Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark

Tegmark, a professor of physics at MIT, writes at the cutting edge of cosmology and quantum theory in friendly and relaxed prose, full of entertaining anecdotes and down-to-earth analogies.Ĭriticism of the book seems to reflect two prominent criticisms also made of Tegmark's mathematical universe hypothesis: objections to the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and objections to Tegmark's alleged Platonic idealism. For example, according to a reviewer for The Guardian: Reviews of the book are generally enthusiastic about Tegmark's ability to make scientific topics enjoyable and intelligible. Here, Tegmark is taking us well beyond accepted viewpoints, advocating his personal vision for explaining the Universe. All possible mathematical structures have a physical existence, and collectively, give a multiverse that subsumes all others. This level contends that the Universe is not just well described by mathematics, but, in fact, is mathematics. The culmination that Tegmark seeks to lead us to is the “Level IV multiverse”. By the end of the book, Tegmark has hypothesized four different levels of multiverse.Īccording to Andrew Liddle, reviewing the book for Nature: Part three, 'Stepping Back,' interweaves a scientific viewpoint with Tegmark's speculative ideas about the mathematical nature of reality.

Part two, 'Zooming In,' looks for added perspective from quantum mechanics and particle physics. Part one, 'Zooming Out,' deals with locating ourselves in the cosmos and/or multiverse. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. The book begins with an account of a bicycle accident in Stockholm in which Tegmark was killed-in some theoretical parallel universes, though not in our own. Tegmark, whose background and scientific research have been in the fields of theoretical astrophysics and cosmology, mixes autobiography and humor into his analysis of the universe. This mathematical nature of the universe, Tegmark argues, has important consequences for the way researchers should approach many questions of physics. Written in popular science format, the book interweaves what a New York Times reviewer called 'an informative survey of exciting recent developments in astrophysics and quantum theory' with Tegmark's mathematical universe hypothesis, which posits that reality is a mathematical structure. Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality is a 2014 nonfiction book by the Swedish-American cosmologist Max Tegmark. Professor Max Tegmark, author of Our Mathematical Universe.

Our Mathematical Universe by Max Tegmark