Science

The Order of Time

The Order of Time

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-08 09:55:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Carlo Rovelli
  • ISBN：0141984961
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Summary

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us。 Philosophers， artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it。 From Boltzmann to quantum theory， from Einstein to loop quantum gravity， our understanding of time has been undergoing radical transformations。 Time flows at a different speed in different places， the past and the future differ far less than we might think， and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe。

With his extraordinary charm and sense of wonder， bringing together science， art and philosophy， Carlo Rovelli unravels this mystery， inviting us to imagine a world where time is in us and we are not in time。

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Reviews

Eleanor ，

I loved how Carlo Rovelli wrote。 He seems like such a sweet man。 Obsessed with how he used smurfs to explain time and when he talked about his personal research。 confirmed that time isn’t real and entropy rules all。

Andrea Victoria ，

Creo que todos nos hemos sentido siempre curiosos por entender la naturaleza del tiempo y este libro es una excelente forma de entender que no sabemos casi nada pero hay mucho por aprender， no solo sobre la naturaleza del tiempo sino de nuestra propia existencia también。

Brian ，

Based on all the hype， I was hoping for more。

Hanlie Pieterse ，

I listened to the audiobook， which was narrated really well。 I enjoyed the book as the writing is clear and somewhat lyrical on the subject of time。I walked away from it thinking that science is trying to catch up and understand what has been understood and better described by sages and spiritual texts for ages。 Understanding that comes from experiencing being outside of time surpasses trying to explain time with the brain and words。

Sandeep Palakkal ，

It's worth a read， especially for a common man who doesn't have formal education in Physics。 Starting from the concept of absolute time， which Newton formalised， then exploring relative time， using which Einstein destroyed the former notion， then discussing quantum mechanics， which quantizes everything， but has not reconciled with relativity yet。。。 then we reach the notion that time is local。 Locally vibrating nature， with randomness。 Which leads to question causality itself。 Does what happens i It's worth a read， especially for a common man who doesn't have formal education in Physics。 Starting from the concept of absolute time， which Newton formalised， then exploring relative time， using which Einstein destroyed the former notion， then discussing quantum mechanics， which quantizes everything， but has not reconciled with relativity yet。。。 then we reach the notion that time is local。 Locally vibrating nature， with randomness。 Which leads to question causality itself。 Does what happens in a locality precedes or succeeds something else happening elsewhere？ If we can't be certain of it， then what causes what！ Then he explains thermal time， in an attempt to explain what is time itself。 Ending with some metaphysical notes that explains the human experience of time！ 。。。more

Anastassia Demeshko ，

One word - excellent！ Carlo Rovelli’s ability to explain physics in a story-like way is extremely admirable and this book presents ideas that I had previously never contemplated in relation to time （i。e。 considering time as a discrete， rather than continuous， property）。 Would also highly recommend listening to the audiobook by Benadryl Cucumberpatch ;）

Pwjohnston ，

Dissatisfied by the justification of the initial low entropy state of our universe。

Drake Allen ，

I have an Italian bias

Margaret Farrell ，

I hope to read this many times in my life

Elena H ，

This book is FASCINATING。 If you have even the most cursory interest in and/or understanding of science， it is worth the read。

Sparagniaus ，

“Siamo storie， contenuti in quei venti centimetri complicati dietro ai nostri occhi， linee disegnate da tracce lasciate dal rimescolarsi delle cose del mondo， e orientate a predire accadimenti verso il futuro， verso la direzione dell’entropia crescente， in un angolo un po’ particolare di questo immenso disordinato universo。”

Daniela Gentile ，

Senza studi specifici è piuttosto complicato， ma resta comunque molto affascinante。 Per gli appassionati， a mio avviso， è un libro che merita。

Omar Sattaur ，

The story of time in all the ways we have of knowing and not knowing it。 Told with scientific clarity and poetic beauty。 Full of wisdom。

OvercommuniKate ，

Audiobook is well read by Benedict Cumberbatch but it feels like a science book that would be published in the 18th century。 I need more meat and less philosophy。

