Life Is Simple, Johnjoe McFadden
Life Is Simple, Johnjoe McFadden
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Life Is Simple
How Occam's Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe

Author: Johnjoe McFadden

Narrator: Tom Lawrence

Unabridged: 13 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 09/28/2021

Synopsis

A biologist argues that simplicity is the guiding principle of the universe
 
Centuries ago, the principle of Ockham’s razor changed our world by showing simpler answers to be preferable and more often true. In Life Is Simple, scientist Johnjoe McFadden traces centuries of discoveries, taking us from a geocentric cosmos to quantum mechanics and DNA, arguing that simplicity has revealed profound answers to the greatest mysteries. This is no coincidence. From the laws that keep a ball in motion to those that govern evolution, simplicity, he claims, has shaped the universe itself. And in McFadden’s view, life could only have emerged by embracing maximal simplicity, making the fundamental law of the universe a cosmic form of natural selection that favors survival of the simplest. Recasting both the history of science and our universe’s origins, McFadden transforms our understanding of ourselves and our world.

About JohnJoe McFadden

JohnJoe McFadden is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey. He has published over 100 academic journal articles and has written extensively for a more popular audience in the Guardian, Washington Post and Frankfurter Allgemeine. He has also published a number of popular science books, most recently Life on the Edge with Jim Al-Khalili (Black Swan 2014).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian on September 06, 2021

This is a really hard book to review, because it has two quite distinct parts and the chances are that if you are interested in one of these parts, you may well find the other part less engaging. The first section concerns the development of Occam's razor - the idea of keeping your explanation of so......more

Goodreads review by Emanuela on June 05, 2023

Bellissimo saggio dalla lettura molto gradevole e chiara che dà a Guglielmo di Occam l'impulso iniziale, con la sua intuizione filosofica del "rasoio", della nascita della Scienza. Non bisogna moltiplicare gli enti oltre il necessario Questo strumento pragmatico, teso a studiare le leggi che regolano......more

Goodreads review by Mr. Kun on April 16, 2023

3/5 Es un libro de divulgación científica desde una perspectiva distinta, pues no divulga sobre un tema en específico, sino que habla sobre como la utilización de la navaja de Occam (ante la vida, siempre elegir la solución más sencilla) ha hecho avanzar la ciencia a lo largo de la historia. Personal......more

Goodreads review by Jorge on December 23, 2023

Un excelente ejercicio de reescritura de la Historia de la ciencia -una brevísima versión naturalmente- usando como eje la obra del teólogo medieval Guillermo Occam y su archiconocido principio racional, el principio de la navaja de Occam. "La brevedad es el alma del ingenio" decía William Shakespear......more

Goodreads review by Books and margaritas on August 30, 2021

Life is Simple is an amazing book about the history of scientific discoveries through the lenses of Occam’s Razor, a rule which states that, in layman’s terms, the simplest explanation that correctly describes the phenomenon is usually the best one. The author takes us on a journey through time and......more

Quotes

“Occam’s razor, like Hobson’s choice and Schrödinger’s cat, is a phrase that’s entered the language. We know more or less what it means without necessarily knowing anything about its inventor or realising the immense power it has as a philosophical and scientific principle. LIFE IS SIMPLE describes brilliantly the context in which William of Occam lived and worked, and the transforming effect that his simple-seeming doctrine has had on the development of our understanding of nature and the universe."—Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy

“Original and profound.”
 —Jim al-Khalili, author of The World According to Physics and Life on the Edge

“I found myself captured by the central premise: science, though perceived as complicated, is actually the pursuit of simplicity. The world is currently waking up to the complexities of science and its role in our world, and this book is an enlightening aid to that new understanding."—Michael Brooks, author of 13 Things that Don’t Make Sense

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