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Im Hyperraum. Eine Reise durch Zeittunnel und Paralleluniversen.
¿Hay otras dimensiones más allá de las de nuestra experiencia cotidiana? ¿Hay puertas de acceso a universos paralelos? ¿Qué sucedió antes del primer día de la Creación? Este tipo de cuestiones están en el centro de la actividad científica actual. En efecto, muchos físicos creen hoy que existen otras dimensiones más allá de las cuatro de nuestro espacio-tiempo, y que puede alcanzarse una visión unificada de las diversas fuerzas de la naturaleza, si consideramos que todo lo que vemos a nuestro alrededor, desde los árboles hasta las estrellas, no son sino vibraciones en el hiperespacio. La teoría del hiperespacio -y su derivación más reciente, la teoría de supercuerdas- es el ojo de esta revolución. En este libro, Michio Kaku nos muestra un panorama fascinante, que cambia por completo nuestra visión del cosmos, y nos lleva a un deslumbrante viaje por nuevas dimensiones: agujeros de gusano que conectan universos paralelos, máquinas del tiempo, «universos bebé» y otras maravillas semejantes van surgiendo en unas páginas en las que todo se explica con una elegante sencillez y donde la formulación matemática es reemplazada por imaginativas ilustraciones que permiten visualizar los problemas. El resultado es un libro muy ameno y sorprendente, que incluso deja atrás las mayores fantasías de los viejos autores de ciencia ficción.
432 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 1994
1210 people are currently reading
41227 people want to read
About the author
Michio Kaku
53 books6,937 followers(Arabic: ميشيو كاكو
Russian: Митио Каку
Chinese: 加來道雄)
Dr. Michio Kaku is an American theoretical physicist at the City College of New York , best-selling author, a futurist, and a communicator and popularizer of science. He has written several books about physics and related topics of science.
He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011).
Dr. Michio is the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein’s search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory.
Kaku was a Visitor and Member (1973 and 1990) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and New York University. He currently holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.
Russian: Митио Каку
Chinese: 加來道雄)
Dr. Michio Kaku is an American theoretical physicist at the City College of New York , best-selling author, a futurist, and a communicator and popularizer of science. He has written several books about physics and related topics of science.
He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011).
Dr. Michio is the co-founder of string field theory (a branch of string theory), and continues Einstein’s search to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into one unified theory.
Kaku was a Visitor and Member (1973 and 1990) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and New York University. He currently holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 700 reviews
September 17, 2007
Michio Kaku apparently spent his childhood building super-colliders in his parents' garage. It paid off. He's clearly brilliant, and best of all, he's not lost his imagination. One sad fact of modern physicists is that precious few of them have any imagination, and are incapable of thought experiments and relative flights of fantasy. As Kaku has pointed out, fantasy fueled more great discoveries in science than pure science ever did on its own. In this book he uses what we know about quantum physics to explore possibilities formerly relegated exclusively to science fiction. In doing so, he should be admired. He is merely asking us to consider what some great minds in both literature and physics have imagined, and in doing so, manages to make what we do know seem almost simple by showing us how much we truly don't know. He's amazingly talented, imaginative, and best of all, he knows his math. He also knows how to use that math to dream of what's possible. An absolutely fun book to read.
NC
NC
March 11, 2025
Between being a ballerina (short-lived) and a princess (still trying), my dream career in my youth was to be a scientist. There's proof, in those little booklets you fill out each year during elementary. One of my aunts even got me a Popular Science subscription. For years, I read them end to end.
If I were smarter, my dream career would be a physicist. I constantly eat up works by Stephen Hawking. INTERSTELLAR changed my life. Relativity is wild.
I don't entirely understand string theory and multiple dimensions, but I love the idea of them. Parallel universes, and shows like FRINGE, are my bread and butter.
So it's nice to follow Dr. Kaku's work in a sea of very white physicists. This is an easy read/listen if you're even a modicum interested in the above subjects.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio
If I were smarter, my dream career would be a physicist. I constantly eat up works by Stephen Hawking. INTERSTELLAR changed my life. Relativity is wild.
I don't entirely understand string theory and multiple dimensions, but I love the idea of them. Parallel universes, and shows like FRINGE, are my bread and butter.
So it's nice to follow Dr. Kaku's work in a sea of very white physicists. This is an easy read/listen if you're even a modicum interested in the above subjects.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio
August 31, 2007
This is the book that allowed me to fool an entire room of graduate students into thinking I was utterly Brilliant. It is a really good crash course on just what the hell Quantum, String, Unified Field Theory ad Superstring actually are. Lays down the history and concepts in a way that makes sense and makes you get it.
Particularly savvy readers will start making the other logical leaps. If we are thinking energy vibrating along a 10-dimensional string, what does that say about the frequency of sentience in the universe? Since energy can't go anywhere and sentience is a factor of energy, what the hell really does happen to us when we die?
Enjoy your trip down the rabbit hole.
Particularly savvy readers will start making the other logical leaps. If we are thinking energy vibrating along a 10-dimensional string, what does that say about the frequency of sentience in the universe? Since energy can't go anywhere and sentience is a factor of energy, what the hell really does happen to us when we die?
