The Artful Universe Expanded - Couverture rigide

Barrow, John

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 019280569X ISBN 13 : 9780192805690

Editeur : Oxford University Press, 2005

Synopsis

In "The Artful Universe Expanded", John D. Barrow draws out the deep links between our aesthetic inclinations - our art, our music, our appreciation of form, pattern, and landscape - and the mathematical and physical structure of the Universe of which we form a part. Barrow challenges the commonly held view that our sense of beauty is entirely free and unfettered. He argues that as beings that have evolved in this Universe, we are products of its natural laws and its underlying mathematical forms. Our minds show the imprints of this structure, which constrains and moulds our perceptions and our aesthetic preferences. In this rich and wide-ranging exploration, Barrow looks at the evolution of complexity, form in painting, computer art and music, and how landscapes and the wheeling patterns of stars in the night sky have impinged upon the human psyche. Originally published in 1995, this revised and expanded edition includes new essays on topics including the beauty of vases, the fractal nature of Jackson Pollock's art, life on extrasolar planets, multiverses, and the question of whether we might be living in a simulated universe (and if so, how would we know?). This is a deeply inspiring and erudite work from an author described by Sir Martin Rees as 'emerging as the Stephen Jay Gould of the mathematical sciences'.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

Review from previous edition an engaging book ... practically a universal education in both the history of modern science and the history of the Universe ... will be much quoted, much debated and much praised (Nature)

a feast: the kind of book which tells you everything you want to know about everything (The Economist)

I was infuriated by it, disagreed with it and loved reading it. (Timothy Ferris, New York Times Book Review)

in the speculative and intellectual richness of its pages, this book is probably unsurpassed (Peter Atkins)

a masterly exposition of what seems bound to become one of the most important developments to have taken place in physical science (TLS)

Intriguing analysis of new scientific thinking. (Sydney Times)

unique and wide-ranging book ... The reader is taken on an eclectic study of many scientific disciplines and is presented with a revealing picture of the structure of the physical world solely in terms of its invariant constants. There are also fascinating chapters on the definition and nature of life, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence and the interpretation of quantum theory in relation to the existence of observers. (Europe & Astronomy 1992)

..it is consistently diverting and illuminating and indeed, at its best, hard to put down in its communication of the excitement of seeing the world as an exercise in the mathematics of energy. Hugh Lawson-Tancred, The Spectator, on lBetween Inner Space and Outer Space

Barrow is emerging as the Stephen Jay Gould of the mathematical sciences. These fluent and erudite essays should further enhance his reputation. Professor Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, on Between Inner Space and Outer Space

Présentation de l'éditeur

In The Artful Universe (OUP, 1995) John D. Barrow explored the close ties between our aesthetic appreciation and the basic nature of the Universe, challenging the commonly held view that our sense of beauty is entirely free and unfettered. It looked at some of the unexpected ways in which the structure of the Universe, its laws, its environments, and above all its underlying mathematical structure imprints itself on our thoughts, our aesthetic preferences, and our views about the nature of things. The exploration embraced topics such as perspective; the size of things and the origins of aesthetics; computer art (posing the question: is it art?); and the origins of our susceptibility to music. Life sales of the hardback totalled just over 25,000 copies. The study of the evolutionary and mathematical underpinnings of our aesthetic sense, and our understanding of the nature and scale of the universe has grown over the past decade, with developments in evolutionary psychology, and in cosmology. This paperback of the revised edition (OUP, 2005) contains eight new sections covering the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets, fashionable postmodernist rejection of science as uncovering objective reality, growing understanding of key ratios appearing in biological relationships, and studies of the underlying mathematical structure of a Pollock painting.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Oxford University Press
• Date d'édition: 2005
• ISBN 10: 019280569X
• ISBN 13: 9780192805690
• Reliure: Relié
• Langue: anglais
• Numéro d'édition: 2
• Nombre de pages: 334
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible