Courageous scientists challenge the dominant paradigm of reality. Why are they so brave and what does their research reveal? What is reality? Is there more than we know from our five senses? Vanguard scientists believe there is more than we see so they formulate a non-materialist paradigm that expands human potential, to include mind and matter interaction. Since going against the dominant worldview provokes opposition, this book explores the personal backgrounds of the scientists to find out why they are so courageous. We learn that there is another dimension that allows for enhanced abilities. Based on interviews conducted by Gayle Kimball, The Mysteries of Reality: Dialogues with Visionary Scientists reports on the current research and personal characteristics of visionaries from around the world.
A personal trip turns perilous for Elena Standish after the murder of a British spy forces her to face dark family secrets in this exciting 1930s mystery by bestselling author Anne Perry. “An absorbing and calculating thriller/mystery that grabs the reader from the first page.”—Great Mysteries and Thrillers On her first trip to Washington, D.C., Elena Standish finally gets to visit her American mother’s wealthy parents and their magnificent home. Elena’s grandparents are marking a milestone anniversary by throwing an elaborate party with the influential friends of her grandfather, a prominent political industrialist. Even President and First Lady Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are there, and Elena takes pride in capturing the illustrious guests on camera. But the festivities come to a sudden and tragic end when one of the guests, Lila Worth, is run over by a car in the driveway outside. Elena believes Lila was trying to tell her something before her death, and when a call from her employer back home, MI6, confirms that Lila was a British spy, Elena pairs with a fellow agent to find out what vital information the young woman had in her possession. Soon an arrest is made in Lila’s murder, and to Elena’s horror, the accused is none other than her own grandfather, who claims his political enemies are trying to frame him. But who are these enemies, and how can Elena defend this man she barely knows? Nevertheless, determined to clear his name and save her family from disgrace, she delves into the details of her grandfather’s investments and discovers that his business secrets run deep. As Elena begins to question his loyalties, she wonders if she can trust anyone in this threatening new world order.
Why do we exist? For centuries, this question was the sole province of religion and philosophy. But now science is ready to take a seat at the table. According to the prevailing scientific paradigm, the universe tends toward randomness; it functions according to laws without purpose, and the emergence of life is an accident devoid of meaning. But this bleak interpretation of nature is currently being challenged by cutting-edge findings at the intersection of physics, biology, neuroscience, and information theory—generally referred to as “complexity science.” Thanks to a new understanding of evolution, as well as recent advances in our understanding of the phenomenon known as emergence, a new cosmic narrative is taking shape: Nature’s simplest “parts” come together to form ever-greater “wholes” in a process that has no end in sight. In The Romance of Reality, cognitive neuroscientist Bobby Azarian explains the science behind this new view of reality and explores what it means for all of us. In engaging, accessible prose, Azarian outlines the fundamental misunderstanding of thermodynamics at the heart of the old assumptions about the universe’s evolution, and shows us the evidence that suggests that the universe is a “self-organizing” system, one that is moving toward increasing complexity and awareness. Cosmologist and science communicator Carl Sagan once said of humanity that “we are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” The Romance of Reality shows that this poetic statement in fact rests on a scientific foundation and gives us a new way to know the cosmos, along with a riveting vision of life that imbues existence with meaning—nothing supernatural required.
This book is life-changing and will challenge your concept of who you are. One of the aims of The Mystery of Reality is to explore the concept of what it means to be a ‘self’. This is a process that is far from straightforward and is paradoxical. When you become aware of the issues that affect the concept of a ‘self,’ you come to realise that life can be lived from two perspectives that may be viewed as authentic or inauthentic.Authentic living can be achieved through a process of faith which may be viewed as a commitment to what is of ultimate concern. This is embryonic within the timeless spiritual reality we call love that seeks expression psychophysically within the context of everyday living in time and space. This enables you to access the courage to be yourself. However, life is complex and reality is such that it is difficult to live permanently from a perspective that is completely authentic.Distinguished authors, such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, have published books in recent years with the specific purpose of promoting atheism and denigrating religious faith as an irrational process. Whilst acknowledging many of the arguments that they make in challenging the concept of a theistic God, this book makes a case for religious faith that is not based on theistic beliefs, does not rely on revealed truth and is consistent with current scientific thinking about the nature of the universe. It is a radical approach which combines the eastern concept of the selflessness of consciousness with the western concept of faith as ultimate concern. The Mystery of Reality seeks to establish a rational foundation for religious faith that makes it intelligible to people living in the twenty-first century. It addresses issues which are of fundamental importance to our happiness and the way life is lived.
