La mattina del 29 luglio 1905, dopo un'altra notte insonne, un giovane impiegato dell'Ufficio brevetti di Berna stringe fra le mani un fascio di fogli, sottile e sgualcito. Si chiama Albert Einstein e sente di aver messo a punto la più coerente e convincente teoria del tempo che sia mai stata formulata. La comunità scientifica internazionale, presto, lo confermerà. Nessuno però, nemmeno Besso, il fedele amico che accompagna Einstein a pesca e tenta di condividerne le preoccupazioni, può immaginare da quale profondità, da quale groviglio di ipotesi, tutte a loro modo plausibili, sia emersa la risposta. È nel sogno che Einstein ha tutto prefigurato. Il sogno genera visioni di mondi possibili, di universi alternativi, di dimensioni temporali in cui la vita procede all'inverso, dalla morte alla nascita, in cui gli uomini corrono per invecchiare più lentamente, in cui esiste un luogo dove gli amanti possono restare abbracciati per l'eternità. Questo ha sognato Einstein mentre si stava avvicinando al segreto del tempo, questo ha intuito Alan Lightman, un fisico americano, consapevole che la grande scoperta scientifica è la traccia confusa fra gli incubi e le speranze di un genio che si interroga. È nato così, nella forma di un diario di sogni, un romanzo che perfettamente fonde invenzione narrativa, riflessione filosofica, interesse scientifico.  

Questo libro ci parla del cosmo e degli sforzi dell'uomo per conoscerlo. In sette brevi saggi, Alan Lightman - astrofisico e narratore - intreccia le più importanti questioni scientifiche con i grandi interrogativi che ne scaturiscono. L'universo in cui viviamo e le leggi fisiche che lo regolano sono un esito obbligato o sono invece un prodotto accidentale tra innumerevoli alternative? Davvero i nostri corpi e le nostre menti possono essere del tutto spiegati dalle leggi della scienza, proprio come la vita di una stella? Come risolvere la contraddizione tra il secondo principio della termodinamica (cioè la natura temporanea del mondo fisico) e l'istintiva aspirazione dell'uomo all'eternità? Capace di spaziare da Dostoevskij ad Einstein, dai miti dell'antichità alla scoperta del bosone di Higgs, l'autore ci conduce là dove la scienza si confronta con la filosofia e la religione. Ciascuno dei sette saggi assume una prospettiva particolare per parlarci dell'universo - accidentale, temporaneo, spirituale, simmetrico, smisurato, regolato, incorporeo - sempre diverso, sempre da conquistare. Un universo che un poco ci turba ma di certo ci affascina.

The author returns home to Memphis in an attempt to rediscover his Southern roots and understand his grandfather, a domineering man whose movie-theater empire catapulted the family to prominence in the South.

“Alan Lightman brings a light touch to heavy questions. Here is a book about nesting ospreys, multiple universes, atheism, spiritualism, and the arrow of time. Throughout, Lightman takes us back and forth between ordinary occurrences—old shoes and entropy, sailing far out at sea and the infinite expanse of space.

“In this slight volume, Lightman looks toward the universe and captures aspects of it in a series of beautifully written essays, each offering a glimpse at the whole from a different perspective: here time, there symmetry, not least God. It is a meditation by a remarkable humanist-physicist, a book worth reading by anyone entranced by big ideas grounded in the physical world.”
—Peter L. Galison, Joseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University

From the acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams and Mr g, a meditation on the unexpected ways in which recent scientific findings have shaped our understanding of ourselves and our place in the cosmos.

With all the passion, curiosity, and precise yet lyrical prose that have marked his previous books, Alan Lightman here explores the emotional and philosophical questions raised by discoveries in science, focusing most intently on the human condition and the needs of humankind. He looks at the difficult dialogue between science and religion; the conflict between our human desire for permanence and the impermanence of nature; the possibility that our universe is simply an accident; the manner in which modern technology has separated us from direct experience of the world; and our resistance to the view that our bodies and minds can be explained by scientific logic and laws. And behind all of these considerations is the suggestion—at once haunting and exhilarating—that what we see and understand of the world is only a tiny piece of the extraordinary, perhaps unfathomable whole.

Meditates on scientific findings that are changing the understanding of the cosmos, exploring such topics as the debate between science and religion, the conflict between the desire for permanence and nature's impermanence, and the ways technology has changed physical experiences.

Meditates on scientific findings that are changing the understanding of the cosmos, exploring such topics as the debate between science and religion, the conflict between the desire for permanence and nature's impermanence, and the ways technology has changed physical experiences.

Alan Lightman, the internationally bestselling author of Einstein's Dreams, presents Mr g, a celebration of the highs and lows of existence, on the grandest possible scale: the story of Creation, as told by God.

Once before time existed, Mr g woke up from a nap and decided to create the universe. In the shimmering Void, where he lives with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, he creates time, space, and matter. Soon follow stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness,and intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. But the creation of space and time has unintended consequences, including the arrival of Belhor, a clever and devious rival. Belhor delights in needling Mr g, demanding explanations for the inexplicable, offering his own opinions on the fledgling universes, and maintaining the necessity of evil. As Mr g’s favorite universe grows, he discovers how an act of creation can change everything in the world—including the creator himself.

“As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I decided to create the universe.”
 
So begins Alan Lightman's playful and profound new novel, Mr g, the story of Creation as told by God. Barraged by the constant advisements and bickerings of Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, who live with their nephew in the shimmering Void, Mr g proceeds to create time, space, and matter. Then come stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness, and, finally, intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. Mr g is all powerful but not all knowing and does much of his invention by trial and error.

Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and Mr g discovers that with his creation of space and time come some unforeseen consequences—especially in the form of the mysterious Belhor, a clever and devious rival. An intellectual equal to Mr g, Belhor delights in provoking him: Belhor demands an explanation for the inexplicable, requests that the newly created intelligent creatures not be subject to rational laws, and maintains the necessity of evil. As Mr g watches his favorite universe grow into maturity, he begins to understand how the act of creation can change himself, the Creator.

With echoes of Calvino, Rushdie, and Saramago, combining science, theology, and moral philosophy, Mr g is a stunningly imaginative work that celebrates the tragic and joyous nature of existence on the grandest possible scale.