The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications [Paperback]

David Deutsch (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 014027541X | ISBN-13: 978-0140275414 | Edition: First Edition

For David Deutsch, a young physicist of unusual originality, quantum theory contains our most fundamental knowledge of the physical world. Taken literally, it implies that there are many universes “parallel” to the one we see around us. This multiplicity of universes, according to Deutsch, turns out to be the key to achieving a new worldview, one which synthesizes the theories of evolution, computation, and knowledge with quantum physics. Considered jointly, these four strands of explanation reveal a unified fabric of reality that is both objective and comprehensible, the subject of this daring, challenging book. The Fabric of Reality explains and connects many topics at the leading edge of current research and thinking, such as quantum computers (which work by effectively collaborating with their counterparts in other universes), the physics of time travel, the comprehensibility of nature and the physical limits of virtual reality, the significance of human life, and the ultimate fate of the universe. Here, for scientist and layperson alike, for philosopher, science-fiction reader, biologist, and computer expert, is a startlingly complete and rational synthesis of disciplines, and a new, optimistic message about existence.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Our best theories are not only truer than common sense, they make more sense than common sense," writes physicist David Deutsch. In The Fabric of Reality, Deutsch traces what he considers the four main strands of scientific explanation: quantum theory, evolution, computation, and the theory of knowledge. "The four of them taken together form a coherent explanatory structure that is so far-reaching, and has come to encompass so much of our understanding of the world, that in my view it may already properly be called the first Theory of Everything." Deutsch covers some difficult material with unusual clarity. Each chapter ends with a summary and definitions of important terms, which makes the work an invaluable sourcebook. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Common sense and reality diverge and then come together again in this mind-blowing book. Maintaining that the best explanation for certain quantum phenomena is that there are parallel universes, i.e., multiverses, Oxford physicist Deutsch posits and then attempts to unify four basic strands?quantum physics, epistemology, evolution, and the theory of computation. Just one astonishing consequence is that quantum computers can collaborate between universes. Deutsch's ideas are exotic and challenging, but his text is surprisingly accessible, and he supplies a glossary and summary at the end of every chapter. For motivated readers, this book is a feast for the mind. Strongly recommended for academic and larger public libraries.?Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; First Edition edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014027541X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140275414
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (143 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 169 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mind-bending analysis that falls short in places May 12, 2002

By D. Cloyce Smith TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

Deutsch's presentation is fascinating, mind-expanding, challenging, provocative, and--at times--riveting. It is also infuriating, perplexing, reductive, and--at times--vague. (Please note: I am not convinced that the multiverse as Deutsch describes it exists, nor am I threatened by the possibility that it might. As a result, I do not mean to quarrel with--or support--the idea itself. Instead, I am reviewing Deutsch's book from the point of view of a lay reader.)

I do recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a summary of the pursuit of a "theory of everything" and a defense of the science of parallel universes. Deutsch's theory of everything depends on four theories: quantum (as espoused by Everett), epistemology (Popper), evolution (Dawkins), and computation (Turing). Even if one does not ultimately agree with Deutsch's ideas, his book offers some interesting thought experiments (the chapter on "time travel" is especially fun) and a concise overview of several scientific trends. In addition, his book provides a decent defense of why the theory of the multiverse should be considered a reasonable explanation for the interference results obtained the infamous two-slit experiment.

That said, I do think Deutsch's book contains many shortcomings. First, although the multiverse may be a valid explanation for interference phenomenon, Deutsch fails to convince that it is THE explanation. In one short paragraph, he dismisses David Bohm's theory of wave-particle duality. "Working out what Bohm's invisible wave will do requires the same computations as working out what trillions of shadow photons will do...." One could easily reverse this sentence as a criticism of Everett and Deutsch: that the trillions of unseen photons requires the same computations as working out what Bohm's single invisible wave will do. Deutsch does not explain (in this book, anyway) why trillions of photons are simpler than one wave, and he does his readers a disservice by pretending that Bohm's work does not deserve a full refutation.

Second, and similarly, Deutsch dismisses with an even shorter paragraph the charge that his "theory of everything" is anthropocentric. (He pretty much admits it is, but tries--unconvincingly, to this reader--to turn it into an argument in his favor.) Third, his discussion of evolution (one of the four "equal" strands of his theory of everything) is a mere 25 pages and, unlike the rest of the book, is at times incomprehensible and seems completely indebted to Dawkins. (Not that there is anything wrong with Dawkins's work; rather, Deutsch just seems in over his head during this part of the book.) Fourth, he rejects Kuhn's belief in the rigidity of scientific paradigms (for example, the inability of thinkers in Galileo's time to accept the full implications of the Copernican system because they were so used to thinking of the world in Ptolemaic and Judeo-Christian terms), but then he describes a modern scientific establishment that refuses to accept the multiverse implications of quantum theory because they are rooted to the concept of a single universe. (Just because modern scientific discourse is more civil does not mean that Kuhn's argument is incorrect. Deutsch's opponents are still mocking him behind his back, in book reviews, and anonymously on this Web site. Or, even more effectively, they are ignoring him altogether.) And, finally, his discussion of Tipler's omega-point theory is hurried and unfortunately nebulous: at one point, Deutsch seems to be saying that knowledge in the universe will become omniscient and omnipresent--which is practically the same as saying that the universe will become itself.

Nevertheless, regardless of what you think of its implications, Deutsch's views deserve serious consideration and, as necessary, rebuttal--not mockery and scorn. In the same way that we read Lucretius even though we know him to be wrong (or, for that matter, Einstein because we believe he is mostly right), we should read Deutsch's work because he challenges the way we look at our world. Read more ›

69 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best science book of the decade September 4, 1997

By Dick Oliver

Format:Hardcover

There are a lot of books that try to explain science to the layman and forward some new and grandiose worldview at the same time. Most of them do okay at the former, but fail miserably at the latter. This book does both, perhaps better than any book I've ever read (and I read a lot of science books). Deutsch identifies and explains the most important and interesting aspects of both quantum theory (his main topic) and the intimate relationships between it and the sciences of epistemology, computability, and evolution. The explanations are intuitive and easy to follow if you have any technical background at all, and sometimes even if you don't. Better yet, he convincingly synthesizes them into a truly compelling argument for a new (well, okay, not new but not yet widely accepted) view of reality on the deepest and widest possible scale. He steps onto a bit more shaky ground when he tries to bring in a "kitchen sink" of disciplines, some of which he doesn't seem to know nearly as much about as his native discipline (physics). Still, even the less convincing extensions to his basic idea are well considered and thought-provoking. And the basic idea itself--that zillions of not-quite-identical copies of our universe exist and are just as real and tangible as our own--is more than enough to make this book a phenomenal "mind-expanding" experience

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars quantum computers July 4, 2005

By Palle E T Jorgensen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book was published in 1997, and a lot has happened since then. Yet the foundations retain their permanence, and David Deutsch's captivating writing is as fresh as ever. Despite the availability of newer books, for the layman/woman, now almost 10 years later, I would still rank this book at the top. There is a lot in the book; and yet, the ideas are presented in a clear and engaging way. The author is a pioneer, a giant in modern physics; he was and is a driving force in new discoveries in the subject. Yet he has his personal way of explaining physical reality. His view is not shared by all scientists, one should admit. However, there is agreement about the scientific conclusions. The first chapter in the book stresses *explanation*, our understanding of the reason for things. There are other views of science, e.g., instrumentalism: predicting the outcome of experiments.

The author's view on quantum theory is based his idea about parallel universes. While fascination, the reader should be aware that there are alternative theories for explaining quantum phenomena. An important concept in quantum theory and quantum computation is "decoherence", and it is explained (ch 9) in terms of different (parallel) universes. In ch 9 about quantum computers, it might have been only fair to mention that there are such other current views on decoherence; but this is a minor complaint.

Presentation: I love that each chapter concludes with a section on terminology and a summary.

As a subject theoretical computer science started with Alan Turing and John von Neumann in the 1940ties: Classical computation follows the model of Turing,-- strings of bits, i.e., 0s and 1s; and a mathematical model which is now called the Turing machine....

Instead of bits, why not two-level quantum systems, e.g., models built from electrons or photons? Such an analogues model for computation based on two-level quantum systems, and a quantum version of Turing's machine was suggested in the 1980ties by R.P. Feynman. The form it now has owes much to the author himself, David Deutsch. But it wasn't until Peter Shor's qubit-factoring algorithm in the late 1990ties (not covered in the book) that the subject really took off, and really caught the attention of the mainstream science community, and of the general public: The 'unbreakable' codes might be breakable after all !

That there is a polynomial factoring algorithm, as Shor showed, shook up the encryption community, for obvious reasons, and created headlines in the news. Ideas in the quantum realm, and not part of classical thinking, include superposition of (quantum) states, the EPR paradox (1935), and (quantum) coherence. Although these concepts are at the foundation of quantum theory, they make a drastic change in our whole theoretical framework of computation: Now one passes from the familiar classical notion of bit-registers to that of qubit-registers, and the laws of quantum mechanics take over. Mathematical physicists and computer scientists must revisit the old masters: Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg, Pauli, and Dirac. In passing from logic gates to quantum gates (unitary matrices), the concept of switching-networks from traditional computer science now changes drastically. The changes introduce brand new scientific challenges, and new truly exciting opportunities. I believe that this book does justice to this, and that it is still a fascinating and thought provoking invitation to some of the most intriguing trends in modern physics. Read more ›

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It will all be clear in 20 years... October 10, 2002

By Kevin Minor

Format:Paperback

David Deutch's 'Fabric of Reality' marks the triumphant return of Natural Philosophy. The central aim of this book is to present the structure of our best theories (evolution, [Quantum] computer science and epistemology) in a way that clearly relates them to our understanding of reality, and then show how these structures are inextricably intertwined. I believe he is remarkably successful and displays a thorough understanding of the subject matter outside of his 'native' QM as those subjects relate to his 'Theory of Everything'. Speaking of which, he is also the first (that I know of) to come anywhere close to understanding what this TOE really IS (and will become). That is, our TOE is now, and at any point in the future or past, the core intertwining of these theoretical strucures he so elegantly exposes.

In order to appreciate this book, it is neccessary to understand the angle Deutch takes on the undertanding of science and the growth of knowledge. And this requires a bit of historical context.

In the early 20th century, the two infant sciences of quantum mechanics and computation theory had no observed connections. In turn, the counter-intuitive results of the quantum theory (as revealed over the next 100 years) led to a loss of confidence in our ability to understand reality (as expoused by such buzzwords as 'uncertainty'). This intellectual climate led many of our best scientists to ignore the importance of taking our best theories seriously. Instrumentalism and positivism flourished. Explaination and understanding where not considered fundamentally important. Everything was arbitrary and only utility mattered (in the sense that accurate prediction was thought to be the only useful thing to do with a theory).... Consequently, it was not understood how knowledge grew, as understanding itself was seen as unimportant!

If any of Deutsch's four theoretical 'strands' could be called the seed of Deutch's synthesis, it would be Popper's epistemology. For it is this explainatory structure that provides the 'structure for the structure' that Deutch then fits the remaining strands into. Essentially, Popperian epistemology says that knowledge grows only through the process of trial and error, conjecture and refutation, not by some inductive process. And the key to formulating a conjecture that will survive the refutation process is understanding the explainatory structures of our best theories as they relate to the problem's domain. The creation of new knowledge requires the human capacities of innovation and creativity, specifically the mysterious weaving process whereby similarities between seemingly disparate phenomenon are spontaneously seen. This is how Deutch weaves an accurate (though tenative) description of reality. More importantly, this is how Deutch's reality says it must be [self consistency]. If Deustch's theory itself is true, then, it constitutes a growth of knowledge. The theory itself describes how this can happen.

I would guess that Deutch had his first glimpse of the woven threads when he figured out that computation theory, once thought to be purely an abstract construct, had to have a physical basis in reality. After all, computers are physical objects, subject to the laws of physics. Alan Turing's classical computation theory had many incompatibilities with classical physics that kept it in the realm of abstractions, but we now know classical phyics is false. This physical basis for computation turned out to have its roots in our newest, most fundamental (reductively speaking) physical theory, quantum mechanics. Combine this with the role of computation in evolution (genes 'rendering' environments), along with the role of our senses in representing our environment to our brains (virtual reality), and the growth of knowledge (rendering ideas) and you can see how computational processes are fundamental to Deutch's reality.

Deutch's contribtions to science and philosophy probably won't be appreciated until we have working, practical quantum computers. Only then, when his theories are what allow us to build our working technology will he be taken seriously. 'Fabric of Reality' provides us then with a prescient glimpse of what will eventually become our world view, describing the first great unification of our best theories. Read more ›