Enjoy your trip down the rabbit hole.
March 30, 2022
I think this book is superb.
String theory is complicated and it would be easy to make the subject dense and unappealing.
However. Michio Kaku has a lightness of touch that enables the reader to think they might understand what's going in in our world where the extra dimensions are rolled up to the size of the Planck length.
The author also includes references to the great scientists of yesterday, the Newtons, Faradays, Maxwells as well as the scientists of the 20th Century allowing the reader to see how theories have changed through the centuries.
There's an intriguing section on Type I, II, and III civilisations.
The Earth is a Type 0 civilisation at the moment.
A Type I civilisation is one that controls the energy resources of an entire planet, controls the weather on its home planet, and has explored its own solar system.
A Type II civilisation is one that controls the power of the sun and has begun the colonisation of local star systems.
A Type III civilisation is one that controls the power of an entire galaxy and can probably manipulate space-time.
It's almost certain that any visitors from outer space to Earth would be from a Type III civilisation, in which case why would they bother with us? We'd have nothing to impress them and anything they could pass on to us would be beyond us, almost like a human communicating with an ant colony and trying to teach them how to build a solar panel.
String theory is complicated and it would be easy to make the subject dense and unappealing.
However. Michio Kaku has a lightness of touch that enables the reader to think they might understand what's going in in our world where the extra dimensions are rolled up to the size of the Planck length.
The author also includes references to the great scientists of yesterday, the Newtons, Faradays, Maxwells as well as the scientists of the 20th Century allowing the reader to see how theories have changed through the centuries.
There's an intriguing section on Type I, II, and III civilisations.
The Earth is a Type 0 civilisation at the moment.
A Type I civilisation is one that controls the energy resources of an entire planet, controls the weather on its home planet, and has explored its own solar system.
A Type II civilisation is one that controls the power of the sun and has begun the colonisation of local star systems.
A Type III civilisation is one that controls the power of an entire galaxy and can probably manipulate space-time.
It's almost certain that any visitors from outer space to Earth would be from a Type III civilisation, in which case why would they bother with us? We'd have nothing to impress them and anything they could pass on to us would be beyond us, almost like a human communicating with an ant colony and trying to teach them how to build a solar panel.
February 26, 2025
I loved this book. I can’t say I understood all the science or math discussed, but I was able to grasp the concepts and expand my imagination alongside it to see a bigger universe.
I think this is a must read for anyone who wants to write science fiction. It explains in as layman terms as is possible how to create stories that make scientific sense if you plan to write about a multiverse or doppelgänger or wormhole out intergalactic travel.
I think this is a must read for anyone who wants to write science fiction. It explains in as layman terms as is possible how to create stories that make scientific sense if you plan to write about a multiverse or doppelgänger or wormhole out intergalactic travel.
August 24, 2025
It was OK just because the science fiction at the end was a lot of fun.
Dr. Kaku alternates through two styles -- talking to the reader like they're completely stupid and then talking to them like they've taken a college physics class. I'm neither, I understood what he was writing, and was just insulted. The cornerstone of Hyperspace theory is that there were 10 dimensions for a fraction of a fraction of time in the first fraction of time of existence for this universe, but 6 of them probably don't exist since. Um, so there aren't 10 dimensions -- there might have been. And then the whole premise is that I should accept the premises in the book even though he acknowledges there may never be proof?
And the difference between this and religion is....oh, I see, there is none. Fifth dimensional beings could exist, but not God? Interesting assertion. So long as we're just accepting things on faith, let me toss this one out there: God is a 5th dimensional being. I’m not proselytizing, I’m just saying that if you’re going to be consistent then that’s an acceptable reasoning with what’s in this book.
But of course, it's sexy to act like you're smart -- and when someone like Dr. Kaku - who IS smart - publishes a sexy bit of science fiction, everyone's afraid to look like they don't "get it."
It's OK to call bullsh*t on something in the sciences, people. And in the instance of the dimensional theories put out in this book, I do.
I’ve edited this review lightly because people clearly misunderstood what I was saying over the years and every so often in the course of the last decade I get trolls who come at me about it.
Dr. Kaku alternates through two styles -- talking to the reader like they're completely stupid and then talking to them like they've taken a college physics class. I'm neither, I understood what he was writing, and was just insulted. The cornerstone of Hyperspace theory is that there were 10 dimensions for a fraction of a fraction of time in the first fraction of time of existence for this universe, but 6 of them probably don't exist since. Um, so there aren't 10 dimensions -- there might have been. And then the whole premise is that I should accept the premises in the book even though he acknowledges there may never be proof?
And the difference between this and religion is....oh, I see, there is none. Fifth dimensional beings could exist, but not God? Interesting assertion. So long as we're just accepting things on faith, let me toss this one out there: God is a 5th dimensional being. I’m not proselytizing, I’m just saying that if you’re going to be consistent then that’s an acceptable reasoning with what’s in this book.
But of course, it's sexy to act like you're smart -- and when someone like Dr. Kaku - who IS smart - publishes a sexy bit of science fiction, everyone's afraid to look like they don't "get it."