Dorothy ，

Whatever we human beings may be specifically， in detail， we are nevertheless pieces of nature， a part of the great fresco of the cosmos， a small part among many others。 （Page 144）

Deb Newman ，

I listened to this book and then bought the hardcopy to read it more carefully。 It's fascinating！ I listened to this book and then bought the hardcopy to read it more carefully。 It's fascinating！ 。。。more

Kathy Johannes Rytter ，

If I could give this one 10 stars， I would。

Catalina Leiva Leroy ，

Más técnico de lo que esperaba。 Interesantes reflexiones finales

Satorare ，

Interessant。。。

Dennis Hedrikson ，

Rovelli claims in another book that he has read Wittgenstein。 But this book shows he clearly hasn't。 To say there is no such thing as time， nothing is "real，" etc。 shows that Rovelli has no understanding of the Philosophy of Language， and the proper uses of language。 The book was a waste of time。 Unless you， too， believe that nothing is real---but then the book isn't really real， quantum-wise。Having now read many of the Goodreads reviews， I realize that many of the "readers" actually just listen Rovelli claims in another book that he has read Wittgenstein。 But this book shows he clearly hasn't。 To say there is no such thing as time， nothing is "real，" etc。 shows that Rovelli has no understanding of the Philosophy of Language， and the proper uses of language。 The book was a waste of time。 Unless you， too， believe that nothing is real---but then the book isn't really real， quantum-wise。Having now read many of the Goodreads reviews， I realize that many of the "readers" actually just listened to the audiobook。 What's that about？ 。。。more

LJ Eames ，

Whew。 I am going to have to read this again。 Mind blowing。

Nikhil ，

Not only theoretical physics lucidly- and patiently-explained， but spiritually nourishing in a way that very few nonreligious books are。

