Synchronicity
The Epic Quest to Understand the Quantum Nature of Cause and Effect
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Synchronicity
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Narrated by:
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Jeff Hoyt
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By:
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Paul Halpern
About this listen
From Aristotle's Physics to quantum teleportation, learn about the scientific pursuit of instantaneous connections in this insightful examination of our world.
For millennia, scientists have puzzled over a simple question: Does the universe have a speed limit? If not, some effects could happen at the same instant as the actions that caused them - and some effects, ludicrously, might even happen before their causes. By 100 years ago, it seemed clear that the speed of light was the fastest possible speed. Causality was safe. And then quantum mechanics happened, introducing spooky connections that seemed to circumvent the law of cause and effect.
Inspired by the new physics, psychologist Carl Jung and physicist Wolfgang Pauli explored a concept called synchronicity, a weird phenomenon they thought could link events without causes. Synchronicity tells that sprawling tale of insight and creativity, and asks where these ideas - some plain crazy, and others crazy powerful - are taking the human story next.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Paul Halpern (P)2020 Basic BooksListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Paul Halpern has zeroed in on one of the biggest mysteries in physics: objects with no mechanical linkage somehow act in harmony. He gives it a human face by digging into the Pauli-Jung collaboration-there is nothing else quite like it in the history of science." —George Musser, author of Spooky Action at a Distance
"Synchronicity is a sweeping account of humanity's understanding of the nature of causality. With great virtuosity, Paul Halpern weaves together all of the threads of this important story from the ancient Greeks to modern physics while entertaining the reader with insightful character studies and colorful anecdotes. A delightful book that anyone interested in the history of ideas will enjoy." —John Kounios, coauthor of The Eureka Factor
"Synchronicity is a very informative and thought-provoking account of humankind's efforts from antiquity to the present to understand the causal structure of the everyday world and, during the past century, to unite that understanding with the apparently acausal nature of the quantum world of atoms and particles. Paul Halpern writes with remarkable clarity and insight in a very accessible and engaging style." —David C. Cassidy, author of Beyond Uncertainty
What listeners say about Synchronicity
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ash Roskell
- 28-08-22
Pleasantly Surprised
Once I realised that a lot of science history would be featured in this account of the quantum universe, I worried that we may have to suffer a swathe of biographical, “padding,” in the way that seems so common in books of this type. However, the author did an excellent job of sticking to the science throughout, only using the history as a method for explaining how, when and in what way discoveries were made, contextualising the science and casting light on the subject matter without ever losing his thread, or boring the reader senseless with yet another pointlessly lengthy description of a certain patent office clerk daydreaming in the workplace.
Well narrated, by a reader who’s style is as soothing as it is fluent, this turns out to be a pretty comprehensive attempt at conveying some pretty difficult scientific concepts, with some success.
The author seems fully cognisant of the popular appeal to the general public of the subject matter, giving a nod to the rock band, The Police, in his choice of title for this book, whilst discussing the fact that the term, Synchronicity, coined by Karl Yung, denotes the outer limits of the possibilities yet to be mined by quantum sciences, even if some of the conclusions people are reaching are too spurious for hard science and are better suited to the realms of philosophy or the arts. His polite way of warning us that some people sell a lot of bollocks for a fast buck in the name of quantum science, perhaps?
A feast for the scientifically intrigued. Well worth your time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- An admirer
- 03-11-21
superb
one of the best popular science books I have ever read. beautifully blends autobiography with science. and the narration is top-notch too. well done all!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Montberte
- 04-09-20
Slow going at first but good at the end.
There were times at the start of this book that I was about to give up on it, but fortunately I kept going and it got much better half way through.
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