Farewell to Reality

How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth

By: Jim Baggott

Narrated by: Philip Rose

From acclaimed science author Jim Baggot, a pointed critique of modern theoretical physics.

In this stunning new volume, Jim Baggott argues that there is no observational or experimental evidence for many of the ideas of modern theoretical physics: Super-symmetric particles, super strings, the multiverse, the holographic principle, or the anthropic cosmological principle. These theories are not only untrue; they are not even science. They are fairy-tale physics: Fantastical, bizarre and often outrageous, perhaps even confidence-trickery. This book provides a much-needed antidote. Informed, comprehensive, and balanced, it offers lay readers the latest ideas about the nature of physical reality while clearly distinguishing between fact and fantasy. With its engaging portraits of many central figures of modern physics, including Paul Davies, John Barrow, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, and Leonard Susskind, it promises to be essential reading for all readers interested in what we know and don’t know about the nature of the universe and reality itself.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2013 Jim Baggott (P)2013 Audible Inc.

gets to the point toward the end of the book

if you're a beginner the first seven chapters just reiterate the latest theoretical physics. A chapter 7 or 8 he starts going into why he considers it to be fairytale physics. this is probably why you purchased this book so if you are up to date with all concepts concurrent philosophies and ideas behind theoretical physics you can go straight to chapter 7 to hear some of his explanations FY the standard model string theory another prevalent ideas have their problems.

My new fav physics book & author!

Even if you think you're already up to speed on where physics is and isn't, you'll love this book. If you don't love it then you might be more interested in fairytale physics of which there is plenty to choose from. Baggot brilliantly explains all of the big theories out there and succinctly points out the horrid flaws inherent to many of them. I tell friends this is a MUST READ!

Too bad about the narrator.

I keep trying but I just can't do it. The narrator ought to be good and you'd think so from hearing a few moments of the preview. He reads clearly in a refined British accent, but he does a sort of "I'm reading a book!" style cadence with an unnatural inflection and unnatural pauses even where it is clear there must be no comma or semicolon. He seems to follow a pattern of 8-10 syllables per set and repeats the exact same intonation as he begins a sentence, does the characteristic pause, and completes the sentence.

The result is a narration that is SO FAR from the natural way people talk and with such disregard for the flow and intentional or necessary intonation of words that my mind just tunes it out as white noise and I keep having to pull myself back to it and telling my brain 'these are words! not just the same flow of altering pitches in a repeating pattern!' as he hits the same intonation at the end of the third word (for example) in every sentence no matter what it happened to be.

That may seem petty but maybe it's just me. I'm maybe 1/4 through and just can't go on which is disappointing because after all of the well narrated books Supporting string theory and others of the genre this is really a fascinating topic and the author has done a good job. I'll probably end up buying the paperback.

Metaphysics and mysticism as science

If one cannot falsify, prove or check a theory empirically is it science. Baggott doubts it is. I think he is right. Listen to his argument (and parallel or similar arguments by Roger Penrose. Baggott asks a tough question: if testability or predictive power on what we see isn't a criteria, how do we consistently and persuasively separate science from psuedo-science and mysticism? While my first reaction was to dismiss this as fanciful, the more I thought about modern anti-science thought and how it can (and in some cases does) use logic similar or identical to some modern physicists to justify what itself as scientific or to argue that "traditional" science is not the only or best road to knowledge. Think through what Baggott has to say. One may not agree with all of it, but he raises troubling questions.

Metaphysics, mysticism, science. What happen to religion?.

Baggot brilliantly deals with the theories of relativity, quantum mechanics and the philosophy of science but his silence on religion is deafening.