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The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead: Dispatches from the Front Line of Science
Learn how the big bang may have been spawned by a collision between 'island universes'; how a single remarkable number contains the answer to every question we could ever ask; how the most widely accepted theory of the universe's origin suggests that Elvis never died; and how a computer program a mere four lines long could be generating the stars, the galaxies and the tip of your nose. Chown fearlessly addresses the big questions on the nature of the universe, the nature of reality, and the place of life in the universe. Ultimately, he says, science is about the down-to-earth things that matter to all of us. Where did the universe come from? Where did we come from? What the hell are we doing here?
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
21 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Chown
31 books239 followersMarcus Chown is an award-winning writer and broadcaster. Formerly a radio astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, he is currently cosmology consultant of the weekly science magazine New Scientist. He is the author of the bestselling Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You, The Never Ending Days of Being Dead and The Magic Furnace. He also wrote The Solar System, the bestselling app for iPad, which won the Future Book Award 2011. Marcus Chown has also written a work for children, Felicity Frobisher and the Three-Headed Aldebaran Dust Devil.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 25, 2022
Dosta diskutabilnih glavolomki koje nisu dovoljno objasnjene. Plus, knjiga je vec pomalo zastarela. Napisana je pre otkrica Higsovog bozona...
July 23, 2010
A disappointing book given the author's previous excellent track record.
The author should definitely have consulted a computer scientist before writing the early chapters, as he has completely misunderstood what a "universal" computer (= Turing machine) is, and some of the material is simply wrong. A universal computer is definitely NOT capable of simulating "any conceivable machine" - when used in this context, the word "universal" is a technical term, and means only that any other Turing machine behaviour can be simulated. It is easy to envisage machines that cannot be simulated by a universal computer, e.g. true random number generators, and machines equipped with non-recursive oracles.
Similarly, the argument presented that physical arrangements of matter (e.g. Elvis) must be duplicated throughout the universe is logically invalid, since it is based on the assumption that if a container can hold at most N items, then each item can only occupy one of N positions in that container. But this is only true if the container is full. For example, a box may only hold 12 apples when full, but when it's empty you can place a single apple anywhere you want within it (and as Chown points out, the universe is nowhere near being full). Since multi-body systems can be chaotic, the exact initial placement of matter needs to be taken into account, and we're told by Chown that this was essentially random. In a chaotic system, even a tiny difference in initial conditions can lead to systems becoming unrecognisably different as time passes. So the argument presented that different regions of the universe are "guaranteed" to have evolved identically is a logical non-starter.
The author should definitely have consulted a computer scientist before writing the early chapters, as he has completely misunderstood what a "universal" computer (= Turing machine) is, and some of the material is simply wrong. A universal computer is definitely NOT capable of simulating "any conceivable machine" - when used in this context, the word "universal" is a technical term, and means only that any other Turing machine behaviour can be simulated. It is easy to envisage machines that cannot be simulated by a universal computer, e.g. true random number generators, and machines equipped with non-recursive oracles.
Similarly, the argument presented that physical arrangements of matter (e.g. Elvis) must be duplicated throughout the universe is logically invalid, since it is based on the assumption that if a container can hold at most N items, then each item can only occupy one of N positions in that container. But this is only true if the container is full. For example, a box may only hold 12 apples when full, but when it's empty you can place a single apple anywhere you want within it (and as Chown points out, the universe is nowhere near being full). Since multi-body systems can be chaotic, the exact initial placement of matter needs to be taken into account, and we're told by Chown that this was essentially random. In a chaotic system, even a tiny difference in initial conditions can lead to systems becoming unrecognisably different as time passes. So the argument presented that different regions of the universe are "guaranteed" to have evolved identically is a logical non-starter.
August 15, 2019
Gimnastika mozga. Vrlo kompleksnim temama pristupljeno vrlo pitko.