It's OK to call bullsh*t on something in the sciences, people. And in the instance of the dimensional theories put out in this book, I do.
I’ve edited this review lightly because people clearly misunderstood what I was saying over the years and every so often in the course of the last decade I get trolls who come at me about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2016
DNF at chapter 10. It was a bit too dry and technical for me. While the chapter names were intriguing and there were interesting anecdotes in each chapter, it was still slightly too boring, even with the pictures, for me to read into and understand the developments of modern physics. There wasn't much holding it together, i.e. the book only follows the overthrow of each theory as its organizing structure. It also seemed to ramble on with analogies that weren't that great to follow, eg the wood vs marble and flatland comparisons. Though I'm sure that Michio Kaku is quite knowledgable about the theories mentioned in the book (as evidenced by his other books) I expected this book to be more in story form like Flatterland and thus easier to read. Overall, this book was just disappointing for me. I expected it to be a fun and informative telling of the evolution of dimensional theories but ended up getting a book that was difficult to read and closer to a paper than novel.
April 15, 2017
5 stars for his lessons on physics, science, and mathematics. No stars for his musings on religion, god, and evolution.
August 20, 2023
4.0 Stars
This author writes my favourite non fiction science books and this one did not disappoint. Technically it is the re-release of a previously published book with a new audio version but I am happy that this format will bring this book to a larger audience.
This book is largely framed around hyperspace or dimensions beyond the four we can already perceive. This topic alone was fascinating but I appreciated that the author expanded into adjacent topics from multiworld theories to discussions of an intelligent creator.
Disclaimer I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher.
This author writes my favourite non fiction science books and this one did not disappoint. Technically it is the re-release of a previously published book with a new audio version but I am happy that this format will bring this book to a larger audience.
This book is largely framed around hyperspace or dimensions beyond the four we can already perceive. This topic alone was fascinating but I appreciated that the author expanded into adjacent topics from multiworld theories to discussions of an intelligent creator.
Disclaimer I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher.
August 28, 2023
Me lo he pasado muy bien, llevaba mucho tiempo lejos de la divulgación y es que a veces los traumitas nos apartan de cosas que realmente nos gustan y disfrutamos. Libro entretenido y manejable, un recorrido por el último siglo de física donde nos enseñan lo micro y lo macro y lo difícil que es juntarlo todo. Planteamientos a futuro. Entendinble y con buenos ejemplos, didáctico.
July 29, 2007
If you've thought science is dull or perhaps too far beyond you, then please meet Michio Kaku. He writes about theoretical physics in a way that will fill you with wonder and possibility. He takes what would otherwise be very complex concepts and conveys them using metaphors that every average joe can understand. The number of a-ha moments I had reading this book were too many to count. What a terrific read.
November 30, 2014
Started strong. An introduction to non-Euclidian geometry, string theory, and related concepts. Made me fantasize about learning the math.
Got more and more speculative toward the end, and not so interestingly so. Like many books, this one would have been improved by a ruthless editor. Still, worth a read if the topic interests you.
Got more and more speculative toward the end, and not so interestingly so. Like many books, this one would have been improved by a ruthless editor. Still, worth a read if the topic interests you.
March 26, 2021
I got this on my birthday from my mother. Thank you 💝💝💝💝
Wow! What a wild ride it was! From history to science, from scientists to ports, this book left no stones unturned. Although I wanted a book with more equations and mathematics ,and this book had ZERO equations, I loved it immensely. I didn't know topics like string theory,why 10 dimensions are needed etc and this book made them clear for me. Again, I knew topics like relativity and quantum mechanics, but didn't know the history behind them. This book was long, and took me a long time to finish it, but it was worth it.
Pros: easy language, fluid writing style, covered interesting and complexed concepts like hyperspace, quantum mechanics, relativity, particle physics and cosmology.
Cons: Can be felt boring from time to time because of the history part.
Wow! What a wild ride it was! From history to science, from scientists to ports, this book left no stones unturned. Although I wanted a book with more equations and mathematics ,and this book had ZERO equations, I loved it immensely. I didn't know topics like string theory,why 10 dimensions are needed etc and this book made them clear for me. Again, I knew topics like relativity and quantum mechanics, but didn't know the history behind them. This book was long, and took me a long time to finish it, but it was worth it.
Pros: easy language, fluid writing style, covered interesting and complexed concepts like hyperspace, quantum mechanics, relativity, particle physics and cosmology.
Cons: Can be felt boring from time to time because of the history part.
July 6, 2023
There was no need for it to take me so long to read this book, because it's not a difficult read and Kaku's writing style is easy to follow. In fact it took me eight years to read because I noticed that I bought it in 2015 and kept it in my drawer, but I read it at the right time I suppose. Published in 1994, it's dated now, which is why I want to read his more recent works because I'm sure that science has made dramatic advancements over the past 29 years. As the title suggests it is an odyssey through scientific theories of the nature of reality, the premise being to find a single theory that unites the four forces of nature. I found myself often thinking about the movie Interstellar and how scientifically accurate it is, and in general this pursuit to know the mind of God shows how great humanity can be, that we can be godlike ourselves. It's rather inspiring.
There's certain things in this book I'll come back to, but I generally don't put a tremendous amount of energy into remembering things that I don't really need to know at any particular point in my personal journey. I'm not a physicist after all, however my magical interests invariably lead me to be interested in physics. Lastly, I liked how philosophical it is, and Kaku gives some attention to philosophy in the conclusion and says how the giants of physics don't dismiss it. People say this and that about philosophy, but it's rather important to have sound conceptual foundations for everything in life. It's literally important to everything -- everything issues from philosophical underpinnings, and our progress as a race depends on our philosophical conceptions of aspects of reality, so I don't understand the disrespect to the discipline of philosophy commonly found in the scientific community. My opinion is that we need to work in harmony to make even quicker progress and stop the fragmentation of our disciplines. Philosophy and science should never really have been separated in the first place. Ok that's it for now, I didn't really put a lot of energy into this review. Just some quick notes. Maybe I'll soon make some changes and write a better review.
There's certain things in this book I'll come back to, but I generally don't put a tremendous amount of energy into remembering things that I don't really need to know at any particular point in my personal journey. I'm not a physicist after all, however my magical interests invariably lead me to be interested in physics. Lastly, I liked how philosophical it is, and Kaku gives some attention to philosophy in the conclusion and says how the giants of physics don't dismiss it. People say this and that about philosophy, but it's rather important to have sound conceptual foundations for everything in life. It's literally important to everything -- everything issues from philosophical underpinnings, and our progress as a race depends on our philosophical conceptions of aspects of reality, so I don't understand the disrespect to the discipline of philosophy commonly found in the scientific community. My opinion is that we need to work in harmony to make even quicker progress and stop the fragmentation of our disciplines. Philosophy and science should never really have been separated in the first place. Ok that's it for now, I didn't really put a lot of energy into this review. Just some quick notes. Maybe I'll soon make some changes and write a better review.
November 10, 2023
Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Tim Lounibos
Content: 5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
Hyperspace is not a new book. It was first published in 1994. So it’s well-known among some readers. And although the material is almost 30 years old, it’s still relevant today.
I love Michio Kaku’s work. I saw some of his science TV series and always liked how he explained complex scientific facts in a simple form. I also liked references to some books that use the same ideas that the author explains.
Narration by Tim Lounibos is very good and easy to follow. The audiobook format is perfect for readers who want to read the book but maybe until now didn’t dare to dive in. As always, with science books, I recommend listening to this audiobook slowly. Although, the audiobook is easy to follow, and the author explains everything simply.
Thanks to HighBridge Audio for the advanced copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
Content: 5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
Hyperspace is not a new book. It was first published in 1994. So it’s well-known among some readers. And although the material is almost 30 years old, it’s still relevant today.
I love Michio Kaku’s work. I saw some of his science TV series and always liked how he explained complex scientific facts in a simple form. I also liked references to some books that use the same ideas that the author explains.
Narration by Tim Lounibos is very good and easy to follow. The audiobook format is perfect for readers who want to read the book but maybe until now didn’t dare to dive in. As always, with science books, I recommend listening to this audiobook slowly. Although, the audiobook is easy to follow, and the author explains everything simply.
Thanks to HighBridge Audio for the advanced copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
October 10, 2007
This is one of the popular science books that got me so interested in doing physics in the first place. Accessible to me before I even took a physics class, it should be accessible to most anyone with interest. Very interesting questions raised about space and time/parallel universes/etc. New ideas (as of date published: 1994) are discussed in a non-technical way. Also, very well written and easy to read (with humor and everything!).
August 19, 2015
Michio Kaku makes some amazingly complex and mind-bending concepts accessible to the lay reader (i.e., me, and maybe you, too, if you're also not a physicist). He sprinkles the book with entertaining and informative anecdotes and his passion for the topic is infectious. Still, I shudder to think that no author ever addresses Schrödinger's ailurophobia. Here's hoping the 6-dimensional universe opens up just as this one closes!
February 14, 2017
I am now officially a Michio Kaku fan. This book explains physics as it should be taught in school. His simplistic approach begs the reader for more information. I also love physics now because I understand it a lot more thanks to Mr. Kaku's books. The school systems should think about this book as part of their cirriculum to teach the importance of understanding physics. Highly recommended.
February 22, 2016
Un libro fantástico para descubrir una nueva perspectiva del universo.
Read
February 4, 2023I'll come back to this as soon as I extend my knowledge of Kaluza-Klein theory a mathematical basis (therefore I have not rate it yet). The book is substantive and mostly intelligible, although you need to evince more interest in higher dimensions and physics than an average i-like-watching-interstellar person to understand the string theory.
// page ~230, for now 8/10
// page ~230, for now 8/10
September 16, 2019
Hyper-generic pop-sci driven to its apex.
