Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Do we have free will? Is the universe compatible with God? Do we live in a computer simulation? Does the universe think?

Physicists are great at complicated research, but they are less good at telling us why it matters. In this entertaining and groundbreaking book, theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder breaks down why we should care. Drawing on the latest research in quantum mechanics, black holes, string theory and particle physics, Existential Physics explains what modern physics can tell us about the big questions.

Filled with counterintuitive insights and including interviews with other leading scientists, this clear and yet profound book will reshape your understanding of science and the limits of what we can know.

Review

Hossenfelder may popularise science but she doesn’t dumb it down… she stands between us and total incomprehension… That’s my kind of science writer ― Daily Mail

Hossenfelder is a unique writing talent and a unique science popularizer. You will come away from this book enriched, and will think about the world differently than you did before.

― Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist and bestselling author

It is hard not to enjoy the bold and easy spirit with which Hossenfelder begins her book… informative and engaging ― Times Literary Supplement

[Existential Physics] takes you on a thought provoking, tantalising and illuminating journey. It clearly delineates what physics can tell us about ourselves and the universe we inhabit, and thus what it cannot. ― Physics Education

Hossenfelder rightly believes that a better understanding of the limitations of science will benefit society. This comes across loud and clear in her book, which I found fun to read and really made me think about the scientific method and the big questions in life ― Physics World

If I had six stars to give this book, I’d do it… Highly recommended’ ― Popular Science (5* review)

About the Author

Sabine Hossenfelder is a Research Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, where she leads a group studying quantum gravity. She is a leading science communicator and has written for the New Scientist, the New York Times, Aeon, and others. Her YouTube Channel, ‘Science Without the Gobbledygook’ has over 300,000 subscribers.