October 24, 2010
If you already have a basic grasp of cosmology and fancy a highly (and I mean highly) speculative detour away from established theories into the realm of fringe topics such as whether we might be living in a computer simulation or where we might begin to look for a possible message from the creator of our universe, then you should find this an entertaining enough read, even if you question some of the conclusions. At times it risks straying into theological territory, but not in a Bible-bashing way - for example, Chown relays the proposal of one physicist that the purpose of life might be to create an omnipotent and omniscient super-intelligence. That's the kind of book this is. It has its faults - several glaring grammatical errors towards the end, and it's also strangely repetitive in parts, making it feel somewhat disjointed. Despite that, it's hard not to find the concepts he relays fascinating. Just don't expect to learn too much from it.
December 7, 2014
This book came to me by an unusual route - a friend from up north sent it to us thinking it was ours (the bookmark in it was a plane ticket with my wife's name on it) we had never heard of it.
Nonetheless I gave the book a read, the premise seemed great and one of my goals is to read non-fiction outside of my usual (special) interests.
Overall the book was lackluster. I found myself struggling a little with the physics, although at the same time I suspect someone well qualified in the area would probably have a better understanding that what was presented here. Thusly one questions who this book is for?
The 2nd and 3rd sections were the strongest, the 1st felt like an endless repetition of the question: If there was a big bang why is the universe so consistent?
Nonetheless I gave the book a read, the premise seemed great and one of my goals is to read non-fiction outside of my usual (special) interests.
Overall the book was lackluster. I found myself struggling a little with the physics, although at the same time I suspect someone well qualified in the area would probably have a better understanding that what was presented here. Thusly one questions who this book is for?
The 2nd and 3rd sections were the strongest, the 1st felt like an endless repetition of the question: If there was a big bang why is the universe so consistent?
April 17, 2008
I really liked it at first. It's definitely interesting stuff, and goes a long way to try and make current theories understandable, but the line between likely-but-untested theory and madcap-but-interesting is perhaps a little too blurred for the sake of making the book a good read. It's not clear, for example, how many people take Wolfram's simulation theory seriously, or between the competing theories on Inflation, false vaccuum vs colliding branes, etc. So it's really interesting stuff, and very readable, but it's not a very good guide to scientific consensus. My 3-star rating's probably a little unfair, in retrospect.
March 13, 2021
Wow, I love this book. And I absolutely want to find another one by this author. Marcus Chow, yes I will keep this name in mind.
For one thing, he knows how to write a book to layman, using simple sentences, easy to follow logics and interesting quotation. Which means, he respects his readers and doesn't just to make an academic, boring, showoff book.
Also, he keeps asking the various ultimate questions, such as why there is something instead of nothing, and what happened before the big bang. I have read books who avoided such hard questions by saying that big bang is the orogin of everything. But clearly people want to know what before that. And he gave quite a few alternative views on the origin of universe. What I like most is the last chapter talking about the meaning of life and the destiny of it. Seems that there will be an Omega Point where superintelligence is god and we are reborn.
I probably will revisit some of his chapters someday when I come up with such ultimate questions again.
For one thing, he knows how to write a book to layman, using simple sentences, easy to follow logics and interesting quotation. Which means, he respects his readers and doesn't just to make an academic, boring, showoff book.
Also, he keeps asking the various ultimate questions, such as why there is something instead of nothing, and what happened before the big bang. I have read books who avoided such hard questions by saying that big bang is the orogin of everything. But clearly people want to know what before that. And he gave quite a few alternative views on the origin of universe. What I like most is the last chapter talking about the meaning of life and the destiny of it. Seems that there will be an Omega Point where superintelligence is god and we are reborn.
I probably will revisit some of his chapters someday when I come up with such ultimate questions again.
August 29, 2021
For anyone into physics, mathematics and populist science, 'The Never-Ending Days of Being Dead: Dispatches from the Front Line of Science' by Marcus Chown will be an enjoyable read. The book is a bit dated considering the advancements made in science over the last decade (such as discovery of Higgs Boson etc.), but it's still worth a read considering the interesting questions and logical hypotheses discussed in this book. The book, without doubt, is mentally stimulating and equally thought provoking. I would recommend this book as a good bedtime read for any science enthusiast!