For all that it pretends to be a coherent exploration of higher dimensions in both senses of the word (mathematical and sci-fi), Hyperspace is a series disconnected vignettes more concerned with hitting every topic on his list of popular science tropes than telling a coherent story—everything you could expect to be in a work of popular physics is in here, regardless of how much sense it makes to include it. If you're looking forward to seeing another triangle drawn on a saddle or reading another synopsis of that Heinlein story about the girl who became her own parents, Kaku's your guy. (For a while he had me wondering if I'd already read this one and just forgot to review it, but no.)
The physics stuff is mostly⁰ covered in the exact same (shallow) way almost everyone else has covered it,¹ but he doesn't stick to that, because other writers don't. His inevitable discussion of things like the anthropic principle and the cosmological argument (you know: those things that were in all pop-sci from, say, the '80s all through The God Delusion, after which they mysteriously became less fashionable) seem calculated to miss the point in a way that's meant to annoy literally anyone with any opinion at all, but they're not even the most embarrassing sections of the book—that would be the ``futurology''² that takes up most of the last quarter of it (I hope you like reading about the Kardashev scale again!).
In fairness I should also point out that this book was published in 1994, so it does predate a few hundred (but by no means all) of the books that made popular physics such a tired and derivative cottage industry; I don't think that excuses this one.
Writers who have written this exact book in a more competent way include Brian Greene, Brian Cox, and Michio Kaku.
--------
⁰ His discussion of Schrödinger's cat is notably worse.
¹ Kaku did manage to do something Lee Smolin and Peter Woit never could: make me doubt that string theory is actually a meaningful thing and not just a mathematical artefact; a lot of the big insights in his own actual work that he brings up do seem to come down to realising something he came up with was just a way of rephrasing older laws.
² A ``futurologist'', of course, being a sci-fi nerd with delusions of grandeur.
For all that it pretends to be a coherent exploration of higher dimensions in both senses of the word (mathematical and sci-fi), Hyperspace is a series disconnected vignettes more concerned with hitting every topic on his list of popular science tropes than telling a coherent story—everything you could expect to be in a work of popular physics is in here, regardless of how much sense it makes to include it. If you're looking forward to seeing another triangle drawn on a saddle or reading another synopsis of that Heinlein story about the girl who became her own parents, Kaku's your guy. (For a while he had me wondering if I'd already read this one and just forgot to review it, but no.)
The physics stuff is mostly⁰ covered in the exact same (shallow) way almost everyone else has covered it,¹ but he doesn't stick to that, because other writers don't. His inevitable discussion of things like the anthropic principle and the cosmological argument (you know: those things that were in all pop-sci from, say, the '80s all through The God Delusion, after which they mysteriously became less fashionable) seem calculated to miss the point in a way that's meant to annoy literally anyone with any opinion at all, but they're not even the most embarrassing sections of the book—that would be the ``futurology''² that takes up most of the last quarter of it (I hope you like reading about the Kardashev scale again!).
In fairness I should also point out that this book was published in 1994, so it does predate a few hundred (but by no means all) of the books that made popular physics such a tired and derivative cottage industry; I don't think that excuses this one.
Writers who have written this exact book in a more competent way include Brian Greene, Brian Cox, and Michio Kaku.
--------
⁰ His discussion of Schrödinger's cat is notably worse.
¹ Kaku did manage to do something Lee Smolin and Peter Woit never could: make me doubt that string theory is actually a meaningful thing and not just a mathematical artefact; a lot of the big insights in his own actual work that he brings up do seem to come down to realising something he came up with was just a way of rephrasing older laws.
² A ``futurologist'', of course, being a sci-fi nerd with delusions of grandeur.
October 24, 2018
Michio Kaku je mým oblíbeným teoretickým fyzikem. Při čtení jeho knih si říkám, že kdyby profesoři na univerzitách měli aspoň polovinu jeho nadání popisovat složitou kvantovou fyziku tak, jako to dělá on, určitě bychom měli více inženýrů a třeba bych mezi ně patřila i já.
Kaku ve své starší knize s názvem Hyperprostor poutavě a zajímavě nastiňuje taková témata, jakými jsou světy vně prostoru a času, teorie superstrun, desátý rozměr, ale i černé díry, cestování časem a další osud vesmíru. Neříkám, že je to čtení vždy jednoduché, ale když máte alespoň základní znalosti matematiky a fyziky, jeho vyprávění vám pomůže věci uvést do souvislostí, zasadit je do kontextu a následně porozumět i složitějším konstrukcím. Za mě jednoznačně kniha, která má v mé knihovně svoje nezastupitelné místo.
Kaku ve své starší knize s názvem Hyperprostor poutavě a zajímavě nastiňuje taková témata, jakými jsou světy vně prostoru a času, teorie superstrun, desátý rozměr, ale i černé díry, cestování časem a další osud vesmíru. Neříkám, že je to čtení vždy jednoduché, ale když máte alespoň základní znalosti matematiky a fyziky, jeho vyprávění vám pomůže věci uvést do souvislostí, zasadit je do kontextu a následně porozumět i složitějším konstrukcím. Za mě jednoznačně kniha, která má v mé knihovně svoje nezastupitelné místo.
