The author of "Seven Brief Lessons on Physics" takes us on a fascinating journey into the depths of the meaning of time.
«We are time. We are this space, this clearing that is revealed thanks to the traces of memory in the connections between our neurons. We are memory. We are nostalgia. We long for a future that will not come».
Time is a mystery that never ceases to amaze us. Philosophers, artists, and poets have long explored its meaning, while scientists have discovered that its structure differs from our simple intuitive ideas about it. From Boltzmann to quantum theory, from Einstein to loop quantum gravity, the way we understand time has undergone radical changes. Time flows at different rates in different places, the past differs from the future much less than we believe, and the very idea of the present is lost in our vast universe.
Carlo Rovelli, with his remarkable charm and a deep sense of awe, combining science with philosophy and art, unravels this mystery. The Order of Time, an enlightening and unexpectedly comforting book, shows us that to understand ourselves we must reflect on time – and that to understand time we must reflect on ourselves.