February 2, 2024
I picked this up because judging from the cover and the short text on the sleeve this sounded like something I could enjoy and also get some fun out of. I was a bit wrong there. Although chown has a flowing nice talking style, the content is very very scientific. So for me with a master's but not too savvy in physics and adjoined sciences this was really tough to read. I don't even pretend I understood that much. Great topics, great research, congrats to chown, but it was not what I expected and I couldn't enjoy it as I thought I would.
March 28, 2018
A little upset that I didn't find this book as interesting as other books I've read by the same author. I'm not sure if this is my fault or not but this wasn't as pleasurable a read as others.
if I had to pick a favourite part, this would be the section about omega. I wouldn't want to out anyone off reading this but I would look at other titles first.
if I had to pick a favourite part, this would be the section about omega. I wouldn't want to out anyone off reading this but I would look at other titles first.
June 21, 2019
Interesting ideas although I must admit to being somewhat disturbed at the prospect of spending eternity in a computer generated universe with a happy Hitler.
April 29, 2013
Sadly I never really took much interest in science at school and mathematics was and still is something of an enigma to me. I got stuck into the so called social sciences, however, the more disillusioned I've become with these the more fascinated I am by the world of the natural sciences. A while ago I decided I needed to try to get my head around Quantum Theory which is how I came across Marcus Chown with his Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You. That book did hurt my head and gave me an idea of the complexity of the subject, however, I did get some of it and it wetted my appetite for further reading in the field. While Quantum Theory proves that science fact is at least as strange as the wilder science fiction, if not more so, The Never Ending Days of Being Dead goes into overdrive to outdo the whackiest of SF. Chown explores all sorts of what I would term "Wild end of the spectrum" thories that are apparantly not incompatible with current science modelling. These range from parallel universes to our existence being possibly no more than as part of a computer simulation. It is difficult to see in a lot of this where the science stops and the philosophy takes over, although perhaps it is more a case of the two becoming enmeshed and a bluring of the line between disciplines! A large part of this book went over my head despite my best efforts, however, it made me think and posed some interesting challenges as well as the frequent feeling that some people working in the field have lost all sense of reality behind. The problem is the whole book seems to be challenging our very notions of comfortable reality - which according to cutting edge reseach and the slamming of bits of raw matter together at very high speeds is actually pretty much a subjective illusion that makes it possible for our highly under evolved selves to cope with daily life on this baffling lump of rock in an infinitely baffling cosmos which we know a surprising amount about, or at least enough to know it's one damn wierd place! Once you've read a bit on this subject matter picking up a mug of tea is never going to be quite the same again!
November 24, 2014
Abandoned at 41%.
Nothing new here in terms of content or presentation - which is fine, the thing about this end of physics is you can read it again and again and again with the eventual hope of some of it making sense.
For me, I'm beginning to find physics without maths too woolly. It's not that I actually want tensor calculus in my bedtime reading, but when you've battled through learning it that way, reading it as qualitative description is somehow much less satisfying. This, clearly, is a fault with me, not the book.
The real reason this got abandoned was the persistent description of quantum behaviour as 'schizophrenic'. I get that this is popular science, and so we're going to use a popular metaphor. But I think that as a science communicator, you should appreciate accuracy over what is a popular but damaging misconception.
What really got me, though, was the repetition of 'schizophrenic behaviour'. Page after page after page after page. Surely a different word/phrase could have been found. If the phrase had been (mis)used once or twice, I'm sure I would have ignored it. But it simply got to the point that I decided that if it was used one more time, I'd put the book down. It got used one more time. So I put the book down, with more relief than regret.
Nothing new here in terms of content or presentation - which is fine, the thing about this end of physics is you can read it again and again and again with the eventual hope of some of it making sense.
For me, I'm beginning to find physics without maths too woolly. It's not that I actually want tensor calculus in my bedtime reading, but when you've battled through learning it that way, reading it as qualitative description is somehow much less satisfying. This, clearly, is a fault with me, not the book.
