Impossibility

The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits

John D. Barrow

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English

Vintage
07 May 1999

Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge; Mathematics & Sciences; Philosophy of science; Impact of science & technology on society; Cosmology & the universe

'If you are fascinated by the limits of knowledge, you will be richly rewarded by this book' New Scientist

What can we never do? Barrow looks at what limits there might be to human discovery, and what we might find, ultimately, to be unknowable, undoable, or unthinkable. Science is a big success story, but where will it end? And, indeed, will it end? Weaving together a tapestry of surprises, Barrow explores the frontiers of knowledge. We find that the notion of 'impossibility' has played a striking role in our thinking. Surrealism, impossible figures, time travel, paradoxes of logic and perspectives - all stimulate us to contemplate something more than what is. Using simple explanations, it shows the reader that impossibility is a deep and powerful notion; that any Universe complex enough to contain conscious beings will contain limits on what those beings can know about their Universe; that what we cannot know defines reality as surely as what we can know.

By: John D. Barrow
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 213g
ISBN: 9780099772118
ISBN 10: 0099772116
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 07 May 1999
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

John D. Barrow is Research Professor of Mathematical Sciences in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Theories of Everything, Impossibility, and The Book of Nothing.

Reviews for Impossibility: The Limits of Science and the Science of Limits

The author has strung together a whole heap of entertaining ideas on the thread of the limits of the possible - the limits of science, the human mind, cosmology and much more besides. This is Barrow at his best, getting a lot of deep ideas across relatively painlessly, and helping to show that in science everything is connected to everything else. (Kirkus UK)