'The Essential Tension' explores how agents that naturally compete come to act together as a group. The author argues that the controversial concept of multilevel selection is essential to biological
In this compendium of essays, some of the world’s leading thinkers discuss our notions of space and time, including observations about the limits of human understanding. The book will appeal to all re
This book describes the evolution and mechanisms of natural wealth creation. The author explains how natural wealth consists of complex physical structures of condensed (“frozen”) energy and what the
Physics underlies all complexity, including our own existence: how is this possible? How can our own lives emerge from interactions of electrons, protons, and neutrons? This book considers the interac
The present book gives a multi-disciplinary perspective on the physics of life and the particular role played by lipids (fats) and the lipid-bilayer component of cell membranes. The emphasis is on the
The fourteen award-winning essays in this volume discuss a range of novel ideas and controversial topics that could decisively influence the course of human life on Earth. Their authors address, in ac
This book explores the limits of our knowledge. Vagueness, uncertainty and indefiniteness define borders which confine our understanding. Starting with physics the author collects examples from econom
The physics of condensed matter, in contrast to quantum physics or cosmology, is not traditionally associated with deep philosophical questions. However, as science - largely thanks to more powerful c
In this fascinating journey to the edge of science, Vidal takes on big philosophical questions: Does our universe have a beginning and an end or is it cyclic? Are we alone in the universe? What is the
This book offers a lively survey of the forty-year history of string theory, focusing on how what has been called both a 'theory of everything' and a 'theory of nothing' came to exist, and how it came
In the last hundred years, modern physics and cosmology have shown that there exist regions of the universe forever beyond our reach, hidden by truly ultimate horizons. Such regions exist in those rem
These essays by leading philosophers and scientists focus on recent ideas at the forefront of modern Darwinism, showcasing and exploring the challenges they raise as well as open problems. This interd
This wide-ranging and accessible book serves as a fascinating guide to the strategies and concepts that help us understand the boundaries between physics, on the one hand, and sociology, economics, an
Life is a diverse and ubiquitous phenomenon on Earth, characterized by fundamental features distinguishing living bodies from nonliving material. Yet it is also so complex that it has long defied prec
The spectacular success of the scientific enterprise over the last four hundred years has led to the promise of an all encompassing vision of the natural world. In this elegant picture, everything we
The chips in present-day cell phones already contain billions of sub-100-nanometer transistors. By 2020, however, we will see systems-on-chips with trillions of 10-nanometer transistors. But this will
What is the role and meaning of probability in physical theory, in particular in two of the most successful theories of our age, quantum physics and statistical mechanics? Laws once conceived as unive
This is a wide-ranging and persuasive book written by an undisputed expert. Beginning with a broad history of the Universe, Earth, Life, and Man, it considers the origins and rise of science and techn
Quantum mechanics is one of mankind's most remarkable intellectual achievements. Stunningly successful and elegant, it challenges our deepest intuitions about the world. In this book, seventeen physic
In this accessible overview of current knowledge, an expert team of editors and authors describe experimental approaches to consciousness. These approaches are shedding light on some of the hitherto u
To understand why we humans are as we are, it is necessary to look at the essential building blocks that comprise our nature. The foundations of this structure are our evolutionary origins as primates
With contributions from a team of leading experts, this volume provides a comprehensive survey of recent achievements in our scientific understanding of evolution. The questions it asks concern the be
This book is a collection of essays written by the very scientists and engineers who have led, and continue to lead, the scientific quest known as SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. D
Converging evidence from disciplines including sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and human biology forces us to adopt a new idea of what it means to be a human. As cherished concepts such as free
In a Darwinian world, religious behavior - just like other behaviors - is likely to have undergone a process of natural selection in which it was rewarded in the evolutionary currency of reproductive
Puts the emphasis on conceptual questions: Why is there no such thing as absolute motion? What is the physical meaning of relativity of simultaneity? But, the most important question that is addressed
This book explores the nature of quantum entanglement and quantum information and their role in the quantum world. Their relations to a number of key experiments and thought experiments in the history
How can our societies be stabilized in a crisis? Why can we enjoy and understand Shakespeare? Why are fruitflies uniform? How do omnivorous eating habits aid our survival? What makes the Mona Lisa’s s
"Scientists other than quantum physicists often fail to comprehend the enormity of the conceptual change wrought by quantum theory in our basic conception of the nature of matter," writes Henry Stapp.
Coherence, entanglement, and interference arise from quantum superposition, the most distinctive and puzzling feature of quantum physics. Silverman's extensive experimental and theoretical work has he
Written in Alwyn Scott's inimitable style, one that readers will find both lucid and accessible, this masterwork elucidates the explosion of activity in nonlinear science in recent decades. The book e
This detailed, accessible introduction to the field of quantum decoherence reviews the basics and then explains the essential consequences of the phenomenon for our understanding of the world. The dis
This book gathers concepts of information across diverse fields –physics, electrical engineering and computational science – surveying current theories, discussing underlying notions of symmetry, and
This thoroughly revised 5th edition of Zeh's classic text investigates irreversible phenomena and their foundation in classical, quantum and cosmological settings. It includes new sections on the mean
This volume brings together leading quantum physicists to expound on the meaning and future directions of quantum mechanics. It offers new insights from different vantage points to tackle essential qu
How can our societies be stabilized in a crisis?? Why can we enjoy and understand Shakespeare? Why are fruitflies uniform? How?do omnivorous eating habits aid our survival? What makes the Mona Lisa’s
For more than a century, quantum mechanics has served as a very powerful theory that has expanded physics and technology far beyond their classical limits, yet it has also produced some of the mo