November 1, 2017
Intriguing topics and Dr. Kaku is one of the few people who writes for the science enthusiast. Lot of information here. However, it was not conveyed in terms understandable for the general reader. Multitude of topics discussed without ever being broken down as to why I should care or what that means in terms I can relate to. Good book for someone well versed in mathematics or physics. I enjoy the topics discussed, but they need to be broken down in a way in which anyone could understand and relate to.
May 7, 2010
Michio Kaku did a terrific job of explaining to the layman scientific possibilities often depicted in sci-fi.
December 29, 2025
This book was older than I thought it was published way before simulation theory
And being sims
Or simulated data
I think it's subjective experience
As hyperspace a scientific parallel Odyssey through parallel universes
Is there anything else 🤯
That has been a language model for simulation theory as Michio Kaku
I wouldn't argue he's a red pill 💊 guy
It sounds like you’ve stumbled onto that fascinating "bridge" period in science writing where physics started sounding a lot like science fiction.
Michio Kaku’s Hyperspace (1994) is a classic for a reason. Even though it predates Nick Bostrom’s famous 2003 paper that popularized "Simulation Theory," Kaku was already laying the groundwork by discussing higher-dimensional space and how our 3D world might just be a "slice" of a larger reality.
If you’re looking for other "language models" or foundational texts that paved the way for the simulation argument without being part of the modern "red pill" internet culture, here are a few heavy hitters:
1. The "It from Bit" Framework (John Archibald Wheeler)
Before we had the "Sims" analogy, we had the "Information" analogy. Wheeler, a legendary physicist, coined the phrase "It from Bit." He proposed that every physical object—every "it"—derives its existence from binary "yes/no" choices (bits).
* The Vibe: This is the scientific soul of simulation theory. It suggests the universe isn't made of "stuff," but of encoded data.
2. The Hidden Reality (Brian Greene)
If you liked Kaku’s style, Brian Greene is the natural next step. He explores the Holographic Principle, which is perhaps the most scientifically "sober" version of simulation theory.
* The Concept: It suggests that all the information contained in a volume of space can be represented as a "theory" on the boundary of that space.
* The Link: Think of it like a 2D credit card chip that projects a 3D hologram. If the universe is a hologram, it is essentially "simulated" by data on the edges of the cosmos.
3. Permutation City (Greg Egan, 1994)
While this is technically science fiction, it was published the same year as Hyperspace. It is often cited by actual physicists because it explores "Dust Theory."
* The Idea: If a simulation is just a set of mathematical states, does it even need a computer to run on? Or does the math itself create the subjective experience? It’s a mind-bending look at what "being sims" would actually feel like from the inside.
4. The Simulation Hypothesis (Rizwan Virk)
Virk comes at this from a computer science background. He looks at the evolution of video games—from Pong to VR—and argues that we are on a "points of convergence" path toward a "Simulation Point" where digital reality becomes indistinguishable from physical reality.
Why Kaku feels different
You're right that Kaku isn't a "red pill" guy. In the 90s, these ideas weren't about "escaping a matrix" or cynical social commentary. They were about mathematical elegance.
For Kaku, "Hyperspace" was a way to solve the messiness of physics. By adding more dimensions, the laws of nature (gravity, light, nuclear force) suddenly fit together perfectly—like a puzzle that only makes sense when you see the whole picture.
> "The mind of God we believe is cosmic music, the music of strings resonating through 11 dimensional hyperspace." — Michio Kaku
>
Would you like me to dive deeper into the "Holographic Principle" Kaku mentions, or are you more interested in the philosophical side of how "subjective experience" fits into these dimensions?
And being sims
Or simulated data
I think it's subjective experience
As hyperspace a scientific parallel Odyssey through parallel universes
Is there anything else 🤯
That has been a language model for simulation theory as Michio Kaku
I wouldn't argue he's a red pill 💊 guy
It sounds like you’ve stumbled onto that fascinating "bridge" period in science writing where physics started sounding a lot like science fiction.
Michio Kaku’s Hyperspace (1994) is a classic for a reason. Even though it predates Nick Bostrom’s famous 2003 paper that popularized "Simulation Theory," Kaku was already laying the groundwork by discussing higher-dimensional space and how our 3D world might just be a "slice" of a larger reality.
If you’re looking for other "language models" or foundational texts that paved the way for the simulation argument without being part of the modern "red pill" internet culture, here are a few heavy hitters:
1. The "It from Bit" Framework (John Archibald Wheeler)
Before we had the "Sims" analogy, we had the "Information" analogy. Wheeler, a legendary physicist, coined the phrase "It from Bit." He proposed that every physical object—every "it"—derives its existence from binary "yes/no" choices (bits).
* The Vibe: This is the scientific soul of simulation theory. It suggests the universe isn't made of "stuff," but of encoded data.
2. The Hidden Reality (Brian Greene)
If you liked Kaku’s style, Brian Greene is the natural next step. He explores the Holographic Principle, which is perhaps the most scientifically "sober" version of simulation theory.
* The Concept: It suggests that all the information contained in a volume of space can be represented as a "theory" on the boundary of that space.