Blaine ，

A Physicist’s Publicity Ploy on the Nature of TimeA Review of Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of TimeDon't be fooled - this book is not an attempt to explain time but to assert the singular reality of symmetrical and relativistic time as viewed by physicists。 Rovelli's attempt to explain away asymmetrical thermodynamic-entropic time and the whole of biology， ecology， economics， and complex systems by telling us “time is ignorance，” "it's all a blur" and it’s a “world without time;” his discounting of A Physicist’s Publicity Ploy on the Nature of TimeA Review of Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of TimeDon't be fooled - this book is not an attempt to explain time but to assert the singular reality of symmetrical and relativistic time as viewed by physicists。 Rovelli's attempt to explain away asymmetrical thermodynamic-entropic time and the whole of biology， ecology， economics， and complex systems by telling us “time is ignorance，” "it's all a blur" and it’s a “world without time;” his discounting of our experience of past， future， and the direction of time， of evolution， growth， decay… that all this is basically nothing but “subjective phenomenology” or is due to the ignorance of human perception is both narrow-minded and inhuman。 To ignore the work of thousands of scientists and researchers around the world who've established the realities of chaos， complexity， nonlinear systems， and non-equilibrium thermodynamics in multiple fields of science and assert that their view of time is somehow not real， some illusion or form of ignorance， is classic “our field is the only real one” physics arrogance。 Such a view works against the goal of science to produce a coherent system of thought across many domains。 But make no mistake， between particle physics folks and thermodynamics folks exists a kind of Scalar War—the war of what scale is truly real。 This is the battle of micro -v macro， simple -v complex， of systems of small numbers -v those of large numbers。 To the rest of science Rovelli is saying: “Pay no attention to your blurred macroscopic experience: only microscopic reality matters。 Forget about the laws of large numbers and systems with many trillions of interacting parts – that’s all just a blurred vision of the world。”The Order of Time appears to be a last-ditch attempt to breath life into the deterministic worldview of classical mechanics in the face of the contemporary view of emergence， probability， instability， nonlinearity， complexity， chaos， and irreversibility - a kind of marketing ploy to convince the public that the old view of reductionist physics still reigns supreme over all else。 In this book Rovelli represents an old guard of physicists who are unable to embrace the scientific revolution that has engulfed their science and culture， the revolution that is represented by complex systems science and its cousins in virtually every field other than particle physics。 The question is can we finally let go of the reductionist “primacy of the microscopic” and embrace a more humanistic view of time that includes the realities of macroscopic phenomena， realities that have far more relevance to human experience？ Check out the world of complex systems for yourself from the folks at the Systems Innovation YouTube channel stocked with dozens of courses on complexity， systems， and related theories: •thttps://www。youtube。com/channel/UCutC。。。 and •thttps://www。youtube。com/watch？v=71n4G。。。Physics still matters of course， but not at the expense of the rest of science。 Maybe the arrow of time as understood in the General Relativity block universe conception is globally relative and only locally real， but we need some conception that includes the meso-biological with both the micro-quantum and the macro-cosmological scales。 A complete understanding of time is still one of the great unsolved problems in science。 But explaining away the most important aspect of it as Rovelli does in this book is not a way forward。 If you want to get more familiar with the perspectives on time in complex systems and the emerging worldview in the sciences， the above videos or the following books are excellent:1。 Prigogine， Stengers， Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature2。 Prigogine， From Being to Becoming: Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences3。 Schneider， Sagan， Into the Cool: Energy Flow， Thermodynamics， and Life4。 Mitchell， Complexity: A Guided Tour5。 Coveney and Highfield， The Arrow of Time6。 Gigerenzer et al， The Empire Of Chance: How Probability Changed Science And Everyday Life7。 Isabelle Stengers， Cosmopolitics I and Cosmopolitics II8。 Peter M。 Hoffmann， Life's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from ChaosLife's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos9。 Steven Strogatz， Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order10。 Bechtel and Richardson， Discovering Complexity: Decomposition And Localization As Strategies In Scientific ResearchThis list is but a miniscule representation of research in nonlinear systems， chaos， complexity which are in the process of shaping a diversity of fields from fluid dynamics to macroeconomics。 A longer list of nontechnical books in these areas can be found at: •thttps://www。goodreads。com/list/show/2。。。 and at •thttps://www。goodreads。com/shelf/show/。。。。 To use the reductionist physicist’s own favorite quip， Rovelli’s book is nothing but a desperate publicity ploy to maintain the power and legitimacy of a limited and arguably inhuman worldview。 A recent article in Quanta Magazine on the flow of time underscores one aspect of this something-dying and something-being born view: “Does Time Really Flow: New Clues Come From a Century-Old Approach to Math，” by Natalie Wolchover， April 7， 2020。 •thttps://www。quantamagazine。org/does-t。。。To be clear: what’s dying is obviously not physics but a certain monolithic-modernist-materialist-reductionist-deterministic view of the world that has held sway in natural science， particularly among physicists。 Rovelli is not alone in wrestling with the fly in the ointment of physics that time represents。 Anyone who tells you irreversible time is merely an illusion is still stuck in the old paradigm that is fighting to maintain its hegemony。 。。。more

John ，

1。 Rovelli does a good job of explaining that we， at the macroscopic level， are unable to perceive the physical universe as it is at the microscopic [or actually the sub-microscopic？] level of reality。 2。 He talks of how we perceive time， e。g。 with memories and anticipation。 3。 He fails to bridge the gap between the two， presumably because it is beyond human comprehension。 So， ultimately a disappointment。

