Picture 1 of 1
Stock photo
Picture 1 of 1
Stock photo
Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point : New Directions for the Physics of Time by Huw Price (1996, Hardcover)
B
BennettBooksLtd (3521)
99.3% positive Feedback
Price:
US $17.58
Approximately£13.25
+ $19.26 postage
Returns:
30 days return. Buyer pays for return postage. If you use an eBay delivery label, it will be deducted from your refund amount. Policy depends on postage service.
Condition:
(The ISBN on the book will match, but the cover art may vary and may not match the picture. 4) Can you provide pictures of the actual product?. The book's binding type may be found under "Format" below.
- Buy it nowTime's Arrow and Archimedes' Point: New Directions for the Physics of Time
Oops! Looks like we're having trouble connecting to our server.
Refresh your browser window to try again.
About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated
ISBN-100195100956
ISBN-139780195100952
eBay Product ID (ePID)68507
Product Key Features
Book TitleTime's Arrow and Archimedes' Point : New Directions for the Physics of Time
Number of Pages320 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicGeneral, Life Sciences / Bacteriology, Time, Physics / General
Publication Year1996
IllustratorYes
GenrePhilosophy, Science
AuthorHuw Price
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.1 in
Item Weight21.6 Oz
Item Length9.6 in
Item Width6.5 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN95-025508
Dewey Edition21
Reviews"Huw Price's book, Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point is an uncompromising study of temporal asymmetry from an atemporal point of view. The result is a sustained, careful, unfailingly lucid argument to some surprising conclusions."--Steven Savitt, British Journal for the Philosophy ofScience, "Huw Price's Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point provides a thoughtful (and thought-provoking) analysis of the time-asymmetry problem of physics which is in many ways deeper and more illuminating than accounts to be found elsewhere."--Roger Penrose, Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics,University of Oxford and author of Shadows of the Mind and The Emperor's New Mind, "Particularly illuminating in that Price shows how philosophers and physicists have failed to see temporal symmetries because of the influence of their own temporally asymmetric perspective.... A real advance in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Not only philosophers of science but alsotheoretical physicists should be excited about this lovely book."--J.J.C. Smart, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, "Huw Price is one of a handful of philosophers with a thorough grasp ofthe notorious arrow of time problem.... In this challenging book, Price appliescritical reasoning and penetrating insight to the current theories of physicsand cosmology that have a bearing on this problem. Among the many ideasdiscussed here is the controversial claim that time's arrow would reverse in arecontracting universe."--Paul Davies, Professor of Natural Philosophy, TheUniversity of Adelaide, and author of About Time and The Physics of TimeAsymmetry, "Huw Price's Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point provides a thoughtful (andthought-provoking) analysis of the time-asymmetry problem of physics which is inmany ways deeper and more illuminating than accounts to be foundelsewhere."--Roger Penrose, Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics, University ofOxford and author of Shadows of the Mind and The Emperor's New Mind, "Huw Price is one of a handful of philosophers with a thorough grasp of the notorious arrow of time problem.... In this challenging book, Price applies critical reasoning and penetrating insight to the current theories of physics and cosmology that have a bearing on this problem. Among themany ideas discussed here is the controversial claim that time's arrow would reverse in a recontracting universe."--Paul Davies, Professor of Natural Philosophy, The University of Adelaide, and author of About Time and The Physics of Time Asymmetry, "This is the best philosophical book on time that I have read. It is beautifully clear, precise but non-technical, and, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down."--Robert Weingard, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers, "This is the best philosophical book on time that I have read. It isbeautifully clear, precise but non-technical, and, once I started reading it, Icouldn't put it down."--Robert Weingard, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers, "Huw Price, who became known as 'the philosopher who took on Stephen Hawking on the arrow of time' (Scientific American, Oct. 1989), has now formulated his own lucid account of this fundamental aspect of time and the concept of causality. He presents it in a marvelously clear and picturesquemanner that allows even the layman to see the point of each part of the problem, and to understand its importance for the whole. I am convinced that this book will become a milestone of interdisciplinary debate in its best and fertile sense."--H. D. Zeh, author of The Physical Basis of the Directionof Time, "Huw Price's book, Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point is an uncompromisingstudy of temporal asymmetry from an atemporal point of view. The result is asustained, careful, unfailingly lucid argument to some surprisingconclusions."