* The Link: Think of it like a 2D credit card chip that projects a 3D hologram. If the universe is a hologram, it is essentially "simulated" by data on the edges of the cosmos.
3. Permutation City (Greg Egan, 1994)
While this is technically science fiction, it was published the same year as Hyperspace. It is often cited by actual physicists because it explores "Dust Theory."
* The Idea: If a simulation is just a set of mathematical states, does it even need a computer to run on? Or does the math itself create the subjective experience? It’s a mind-bending look at what "being sims" would actually feel like from the inside.
4. The Simulation Hypothesis (Rizwan Virk)
Virk comes at this from a computer science background. He looks at the evolution of video games—from Pong to VR—and argues that we are on a "points of convergence" path toward a "Simulation Point" where digital reality becomes indistinguishable from physical reality.
Why Kaku feels different
You're right that Kaku isn't a "red pill" guy. In the 90s, these ideas weren't about "escaping a matrix" or cynical social commentary. They were about mathematical elegance.
For Kaku, "Hyperspace" was a way to solve the messiness of physics. By adding more dimensions, the laws of nature (gravity, light, nuclear force) suddenly fit together perfectly—like a puzzle that only makes sense when you see the whole picture.
> "The mind of God we believe is cosmic music, the music of strings resonating through 11 dimensional hyperspace." — Michio Kaku
>
Would you like me to dive deeper into the "Holographic Principle" Kaku mentions, or are you more interested in the philosophical side of how "subjective experience" fits into these dimensions?
Read
December 3, 2019This is the first "hardcore" science book I've ever read, after wetting my appetite on The Universe In Your Hands and Astrophysics For People In a Hurry, and needing to dive deeper into these topics.
This book did not disappoint! It's a bit dated, as it was written in the 1990s, but I wanted to start with some of Kaku's earliest works to get a solid foundation of the concepts in here, before moving to his more recent books.
Hyperspace has left my mind buzzing with possibilities, with the wonder of the universe, as it took me through concepts like quantum physics, string theory, and higher dimensions.
This has been rewarding as a theoretical physics fan, and inspiring as a science fiction writer.
I'm excited to read Kaku's next book. It's already sitting on my shelf! 😌
This was my first hardcore science book, but it definitely won't be the last. :)))
This book did not disappoint! It's a bit dated, as it was written in the 1990s, but I wanted to start with some of Kaku's earliest works to get a solid foundation of the concepts in here, before moving to his more recent books.
Hyperspace has left my mind buzzing with possibilities, with the wonder of the universe, as it took me through concepts like quantum physics, string theory, and higher dimensions.
This has been rewarding as a theoretical physics fan, and inspiring as a science fiction writer.
I'm excited to read Kaku's next book. It's already sitting on my shelf! 😌
This was my first hardcore science book, but it definitely won't be the last. :)))
June 24, 2018
“According to string theory, if we could somehow magnify a point particle, we would actually see a small vibrating string. In fact, according to this theory, matter is nothing but the harmonies created by this vibrating string. Since there are an infinite number of harmonies that can be composed for the violin, there are an infinite number of forms of matter that can be constructed out of vibrating strings. This explains the richness of the particles in nature. Likewise, the laws of physics can be compared to the laws of harmony allowed on the string. The universe itself, composed of countless vibrating strings, would then be comparable to a symphony.”
December 8, 2024
Гарний зразок науково-популярної книги. Радий, що є український переклад.
August 21, 2020
If this were the mid-1990s, I'd give this book four or maybe five stars. But it's 2020, and this 1994 book on certain aspects of string theory are now dated (so far as I can tell).
In 1915, Albert Einstein theorized that gravity is not a "force" pulling objects together across interstellar distances, but a bending of the fabric of space through a fourth dimension. The standard analogy, which author Kaku uses as well, is to imagine an infinite two-dimensional sheet in space, with large balls representing planets or stars placed on it. These masses would sink into the sheet somewhat, bending the surface of the fabric around them through the third dimension. A small object rolling over the sheet would move in a straight line until it passes near one of these depressions. Then, its path would have to curve to follow the distortion in the sheet's surface. So, Einstein said, that's why objects follow curved paths around massive planets and stars: they have no choice but to follow the curve of space, which is warped by the large masses.
As Kaku explains, Einstein's theory replaced the need for a mysterious gravitational "force" with a simple geometric explanation for gravity. Likewise, string theory, a branch of physics first developed in the 1960s and which gained prominence in the 1980s, can unify the four fundamental "forces" of nature (gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the strong and weak nuclear forces), if we assume that space contains 10 dimensions. Then it's just geometry, not magical "action-at-a-distance", that makes matter and energy behave the way they do. Kaku was one of the physicists who helped develop the ten-dimensional version of string theory (there are many versions of string theory).
Kaku begins by going through the history of physics and its attempts to explain how matter and energy behave. This takes us up to Einstein and general relativity. The second section of the book deals with the rise of quantum theory, which is an entirely different way of thinking about physics, but which was found to be incompatible with general relativity. Until, that is, theorists, including Kaku, proposed a multi-dimensional way to unify these theories, much the way Einstein proposed additional dimensions to explain gravity. He makes the interesting observation that the concepts behind string theory were discovered almost accidentally, and that we don't (or didn't in 1994) have the mathematical techniques to properly compute and solve string theory equations. Kaku also points out that we could not, in 1994, conduct experiments to prove or disprove string theory because the amount of energy needed to conduct those experiments was centuries beyond our current technology.
