Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everythingin the Cosmos, fromOur Brains to Black Holes

by Charles Seife

Overview

The author of Zero explains the scientific revolution that is transforming the way we understand our world

Previously the domain of philosophers and linguists, information theory has now moved beyond the province of code breakers to become the crucial science of our time. In Decoding the Universe, Charles Seife draws on his gift for making cutting-edge science accessible to explain how this new tool is deciphering everything from the purpose of our DNA to the parallel universes of our Byzantine cosmos. The result is an exhilarating adventure that deftly combines cryptology, physics, biology, and mathematics to cast light on the new understanding of the laws that govern life and the universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143038399
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/30/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	4.94(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.55(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Charles Seife is the author of five previous books, including Proofiness and Zero, which won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for first nonfiction and was a New York Times notable book. He has written for a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times, Wired, New Scientist, Science, Scientific American, and The Economist. He is a professor of journalism at New York University and lives in New York City.

 

 

Table of Contents

Introduction     1
Redundancy     5
Demons     21
Information     56
Life     88
Faster than Light     119
Paradox     153
Quantum Information     180
Conflict     217
Cosmos     241
The Logarithm     267
Entropy and Information     269
Select Bibliography     275
Acknowledgments     285
Index     287

Editorial Reviews

Once the sole province of linguists and philosophers, information theory has become a central generative science. Charles Seife's Decoding the Universe describes how theorists came to understand that information is not simply a mental construct but also a fundamental element of the physical world. With engaging clarity, Seife explains the implications of this discovery for advanced physics and, indeed, the nature of time and space.