Mudita ，

Tre stelle e mezzo。 Non gli do un voto maggiore anche se forse lo meriterebbe。 E' una mancanza mia （e di certo non del professor Rovelli） il non essere sufficientemente addetto ai lavori per poter cogliere appieno gli insegnamenti di questo libro。 Diverse parti del libro le ho ritenute piuttosto complicate e di conseguenza un po' ostiche。 Ho apprezzato molto i numerosi riferimenti filosofici， letterari e religiosi （sopratutto negli ultimi due capitoli） e ritengo che Carlo Rovelli sia un ottimo d Tre stelle e mezzo。 Non gli do un voto maggiore anche se forse lo meriterebbe。 E' una mancanza mia （e di certo non del professor Rovelli） il non essere sufficientemente addetto ai lavori per poter cogliere appieno gli insegnamenti di questo libro。 Diverse parti del libro le ho ritenute piuttosto complicate e di conseguenza un po' ostiche。 Ho apprezzato molto i numerosi riferimenti filosofici， letterari e religiosi （sopratutto negli ultimi due capitoli） e ritengo che Carlo Rovelli sia un ottimo divulgatore ed un intellettuale a tutto tondo。 。。。more

Camilla C。 ，

Mind blowing

Dan Andersson ，

Lovely introduction to well physics and pondering of questions like time， matter， you and me。 Carlos way of writing is appealing and this book made me think and ponder with excitement about what feels like everything。

Alessandro Piovaccari ，

Un libro molto bello （con qualche eccezione。。。）Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto， sia perché contiene pensieri profondi ed è scritto molto bene， sia perché ne condivido la maggior parte dell'argomentazione， ed in particolare il fatto che lo spazio-tempo sia definito da relazioni fra "entità" che in realtà non sono niente altro che "eventi"。 L'unica eccezione è il capitolo 11 che mi ha molto confuso， con argomentazioni che si estendono oltre quanto precedentemente giustificato con maggiore spessor Un libro molto bello （con qualche eccezione。。。）Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto， sia perché contiene pensieri profondi ed è scritto molto bene， sia perché ne condivido la maggior parte dell'argomentazione， ed in particolare il fatto che lo spazio-tempo sia definito da relazioni fra "entità" che in realtà non sono niente altro che "eventi"。 L'unica eccezione è il capitolo 11 che mi ha molto confuso， con argomentazioni che si estendono oltre quanto precedentemente giustificato con maggiore spessore。 Non riesco a decidere se forse Rovelli qui cerca di essere provocatorio。 Trovo anche che ha volte ci siano definizioni circolari， argomentazioni ambigue e a volte anche autocontraddittorie。 Ma forse questo è dovuto， come riportato nel testo in diverse occasioni， alle limitazioni del linguaggio e all'area semantica che è ormai già formata nella nostra mente nell'uso di certe parole come "tempo"， "entità" o "progredire"。 Molto felice di averlo letto。 。。。more

Saif Elhendawi ，

The book is clear and we'll written。 Especially， when considering how complex the topic is。 I also appreciate the way that the physics topics were intertwined with analogies and stories from the history of science and ancient cultures and religions （particularly lots of influence from Eastern Mysticism）。 Even though the book is relatively short， it still spends the effort to discuss the human perspective and sensation of time independently from the physical nature of time （great reference to St。 The book is clear and we'll written。 Especially， when considering how complex the topic is。 I also appreciate the way that the physics topics were intertwined with analogies and stories from the history of science and ancient cultures and religions （particularly lots of influence from Eastern Mysticism）。 Even though the book is relatively short， it still spends the effort to discuss the human perspective and sensation of time independently from the physical nature of time （great reference to St。 Augustine's meditations about time and it's inherent nature from within）。 If I have one reservation it's that there wasn't enough discussion of social aspects of time （illusions of time， aging and time）， and greater historical time （big history and geological timelines）。 However， in general this book still offers lots of value， considering that this topic is usually celebrated as too complex for the average reader （something the author tries to dispel by using the least amount of math possible in a physics book）。 。。。more

Vitor Capela ，

Passagens bonitas em consideração sobre o que é o tempo na vida e nas relações humanas。 A física em si é em grande parte compreensível， mas confesso que após a leitura não tenho domínio do que é proposto。 Apenas uma ideia em linhas gerais， provavelmente com algumas incorreções。Vale a leitura。 É bem curtinho， e o texto é cuidadoso em não ser maçante。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Order of Time

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Order of Time&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Order of Time&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0