In the third section of the book, Kaku explores potential applications of string theory if it can be proved to be true, such as travelling great distances through space (and maybe between universes) in very short times, using "hyperspace" (as in Star Wars or Star Trek) and maybe even travelling in time. In his final section, Kaku speculates on what the distant future of mankind and the universe itself might be if we can avoid destroying ourselves and can use wisely the enormous energies unleashed by string theory.
As a history of physics and string theory up until 1994, this is an excellent book. It is similar to Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time (1988) in that regard, and also brought to my mind Carl Sagan's Cosmos (1980). Kaku references both of these works. Today, in 2020, however, it main value is historical. There have been significant developments in physics since then, including the discovery of dark energy in 1998 and the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2012. I am certainly no expert (I studied undergraduate physics in the mid-1980s). I gather that progress in string theory has been challenging, for a variety of reasons. See, for example, Lee Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science and What Comes Next, which comments on both the mathematical complexity, bordering on futility, of string theory, and the way scientific research is funded and approved.
Kaku is good at explaining these very difficult topics, although I find his style is a bit drier than Hawking's or Sagan's. You would probably need to have some familiarity with relativity, quantum theory, and cosmology to get much from this book. You should also always keep in mind that the science has moved on since this was written.
In 1915, Albert Einstein theorized that gravity is not a "force" pulling objects together across interstellar distances, but a bending of the fabric of space through a fourth dimension. The standard analogy, which author Kaku uses as well, is to imagine an infinite two-dimensional sheet in space, with large balls representing planets or stars placed on it. These masses would sink into the sheet somewhat, bending the surface of the fabric around them through the third dimension. A small object rolling over the sheet would move in a straight line until it passes near one of these depressions. Then, its path would have to curve to follow the distortion in the sheet's surface. So, Einstein said, that's why objects follow curved paths around massive planets and stars: they have no choice but to follow the curve of space, which is warped by the large masses.
As Kaku explains, Einstein's theory replaced the need for a mysterious gravitational "force" with a simple geometric explanation for gravity. Likewise, string theory, a branch of physics first developed in the 1960s and which gained prominence in the 1980s, can unify the four fundamental "forces" of nature (gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the strong and weak nuclear forces), if we assume that space contains 10 dimensions. Then it's just geometry, not magical "action-at-a-distance", that makes matter and energy behave the way they do. Kaku was one of the physicists who helped develop the ten-dimensional version of string theory (there are many versions of string theory).
Kaku begins by going through the history of physics and its attempts to explain how matter and energy behave. This takes us up to Einstein and general relativity. The second section of the book deals with the rise of quantum theory, which is an entirely different way of thinking about physics, but which was found to be incompatible with general relativity. Until, that is, theorists, including Kaku, proposed a multi-dimensional way to unify these theories, much the way Einstein proposed additional dimensions to explain gravity. He makes the interesting observation that the concepts behind string theory were discovered almost accidentally, and that we don't (or didn't in 1994) have the mathematical techniques to properly compute and solve string theory equations. Kaku also points out that we could not, in 1994, conduct experiments to prove or disprove string theory because the amount of energy needed to conduct those experiments was centuries beyond our current technology.
In the third section of the book, Kaku explores potential applications of string theory if it can be proved to be true, such as travelling great distances through space (and maybe between universes) in very short times, using "hyperspace" (as in Star Wars or Star Trek) and maybe even travelling in time. In his final section, Kaku speculates on what the distant future of mankind and the universe itself might be if we can avoid destroying ourselves and can use wisely the enormous energies unleashed by string theory.
As a history of physics and string theory up until 1994, this is an excellent book. It is similar to Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time (1988) in that regard, and also brought to my mind Carl Sagan's Cosmos (1980). Kaku references both of these works. Today, in 2020, however, it main value is historical. There have been significant developments in physics since then, including the discovery of dark energy in 1998 and the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2012. I am certainly no expert (I studied undergraduate physics in the mid-1980s). I gather that progress in string theory has been challenging, for a variety of reasons. See, for example, Lee Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science and What Comes Next, which comments on both the mathematical complexity, bordering on futility, of string theory, and the way scientific research is funded and approved.
Kaku is good at explaining these very difficult topics, although I find his style is a bit drier than Hawking's or Sagan's. You would probably need to have some familiarity with relativity, quantum theory, and cosmology to get much from this book. You should also always keep in mind that the science has moved on since this was written.
April 30, 2022
Remek könyv volt. Olvasmányos, több helyen humoros. Ha a fizika alapjai megvannak - általános + gimi - teljesen érthető lesz. A megértést, a vizualizációt több ábra és grafikon is segíti. Nagyon egyben lévő könyv ez, csak ajánlani tudom. Magyarul, az Akkor Kiadó gondozásában jelent meg 2006-ban.
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