Existential Physics

holes destroy information; they want to know what will happen to the collected infor- mation of human civilization. They don t care much whether galactic filaments resemble neuronal networks; they want to know if the universe can think. People are people. Who d have thought?

Of course, I want to know these things too. But somewhere along my path through academia I learned to avoid asking such questions, not to mention answering them. After all, I m just a physicist. I m not competent to speak about consciousness and human behavior and such.

Nevertheless,  the  young  man s  question  drove  home  to  me  that physicists do know some things, if not about consciousness itself, then about  the  physical  laws  that  everything  in  the  universe including you and I and your grandmother must respect. Not all ideas about life and death and the origin of human existence are compatible with the foundations of physics. That s knowledge we should not hide in obscure journals using incomprehensible prose.

It s not just that this knowledge is worth sharing; keeping it to ourselves has consequences. If physicists don t step forward and explain what physics says about the human condition, others will jump at the opportunity and abuse our cryptic terminology for the promotion of pseudoscience. It s not a coincidence that quantum entanglement and vacuum energy are go-to explanations of alternative healers, spiritual media, and snake oil sellers. Unless you have a PhD in physics, it shard to tell our gobbledygook from any other.

However, my aim here is not mere

God and spirituality, free will, universal consciousness, dualism (whether the mind is separate from the body), the Big Bang theory about the origin of the cosmos, the possible existence of parallel universes, and whether we live in a computer simulation . . . readers who wonder how to tell a good from a bad explanation can now consult [Existential Physics] . . . An intriguing book fully of highly opinionated and convincing arguments.  
Kirkus Reviews

[An] excellent book on physics for general readers . . . Hossenfelder uses current and historical research to show the deep connections between philosophy and the scientific method . . .  Recommended for readers interested in philosophy of science and the sorts of questions that current science can and can t answer.
Library Journal

Smart . . . [Hossenfelder] explores fascinating questions . . . though she asserts that 'physicists are really good at answering questions, but really bad at explaining why anyone should care,' her curiosity and clever prose prove that doesn t have to be the case. Budding physics buffs, take note.  
Publishers Weekly

Part gonzo journalist, part curious child, part teacher, and part accomplished researcher, Sabine Hossenfelder is a unique writing talent and a unique science popularizer. One cannot help being provoked reading her prose, as she knows how to push your buttons. But she also abhors bullshit, which makes her take on the deepest human questions and what physics has to say about them worth looking at, and also ensures that it will be different than those other physics books of grand verbosity about frontier physics. You might agree with her. You might not. But you will come away from the experience enriched, and will think about the world differently than you did before.  
Lawrence Krauss, bestselling author of The Physics of Star Trek, A Universe from Nothing, and The Physics of Climate Change

Sabine Hossenfelder is a rare gem. There are other theoretical physicists out there who can write for a popular audience, but very few of them are able to do so in such a no-nonsense way. There's no puffery or posturing, but a direct and potent takedown of some of the fashionable ideas lounging at the edges of modern science. The result is not just illuminating, but enjoyable.
Charles Seife, author of Decoding the Universe

Sabine Hossenfelder offers a radical and brand-new exploration of the limits and power of scientific explanation to address the most pressing existential questions that strike to the core of the essential curiosity that makes us human in the first place. Her book offers a riveting and remarkably original take that makes room for hope, belief and faith within the house of reason and rationality. A must-read to better navigate this chaotic and complex current moment.
Priyamvada Natarajan, author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos

"I don't always agree with Sabine Hossenfelder, but I'm always eager to hear what she has to say. She is one of our boldest young thinkers, and not just in physics. Her new book provides a splendid showcase for her iconoclastic outlook."
John Horgan, author of The End of Science and director of the Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology