- Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy
- Written by: David J. Chalmers
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Virtual reality is genuine reality; that’s the central thesis of Reality+. In a highly original work of “technophilosophy,” David J. Chalmers gives a compelling analysis of our technological future. He argues that virtual worlds are not second-class worlds, and that we can live a meaningful life in virtual reality. We may even be in a virtual world already.
Written by: David J. Chalmers
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Until the End of Time
- Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
- Written by: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Brian Greene
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Until the End of Time is Brian Greene's breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Greene takes us on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal.
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Stunning and beautiful! Best physics book!
- By Luc on 2020-03-11
Written by: Brian Greene
Publisher's Summary
For decades, proponents of artificial intelligence have argued that computers will soon be doing everything that a human mind can do. Admittedly, computers now play chess at the grandmaster level, but do they understand the game as we do? Can a computer eventually do everything a human mind can do?
In this absorbing and frequently contentious book, Roger Penrose puts forward his view that there are some facets of human thinking that can never be emulated by a machine. The book's central concern is what philosophers call the "mind-body problem". Penrose examines what physics and mathematics can tell us about how the mind works, what they can't, and what we need to know to understand the physical processes of consciousness. He is among a growing number of physicists who think Einstein wasn't being stubborn when he said his "little finger" told him that quantum mechanics is incomplete, and he concludes that laws even deeper than quantum mechanics are essential for the operation of a mind. To support this contention, Penrose takes the listener on a dazzling tour that covers such topics as complex numbers, Turing machines, complexity theory, quantum mechanics, formal systems, Godel undecidability, phase spaces, Hilbert spaces, black holes, white holes, Hawking radiation, entropy, quasicrystals, and the structure of the brain.
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- Michel Chehata
- 2020-06-30
quite an adventure !
I listened to this book in exactly 30 days. Each day, on average 30 minutes. I often couldn't do more than that because some of the concepts were heavy ones ! nevertheless very interesting ! I enjoyed this book very much but I must admit that my scientific background helped a little in facilitating the understanding of the mathematical concepts. Also after the 1st chapter, I was forced to buy the actual text (the book itself) because many formulas and pictures that I deemed important. so I listened to the book while looking at its pages. The last chapter is phenomenal !
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1 person found this helpful
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- john galt
- 2019-12-10
One one zero zero zero zero zero one zero zero ...
If you like listening to 50 digit binary notations read out as ones and zeros for a couple hours endlessly than this is an audiobook for you. On the other hand, the value of this book is apparent so I ordered th ed print version.
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24 people found this helpful
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- Reader
- 2019-12-05
Not for listening to
Seemingly endless reading of binary numbers that on the page would be typed out is absolutely unbearable and conveys no meaning what so ever. This is done not a few times and one 20 minute chapter is nearly exclusively this. Better to read the book.
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20 people found this helpful
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- Blake
- 2019-12-04
This is an eyeball read
Great book but not well suited for experiencing as an audiobook. Several sections were very equation/calculation/number heavy and I found it painful to listen to physics notation fully enunciated over and over ie. “open bracket vertical bar A close bracket right arrow...”
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16 people found this helpful
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- Tyler
- 2020-02-27
Echoing others: get the book in paper.
Put shortly, please buy the book. It is important material heading into the 21st century. AI, philosophy, and consciousness studies from the lens of science is a huge portion of the future. Roger Penrose has done a phenomenal and thorough overview starting from scratch. He builds his ideas fluently and expertly, but reading it aloud simply did not work. I had read the reviews and tried my hardest to make it through the audio. It's not a poor performance, but what tossed me over the tolerant cliff was the reading of the syntax.
I can't help but wonder why a mathematician didn't read a mathematician's book.
f(x) should be read "f OF x" and NOT "f open parenthesis x close parenthesis" This became ridiculously tedious. : (.
I wonder if the first half of the book I managed to hear did not included a whole hour of just hearing syntax.
I crave the material, and have ordered the physical book because it will be important to SEE the binary in order to digest it, rather than hear it. I'd like to SEE the equations and intuitively follow along. I couldn't keep order of the sequences in my head and it lost it's meaning and just became a thorn to get over.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Brad Jackson
- 2019-11-29
Put you to sleep boring
I respect Roger Penrose but this attempt at a new book was a complete failure. While the subject is interesting the way in which he hoes about explaining things will put you to sleep. He explains every aspect of the math and actually writes it out number by number.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Matasa
- 2020-04-23
Not an audio book. Completely useless.
Probably a great book but not in audio form unless you can follow equations just by listening. I can't. Nobody can!!! What were they thinking?! Can't even return it for some reason. Very disappointed.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anthony
- 2021-01-06
Great Book, Horrible Audiobook
Penrose is obviously brilliant and a lot of the information in this book is still relevant after 30 years. But seriously the narrator actually reads seamingly endless strings of binary numbers like '0010111010110001101010', and Turing Machine bit code like ' 10000R0100111101L left arrow 001101...stop'. It's really almost too much to sit thru. If you're getting this audiobook so you can listen along while reading the printed version - great, go for it. But if you're planning to listen in the car or while just chilling, you might want to give this one a pass.
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2 people found this helpful
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- p b richards
- 2020-12-29
Don’t listen to this, read the book
It is nearly impossible to listen to this book it has lots of math equations that are read out expertly by the narrator but it’s just impossible to listen to. Read the book
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1 person found this helpful
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- Michael
- 2020-01-28
Good but Dated and Not Great on Audible
The first few chapters of this book would be very difficult in just audible unless you are already very familiar with Turing Machines and the Mandelbrot Set. Unfortunately there is no PDF to go along with the book. Some images can be seen on Google Books and, of course, in paper or kindle.
The rest of the book suggests that human intelligence is non-computable and AI will be unable to produce machines that feel and intuit. Some of these ideas have become dated some are interesting but I did not find any deeply compelling.
Nevertheless this book is has a lot of interesting information and ideas and was well worth the listen, but I would not strongly recommend the Audible version.
The narration was very good considering the very difficult material.
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1 person found this helpful
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- kathy hardy
- 2023-06-09
For mathematicians only!
Cannot follow anything in this book, as I’m not a high grade maths scholar
Wasting time trying to fathom all the equations - a headache!
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