"The Quantum Leap" is a captivating exploration of the mind-bending world of quantum physics and its profound implications for our understanding of reality. Through a blend of storytelling, scientific explanation, and thought-provoking insights, the book takes readers on a journey from the strange and counterintuitive realm of quantum mechanics to the cutting-edge theories of quantum gravity and beyond. With engaging anecdotes and analogies, the book demystifies complex concepts such as superposition, entanglement, and the nature of spacetime, inviting readers to grapple with the profound questions that arise at the intersection of science and philosophy. From the possibility of parallel universes to the nature of consciousness and free will, "The Quantum Leap" explores the frontiers of human knowledge and offers tantalizing glimpses into the nature of reality itself. Written in a accessible and engaging style, "The Quantum Leap" appeals to both curious lay readers and seasoned science enthusiasts alike. Its blend of mind-bending ideas, intriguing anecdotes, and profound philosophical reflections make it a compelling read that is sure to spark lively conversations and ignite the imagination of readers around the world. With its potential to challenge deeply-held beliefs and reshape our understanding of the universe, "The Quantum Leap" has the ingredients to capture the public's imagination and spark a viral sensation in the world of popular science literature.
Accessible exploration of one of the most exciting areas of scientific inquiry - the nature of light. Following on from his bestseller, SCHRODINGER'S CAT, John Gribbin presents the recent dramatic improvements in experimental techniques that have enabled physicists to formulate and test new theories about the nature of light. He describes these theories not in terms of hard-to-imagine entities like spinning subnuclear particles, but in terms of the fate of two small cats, separated at a tender age and carried to opposite ends of the universe. In this way Gribbin introduces the reader to such new developments as quantum cryptography, through which unbreakable codes can be made, and goes on to possible future developments such as the idea that the ¿entanglement' of quantum particles could be a way to build a STAR TREK style teleportation machine.
In Basic Structures of Reality, Colin McGinn deals with questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind from the vantage point of physics. Combining general philosophy with physics, he covers such topics as the definition of matter, the nature of space, motion, gravity, electromagnetic fields, the character of physical knowledge, and consciousness and meaning. Throughout, McGinn maintains an historical perspective and seeks to determine how much we really know of the world described by physics. He defends a version of "structuralism": the thesis that our knowledge is partial and merely abstract, leaving a large epistemological gap at the center of physics. McGinn then connects this element of mystery to parallel mysteries in relation to the mind. Consciousness emerges as just one more mystery of physics. A theory of matter and space is developed, according to which the impenetrability of matter is explained as the deletion of volumes of space. McGinn proposes a philosophy of science that distinguishes physics from both psychology and biology, explores the ontology of energy, and considers the relevance of physics to seemingly remote fields such as the theory of meaning. In the form of a series of aphorisms, the author presents a metaphysical system that takes laws of nature as fundamental. With its broad scope and deep study of the fundamental questions at the heart of philosophy of physics, this book is not intended primarily for specialists, but for the general philosophical reader interested in how physics and philosophy intersect.
With the recent Sokal hoax--the publication of a prominent physicist's pseudo-article in a leading journal of cultural studies--the status of science moved sharply from debate to dispute. Is science objective, a disinterested reflection of reality, as Karl Popper and his followers believed? Or is it subjective, a social construction, as Thomas Kuhn and his students maintained? Into the fray comes "Mystery of Mysteries," an enlightening inquiry into the nature of science, using evolutionary theory as a case study. Michael Ruse begins with such colorful luminaries as Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) and Julian Huxley (brother of novelist Aldous and grandson of T. H. Huxley, "Darwin's bulldog" ) and ends with the work of the English game theorist Geoffrey Parker--a microevolutionist who made his mark studying the mating strategies of dung flies--and the American paleontologist Jack Sepkoski, whose computer-generated models reconstruct mass extinctions and other macro events in life's history. Along the way Ruse considers two great popularizers of evolution, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, as well as two leaders in the field of evolutionary studies, Richard Lewontin and Edward O. Wilson, paying close attention to these figures' cultural commitments: Gould's transplanted Germanic idealism, Dawkins's male-dominated Oxbridge circle, Lewontin's Jewish background, and Wilson's southern childhood. Ruse explicates the role of metaphor and metavalues in evolutionary thought and draws significant conclusions about the cultural impregnation of science. Identifying strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the "science wars," he demonstrates that a resolution of the objective and subjective debate is nonetheless possible.
A LIVELY EXPLORATION OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN SCIENCE How Did the Universe Begin? The Big Bang has been the accepted theory for decades, but does it explain everything? How Did Life on Earth Get Started? What triggered the cell division that started the evolutionary chain? Did life come from outer space, buried in a chunk of rock? What is Gravity? Newton's apple just got the arguments started, Einstein made things more complicated. Just how does gravity fit in with quantum theory? What Is the Inside of the Earth Like? What exactly is happening beneath our feet, and can we learn enough to help predict earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? How Do We Learn Language? Is language acquisition an inborn biological ability, or does every child have to start from scratch? Is There a Missing Link? The story of human evolution is not complete. In addition to hoaxes such as "Piltdown Man" and extraordinary finds such as "Lucy," many puzzles remain. What, in the end, do we mean by a "missing link"?