The real reason this got abandoned was the persistent description of quantum behaviour as 'schizophrenic'. I get that this is popular science, and so we're going to use a popular metaphor. But I think that as a science communicator, you should appreciate accuracy over what is a popular but damaging misconception.
What really got me, though, was the repetition of 'schizophrenic behaviour'. Page after page after page after page. Surely a different word/phrase could have been found. If the phrase had been (mis)used once or twice, I'm sure I would have ignored it. But it simply got to the point that I decided that if it was used one more time, I'd put the book down. It got used one more time. So I put the book down, with more relief than regret.
Read
July 28, 2011A really fascinating book. Chown has a very insightful yet plain-speaking writing style which makes the innermost workings of Quantum Theory and the structure of the universe almost accessible. While in some places I think he could have gone into more detail, it would be unreasonable to expect the full details of this branch of physics in a popular science book. Often the full gravity (excuse the pun) of what the chapter is detailing is not revealed till the end of said chapter so sometimes the book reads almost like a thriller with the reader not quite sure how the movement of particles in a cloud chamber (for instance) will have any effect on the universe around them until it is revealed in the last few paragraphs.
Altogether it is a very good book, but some of the ramifications of the ideas contained within it are mind-blowing to say the least. The book is a surprisingly satisfying read considering its whole message is that we still actually know remarkably little about the universe.
Altogether it is a very good book, but some of the ramifications of the ideas contained within it are mind-blowing to say the least. The book is a surprisingly satisfying read considering its whole message is that we still actually know remarkably little about the universe.
February 10, 2014
A wholly remarkable book.
I like to think I read a lot of popular science but I still found plenty I'm here that was quite fresh to me.
Marcus has realised that narrative mad analogy are both powerful and dangerous and so puts a lot of effort into searching out and perfecting the most illuminating and least confusing he can. He usually succeeds.
Take a good grip on your view of the universe, it is about to be spun around and twisted about. I particularly appreciated the discussion of Godel which for the first time helped me understand what all the fuss was about.
Think of it as a kind of total perspective vortex in book form and you won't be far wrong.
A highly recommended read.
I like to think I read a lot of popular science but I still found plenty I'm here that was quite fresh to me.
Marcus has realised that narrative mad analogy are both powerful and dangerous and so puts a lot of effort into searching out and perfecting the most illuminating and least confusing he can. He usually succeeds.
Take a good grip on your view of the universe, it is about to be spun around and twisted about. I particularly appreciated the discussion of Godel which for the first time helped me understand what all the fuss was about.
Think of it as a kind of total perspective vortex in book form and you won't be far wrong.
A highly recommended read.
October 2, 2025
Dovoljno zanimljiva za čitanje. Zanimljive ideje, ipak nedovoljno istražene za neko kompleksnije objašnjavanje odredjenih teorija. Ali za čitatelja koji voli kosmos i fiziku, dovoljno raznolika i ima dobru suštinu.
Dosta citira druge velikane, ima interesantnih kompjuterskih i kosmoloških informacija, ali eto prosto može to dosta razredjenije da se objasni. Ima dobru podlogu, razrada nije uradjena kako treba.
Na kraju, tera nas da se zapitamo, što je i bitna poenta, o opstanku Zemlje i svrsi nauke prilikom postizanja tog cilja.
''Ukoliko je iko izgubio nekoga voljenog ili se plaši smrti, piše Tipler, moderna fizika kaže,,utešite se, živećete opet.''
Dosta citira druge velikane, ima interesantnih kompjuterskih i kosmoloških informacija, ali eto prosto može to dosta razredjenije da se objasni. Ima dobru podlogu, razrada nije uradjena kako treba.
Na kraju, tera nas da se zapitamo, što je i bitna poenta, o opstanku Zemlje i svrsi nauke prilikom postizanja tog cilja.
