Images of Time

Images of Time presents a remarkably wide-ranging survey of the different paradigms used throughout history to describe notions of time. In its efforts to eschew metaphysics the book employs the language of mathematical physics in places although its kaleidoscopic style offers a stimulating and enlightening read for a broad audience without any mathematical background. Robin Tucker, Lancaster University, UK Images of Time is a rigorous and exciting journey to understand how man needs time to build models of the world. And how a change of these models reveals new aspects of time, from particle physics to cosmology up to biology. This is true not only for science but also for other forms of culture. The concept of Time is the oldest pact between man and Nature. Ignazio Licata, Institute for Scientist Methodology, Palermo, Italy A fascinating book which provides an overview of our understanding of the concept of time; from human cultural perspectives to more scientific and mathematically based descriptions and images of time. I recommend this book to any scientifically interested person; you will enjoy reading it and, at the same time, you will be learning quite a lot from it. Wojtek Zakrzewski, Durham University, UK This comprehensive examination of philosophical, physical and mathematical models of, and perspectives on time will be required reading for any course I teach on the subject. Not only is the treatment thorough, but the author's analysis is rigorous, well-defined and consistent. W. Mark Stuckey, Elizabethtown College, USA Images of Time is a treasure that will delight readers of all persuasions. Jaroszkiewicz writes with a fluid and engaging style that wears its scholarly rigour lightly, and his crystal clear accounts are brightened throughout by quirks of humour and gems of curiosity. The wealth of topics and perspectives is a joy, as the author ranges from ancient Greece and Mesopotamia to the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, from cosmology to thermodynamics, from Plato to Star Trek, and from geology and evolution to natural clocks and the Julian calendar. The book is at once an encyclopaedic reference, a pot-pourri of intriguing snippets, and a coherent masterpiece. Tim Freegarde, University of Southampton, UK