Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 176 pages
- Published by: Columbia University Press
- Edition: 1st Edition August 6, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0231141505
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0231141505
-
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 14.4 ounces
Reader Reviews
I have never met the author of this enthralling book, but having now also read several of his previous works, he clearly has a remarkably original and creative mind. This book is both the most challenging and the most satisfying of his books, in which he tries to construct a comprehensive model that can take into account consciousness, quantum and Relativity theory. He begins with an exceptionally important problem, and one that is not even recognized by many popular writers who use half-understood metaphors to support their theories of everything from the Law of Attraction to the nature of God. The question is this: Can quantum mechanics tell us anything useful about the nature of reality in the observable day-to-day world? The trouble is that most of the observations in support of quantum theory vanish as the temperature of a system rises. At human body temperature, quantum effects appear to vanish like fairy gold. The second question has also lead to its fair share of misunderstandings: how do Einstein's theories of Relativity tie in with our day-to-day experiences and with quantum theory? In the 1950s a popular science writer first used a simplified but woefully inadequate interpretation of Einstein's work to declare that "everything is energy," and that matter is nothing but "congealed energy." These attractive statements have become enshrined in countless books, articles and documentaries. Sad to say, this is one of those times when an idea is clear, simple, understandable and... wrong. Alan is far too smart and well informed to make these mistakes. He proposes that three fundamental problems are all related: first, the problem of measurement in quantum mechanics; second the problem of time in quantum cosmology and third the so-called "hard problem" in brain science that tries to explain how consciousness can arise form apparently inanimate matter. What he does next is almost unique in contemporary literature: he engages in a first-person meditative inquiry into the relationships between these two streams in physics and the third strand: the nature of consciousness. He uses techniques that he outlined in The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind, and builds on some of the insights in his last book, Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge (Columbia Series in Science and Religion). He comes to the conclusion, rightly, I believe, that consciousness does not emerge from the brain but is conditioned by it. Furthermore, that the entire Universe of mind and matter arises from a fundamental non-dual reality. Not only has Alan constructed an interesting hypothesis that is compatible with much of what we have learned from physicists, but he has also revived an ancient tradition that teaches us that although we can describe the natural world with our observations and our mathematics, we can also probe the nature of existence by going within our minds. The worry about the latter approach has always been that we might end up in a meaningless solipsistic dream. Alan Wallace indicates to us that inner inquiry may produce answers that seem to agree with and expand many current models employed in physics. This is an important, well-written and engaging book that will be of great value to anyone interested in consciousness, spirituality and the nature of the Universe. Very highly recommended. Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life
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