''Ukoliko je iko izgubio nekoga voljenog ili se plaši smrti, piše Tipler, moderna fizika kaže,,utešite se, živećete opet.''
November 12, 2014
This is a geeky, cutting edge physics book. Very, very interesting (if you like that sort of thing). One of his calculations proves that if you walk 10^10^28 meters, you will run into yourself (how cool is that!!!) Another of his examples shows that the purpose of life may be to create God (instead of the other way around- that people at the moment just before the Big Crunch will have the energy required to essentially create The Matrix, thus, be God).
July 1, 2012
Una vez más Chown acerca el mundo cuántico al lector, prescindiendo de su complejo artefacto matemático. Aunque esta vez va más allá, al franquear fronteras de la física que van más allá de lo que la ciencia convencional acepta. El título es de por sí toda una declaración de intenciones: "Los días interminables de estar muerto", prepárare para un viaje a Multiversos, el Punto Omega y los pensamientos de Stephen Wolfram.
January 5, 2017
Finally finished this book, to say I've taken my time with it is an understatement. Such an interesting and at the same time complicated read, I feel like my head is about to explode from all the complex theories and ideas. Otherwise I loved it and definitely recommend it to anyone interested in physics, astronomy, SETI and more
June 19, 2009
Fascinating stuff about the "latest" questions about the universe. A nice amount of detail is given, but I couldn't help wanting some more. It also felt a little optimistic; I would have enjoyed some more conflicting opinions. Other then that, a real thought-provoker.
May 26, 2016
A lovely read with not too much physics or astronomy jargon. Neither is it bogged down by heavy mathematics. It had a delicious style of writing too. Filled with thoughts and ideas that truly provokes the mind.
February 16, 2010
Mindblowing, putting science into perspective
April 12, 2010
Read the first two chapters and lost interest. Normally I find this kind of stuff fascinating but for whatever reason not in the mood to finish this book. Nothing to do with the book.
May 3, 2013
Really excellent ideas, but I do have some trouble with understanding the concepts involved. This is nothing to do with the book, rather, my own abilities! Fascinating all the same.
March 25, 2017
pop physics.
OK
A bit dumbed down I guess.
Not the best "pop" quantum physics book I've read by a long shot
OK
A bit dumbed down I guess.
Not the best "pop" quantum physics book I've read by a long shot
June 16, 2023
Full of fascinating details about reality! However, there were sections that I got lost in the details, but overall a fascinating read.
April 16, 2017
The author offers a change from current scientific theories by presenting a synopsis of fringe theories concerning life, the universe, and what is reality. Such as God’s number being Omega and it points to somewhere in the universe. Or maybe the creator of the universe left us a message where the Big Bang occurred. We just need to find out where that happened. Or, are we living in a computer simulation (how many movies and books are based on this)?
Some of this book was informative such as the chapters discussing quantum theory (the author relied a lot on quantum for the quirkiness). Other parts would be useful in science fiction stories. Others were too farfetched such as Wolfram’s belief that everything is based on a simple computer program that we haven’t discovered because it is too simple. The last section of the book about finding alien life was unnecessary. It did not fit into the book’s theme and generalized that field of study.
Written in 2007, some of the material is dated since this was before the CERN Large Hadron Collider went online. Other material, such as string theory, is still valid. Overall, the book gave a layman’s view of scientific theories (except in a few spots where there was too much math). Although there were inaccuracies throughout, the book was entertaining.
Some of this book was informative such as the chapters discussing quantum theory (the author relied a lot on quantum for the quirkiness). Other parts would be useful in science fiction stories. Others were too farfetched such as Wolfram’s belief that everything is based on a simple computer program that we haven’t discovered because it is too simple. The last section of the book about finding alien life was unnecessary. It did not fit into the book’s theme and generalized that field of study.
Written in 2007, some of the material is dated since this was before the CERN Large Hadron Collider went online. Other material, such as string theory, is still valid. Overall, the book gave a layman’s view of scientific theories (except in a few spots where there was too much math). Although there were inaccuracies throughout, the book was entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews