Probable impossibilities: musings on beginnings and endings
(Book)
Description
"Before the discovery of quarks, we hadn't imagined anything smaller than protons and neutrons. Are quarks the end of the line, the smallest imaginable objects in nature? Can the universe be divided into infinitely smaller units in the same way the universe is ever-expanding? Alan Lightman explores these questions in his characteristic accessible and lyrical prose, considering the igniting element behind consciousness, the origin of life, the anatomy of a smile, our fickle memories. Probable Impossibilities brings together recently published and four original essays. Throughout, Lightman guides a discussion on what we know of the universe, life, the mind, and the conception of things vastly larger than ourselves in time and space"--
Copies
More Copies In Prospector
Reviews from GoodReads
More Details
Notes
Citations
Lightman, A. P. (2020). Probable impossibilities: musings on beginnings and endings. First edition. New York, Pantheon Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Lightman, Alan P., 1948-. 2020. Probable Impossibilities: Musings On Beginnings and Endings. New York, Pantheon Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Lightman, Alan P., 1948-, Probable Impossibilities: Musings On Beginnings and Endings. New York, Pantheon Books, 2020.
MLA Citation (style guide)Lightman, Alan P. Probable Impossibilities: Musings On Beginnings and Endings. First edition. New York, Pantheon Books, 2020.
Staff View
QR Code
Record Information
| Last Polaris Extract Time | Dec 07, 2024 06:03:46 AM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Dec 07, 2024 06:03:56 AM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Dec 07, 2024 06:03:47 AM |
MARC Record
| LEADER | 02655cam a22004218i 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 215908 | ||
| 005 | 20230801135602.0 | ||
| 008 | 200621s2020 nyu b 000 0 eng | ||
| 010 | |a 2020013914 | ||
| 020 | |a 9781524749019 |q (hardcover) | ||
| 020 | |z 9781524749026 |q (ebk) | ||
| 035 | |a 21576937 | ||
| 040 | |a LBSOR/DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC | ||
| 042 | |a pcc | ||
| 050 | 0 | 0 | |a QB981 |b .L544 2020 |
| 082 | 0 | 0 | |a 523.1 |2 23 |
| 100 | 1 | |a Lightman, Alan P., |d 1948- |e author. | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Probable impossibilities : |b musings on beginnings and endings / |c Alan Lightman. |
| 250 | |a First edition. | ||
| 263 | |a 2102 | ||
| 264 | 1 | |a New York : |b Pantheon Books, |c [2020] | |
| 300 | |a pages cm | ||
| 336 | |a text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated |b n |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume |b nc |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 504 | |a Includes bibliographical references and index. | ||
| 505 | 0 | |a Probable impossibilities -- Between nothingness and infinity -- What came before the big bang? -- On nothingness -- Atoms -- Modern Prometheus -- One hundred billion -- Smile -- The anatomy of attention -- Immortality -- The ghost house of my childhood -- In defense of disorder -- Miracles -- Our lonely home in nature -- Is life special? -- Cosmic biocentrism -- The man who knows infinity. | |
| 520 | |a "Before the discovery of quarks, we hadn't imagined anything smaller than protons and neutrons. Are quarks the end of the line, the smallest imaginable objects in nature? Can the universe be divided into infinitely smaller units in the same way the universe is ever-expanding? Alan Lightman explores these questions in his characteristic accessible and lyrical prose, considering the igniting element behind consciousness, the origin of life, the anatomy of a smile, our fickle memories. Probable Impossibilities brings together recently published and four original essays. Throughout, Lightman guides a discussion on what we know of the universe, life, the mind, and the conception of things vastly larger than ourselves in time and space"-- |c Provided by publisher. | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a Cosmology. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Metaphysics. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Philosophy of mind. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Physics |x Philosophy. | |
| 776 | 0 | 8 | |i Online version: |a Lightman, Alan P., 1948- |t Probable impossibilities. |b First edition. |d New York : Pantheon Books, [2020] |z 9781524749026 |w (DLC) 2020013915 |
| 906 | |a 7 |b cbc |c orignew |d 1 |e ecip |f 20 |g y-gencatlg | ||
| 925 | 0 | |a acquire |b 1 shelf copy |x policy default | |
| 955 | |b LBSOR 2020-06-21 |e rl06 2020-06-23 to book rec'd (TW Situational) to Dewey |w xm10 2020-06-23 | ||
| 985 | |a LBSORCIP |d 2020-06-21 | ||
| 949 | |a 3 |b 64 |f 129306 |e 2 |p 30214400113669 |h 523.1 LIGHTMAN |5 1 |w 4 | ||