--Steven Savitt, British Journal for the Philosophy ofScience, "Huw Price, who became known as 'the philosopher who took on StephenHawking on the arrow of time' (Scientific American, Oct. 1989), has nowformulated his own lucid account of this fundamental aspect of time and theconcept of causality. He presents it in a marvelously clear and picturesquemanner that allows even the layman to see the point of each part of the problem,and to understand its importance for the whole. I am convinced that this bookwill become a milestone of interdisciplinary debate in its best and fertilesense."--H. D. Zeh, author of The Physical Basis of the Direction of Time, "Particularly illuminating in that Price shows how philosophers and physicists have failed to see temporal symmetries because of the influence of their own temporally asymmetric perspective.... A real advance in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Not only philosophy of science but theoretical physicists should be excited about by this lovely book."--J.J.C. Smart, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, "Particularly illuminating in that Price shows how philosophers andphysicists have failed to see temporal symmetries because of the influence oftheir own temporally asymmetric perspective.... A real advance in theinterpretation of quantum mechanics. Not only philosophers of science but alsotheoretical physicists should be excited about this lovely book."--J.J.C. Smart,Emeritus Professor, Australian National University
Dewey Decimal523.1
SynopsisWhy is the future so different from the past? Why does the past affect the future and not the other way around? What does quantum mechanics really tell us about the world? In this important and accessible book, Huw Price throws fascinating new light on some of the great mysteries of modern physics, and connects them in a wholly original way. Price begins with the mystery of the arrow of time. Why, for example, does disorder always increase, as required by the second law of thermodynamics? Price shows that, for over a century, most physicists have thought about these problems the wrong way. Misled by the human perspective from within time, which distorts and exaggerates the differences between past and future, they have fallen victim to what Price calls the "double standard fallacy": proposed explanations of the difference between the past and the future turn out to rely on a difference which has been slipped in at the beginning, when the physicists themselves treat the past and future in different ways. To avoid this fallacy, Price argues, we need to overcome our natural tendency to think about the past and the future differently. We need to imagine a point outside time -- an Archimedean "view from nowhen" -- from which to observe time in an unbiased way. Offering a lively criticism of many major modern physicists, including Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking, Price shows that this fallacy remains common in physics today -- for example, when contemporary cosmologists theorize about the eventual fate of the universe. The "big bang" theory normally assumes that the beginning and end of the universe will be very different. But if we are to avoid the double standard fallacy, we need to consider time symmetrically, and take seriously the possibility that the arrow of time may reverse when the universe recollapses into a "big crunch." Price then turns to the greatest mystery of modern physics, the meaning of quantum theory. He argues that in missing the Archimedean viewpoint, modern physics has missed a radical and attractive solution to many of the apparent paradoxes of quantum physics. Many consequences of quantum theory appear counterintuitive, such as Schrodinger's Cat, whose condition seems undetermined until observed, and Bell's Theorem, which suggests a spooky "nonlocality," where events happening simultaneously in different places seem to affect each other directly. Price shows that these paradoxes can be avoided by allowing that at the quantum level the future does, indeed, affect the past. This demystifies nonlocality, and supports Einstein's unpopular intuition that quantum theory describes an objective world, existing independently of human observers: the Cat is alive or dead, even when nobody looks. So interpreted, Price argues, quantum mechanics is simply the kind of theory we ought to have expected in microphysics -- from the symmetric standpoint.Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point presents an innovative and controversial view of time and contemporary physics. In this exciting book, Price urges physicists, philosophers, and anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of time to look at the world from the fresh perspective of Archimedes' Point and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, the universe around us, and our own place in time., Why is the future so different from the past? Why does the past affect the future and not the other way around? What does quantum mechanics really tell us about the world? In this important and accessible book, Huw Price throws fascinating new light on some of the great mysteries of modern physics, and connects them in a wholly original way. Price begins with the mystery of the arrow of time. Why, for example, does disorder always increase, as required by the second law of thermodynamics? Price shows that, for over a century, most physicists have thought about these problems the wrong way. Misled by the human perspective from within time, which distorts and exaggerates the differences between past and future, they have fallen victim to what Price calls the "double standard fallacy": proposed explanations of the difference between the past and the future turn out to rely on a difference which has been slipped in at the beginning, when the physicists themselves treat the past and future in different ways. To avoid this fallacy, Price argues, we need to overcome our natural tendency to think about the past and the future differently. We need to imagine a point outside time -- an Archimedean "view from nowhen" -- from which to observe time in an unbiased way. Offering a lively criticism of many major modern physicists, including Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking, Price shows that this fallacy remains common in physics today -- for example, when contemporary cosmologists theorize about the eventual fate of the universe. The "big bang" theory normally assumes that the beginning and end of the universe will be very different. But if we are to avoid the double standard fallacy, we need to consider time symmetrically, and take seriously the possibility that the arrow of time may reverse when the universe recollapses into a "big crunch." Price then turns to the greatest mystery of modern physics, the meaning of quantum theory. He argues that in missing the Archimedean viewpoint, modern physics has missed a radical and attractive solution to many of the apparent paradoxes of quantum physics. Many consequences of quantum theory appear counterintuitive, such as Schrodinger's Cat, whose condition seems undetermined until observed, and Bell's Theorem, which suggests a spooky "nonlocality," where events happening simultaneously in different places seem to affect each other directly. Price shows that these paradoxes can be avoided by allowing that at the quantum level the future does, indeed, affect the past. This demystifies nonlocality, and supports Einstein's unpopular intuition that quantum theory describes an objective world, existing independently of human observers: the Cat is alive or dead, even when nobody looks. So interpreted, Price argues, quantum mechanics is simply the kind of theory we ought to have expected in microphysics -- from the symmetric standpoint. Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point presents an innovative and controversial view of time and contemporary physics. In this exciting book, Price urges physicists, philosophers, and anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of time to look at the world from the fresh perspective of Archimedes' Point and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, the universe around us, and our own place in time., Why is the future so different from the past? Why does the past affect the future and not the other way around? What does quantum mechanics really tell us about the world? In this important and accessible book, Huw Price throws fascinating new light on some of the great mysteries of modern physics, and connects them in a wholly original way. Price begins with the mystery of the arrow of time. Why, for example, does disorder always increase, as required by the second law of thermodynamics? Price shows that, for over a century, most physicists have thought about these problems the wrong way. Misled by the human perspective from within time, which distorts and exaggerates the differences between past and future, they have fallen victim to what Price calls the "double standard fallacy" proposed explanations of the difference between the past and the future turn out to rely on a difference which has been slipped in at the beginning, when the physicists themselves treat the past and future in different ways. To avoid this fallacy, Price argues, we need to overcome our natural tendency to think about the past and the future differently. We need to imagine a point outside time -- an Archimedean "view from nowhen" -- from which to observe time in an unbiased way. Offering a lively criticism of many major modern physicists, including Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking, Price shows that this fallacy remains common in physics today -- for example, when contemporary cosmologists theorize about the eventual fate of the universe. The "big bang" theory normally assumes that the beginning and end of the universe will be very different. But if we are to avoid the double standard fallacy, we need to consider time symmetrically, and take seriously the possibility that the arrow of time may reverse when the universe recollapses into a "big crunch." Price then turns to the greatest mystery of modern physics, the meaning of quantum theory. He argues that in missing the Archimedean viewpoint, modern physics has missed a radical and attractive solution to many of the apparent paradoxes of quantum physics. Many consequences of quantum theory appear counterintuitive, such as Schrodinger's Cat, whose condition seems undetermined until observed, and Bell's Theorem, which suggests a spooky "nonlocality," where events happening simultaneously in different places seem to affect each other directly. Price shows that these paradoxes can be avoided by allowing that at the quantum level the future does, indeed, affect the past. This demystifies nonlocality, and supports Einstein's unpopular intuition that quantum theory describes an objective world, existing independently of human observers: the Cat is alive or dead, even when nobody looks. So interpreted, Price argues, quantum mechanics is simply the kind of theory we ought to have expected in microphysics -- from the symmetric standpoint. Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point presents an innovative and controversial view of time and contemporary physics. In this exciting book, Price urges physicists, philosophers, and anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of time to look at the world from the fresh perspective of Archimedes' Point and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, the universe around us, and our own place in time., Could - and does - the future affect the past? What is the difference between the past and the future? What give time its direction, or "arrow"? The arrow of time and the meaning of quantum mechanics are two of the great mysteries of modern physics. This important book - written for non-specialist readers, as well as physicists and philosophers - throws fascinating new light on both issues, and connects them in a wholly original way. In considering attempts to understand the arrow of time in physics, Huw Price shows that for over a century physicists have fallen repeatedly for the same trap: treating the past and future in different ways. To overcome this natural tendency, we need to imagine a point outside time - an Archimedean viewpoint, as Price calls it - from which to think about the arrow of time in an unbiased way., Why is the future so different from the past? Why does the past affect the future and not the other way around? What does quantum mechanics really tell us about the world? In this important and accessible book, Huw Price throws fascinating new light on some of the great mysteries of modern physics, and connects them in a wholly original way. Price begins with the mystery of the arrow of time. Why, for example, does disorder always increase, as required bythe second law of thermodynamics? Price shows that, for over a century, most physicists have thought about these problems the wrong way. Misled by the human perspective from within time, whichdistorts and exaggerates the differences between past and future, they have fallen victim to what Price calls the "double standard fallacy": proposed explanations of the difference between the past and the future turn out to rely on a difference which has been slipped in at the beginning, when the physicists themselves treat the past and future in different ways. To avoid this fallacy, Price argues, we need to overcome our natural tendency to think about the past and the future differently. Weneed to imagine a point outside time -- an Archimedean "view from nowhen" -- from which to observe time in an unbiased way. Offering a lively criticism of many major modern physicists,including Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking, Price shows that this fallacy remains common in physics today -- for example, when contemporary cosmologists theorize about the eventual fate of the universe. The "big bang" theory normally assumes that the beginning and end of the universe will be very different. But if we are to avoid the double standard fallacy, we need to consider time symmetrically, and take seriously the possibility that the arrow of time may reverse when the universerecollapses into a "big crunch." Price then turns to the greatest mystery of modern physics, the meaning of quantum theory. He argues that in missing the Archimedean viewpoint, modern physics hasmissed a radical and attractive solution to many of the apparent paradoxes of quantum physics. Many consequences of quantum theory appear counterintuitive, such as Schrodinger's Cat, whose condition seems undetermined until observed, and Bell's Theorem, which suggests a spooky "nonlocality," where events happening simultaneously in different places seem to affect each other directly. Price shows that these paradoxes can be avoided by allowing that at the quantum level the future does, indeed,affect the past. This demystifies nonlocality, and supports Einstein's unpopular intuition that quantum theory describes an objective world, existing independently of human observers: the Cat is aliveor dead, even when nobody looks. So interpreted, Price argues, quantum mechanics is simply the kind of theory we ought to have expected in microphysics -- from the symmetric standpoint. Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point presents an innovative and controversial view of time and contemporary physics. In this exciting book, Price urges physicists, philosophers, and anyone who has ever pondered the mysteries of time to look at the world from the fresh perspective of Archimedes'Point and gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, the universe around us, and our own place in time.
LC Classification NumberBD638.P73 1996
All listings for this product
Be the first to write a review
