Programming the Universe: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|2006 book by Seth Lloyd}}

{{Cleanup|June 2006}}

{{Infobox Book

| name = Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = Programming the Universe - book cover.jpg

| image_caption = Softcover edition

| author = [[Seth Lloyd]]

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| subject = [[Quantum mechanics]], [[quantum computers]]

| genre = [[Nonfiction]]

| publisher = [[Alfred A. Knopf]]

| pub_date = 2006

| isbn = 978-1-4000-4092-6

| dewey = 530.12 22

| congress = QC174.12 .L57 2006

| oclc = 423500375

}}

'''''Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos''''' is a 2006 [[popular science]] book by [[Seth Lloyd]], professor of [[mechanical engineering]] at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]. The book proposes that the Universe is a [[quantum computer]] ([[supercomputer]]), and advances in the understanding of [[physics]] may come from viewing [[entropy]] as a phenomenon of [[information]], rather than simply [[thermodynamics]]. Lloyd also postulates that the Universe can be fully simulated using a quantum computer; however, in the absence of a theory of [[quantum gravity]], such a simulation is not yet possible. "Particles not only collide, they compute."<ref>Lloyd, Seth, ''Programming the Universe'', Alfred A. Knopf, 2006, 978-1-4000-4092-6</ref>

'''''Programming the Universe''''' is a [[popular science]] book written by [[Seth Lloyd]], and first published in 2006. Giving a tour of how information has evolved from the earliest days of Man to how it is presented now, Lloyd provides an extension of the older laymans science book as he provides informaton that has been discovered recently via experiments. It gives an overview of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, with the laymans surprise as he deals with the essential aspects of [[physics]] to explain his point of view.

==Reaction==

The main idea of the book is that everything around us, from the [[macroscopic]] to the [[microscopic]] are composed of bits of information, and the objects or 'its' arise from these bits, similar to what takes place in a computer. As the laws of physics dictate [[the Universe]], Lloyds contention is that by understanding the laws of physics that we can understand the Universe itself. The Universe in his interpretation is a [[quantum computer]] that computes following the laws of physics to transform the bits that are defined by the [[atom]]s in terms of their properties (for example, [[quantum spin]] and alignment) as it is these bits that eventually give rise to 'its' like an object made of atoms. The Universe is thus in other words processing information; by understanding this process would give a better understanding of why the Universe is complex. One of the books main ideas is that information and energy are equivalent, reading the book would give the reader a better idea of how and why this is so. The book seems to contain a philosophy of what many physicists believe the Universe to be, it underlies many of the ideas like when the existence of the '[[ghost in the machine]]' is questioned, or when intelligent design is brushed aside as misguided.

Reviewer [[Corey S. Powell]] of ''The New York Times'' writes:

<blockquote>In the space of 221 dense, frequently thrilling and occasionally exasperating pages, ... tackles computer logic, thermodynamics, chaos theory, complexity, quantum mechanics, cosmology, consciousness, sex and the origin of life—throwing in, for good measure, a heartbreaking afterword that repaints the significance of all that has come before. The source of all this intellectual mayhem is the kind of Big Idea so prevalent in popular science books these days. Lloyd, a professor of mechanical engineering at M.I.T., takes as his topic the fundamental workings of the universe..., which he thinks has been horribly misunderstood. Scientists have looked at it as a ragtag collection of particles and fields while failing to see what it is as a majestic whole: an enormous computer.<ref>{{cite news

The book's goal according to Lloyd is to "reveal the fundamental role that information plays in the universe ... By understanding how the universe computes, we can understand why it is complex."

| last = Powell

| first = Corey S.

| title = Welcome to the Machine

| newspaper = The New York Times

| date = April 2, 2006

| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/books/review/02powell.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

| accessdate = 2009-06-08}}

</ref>

</blockquote>

In an interview with ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine, Lloyd writes:

== External links ==

{{wikiquote}}

<blockquote>everything in the universe is made of bits. Not chunks of stuff, but chunks of information—ones and zeros. ... Atoms and electrons are bits. Atomic collisions are "ops." Machine language is the laws of physics. The universe is a quantum computer.<ref>{{cite news

* Seth Lloyd, [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400040922/002-9225817-1741643?v=glance&n=283155 "Programming the Universe"]

| title = Life, the Universe, and Everything

| work = Issue 14.03

| publisher = Wired

| date = March 2006

| url = https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.03/play.html?pg=4

| accessdate = 2009-06-08

}}</ref></blockquote>

Gilbert Taylor, writing in ''[[Booklist]]'' of the [[American Library Association]], said that the book:

<blockquote>offers brilliantly clarifying explanations of the "bit," the smallest unit of information; how bits change their state; and how changes-of-state can be registered on atoms via quantum-mechanical qualities such as "spin" and "superposition." Putting readers in the know about quantum computation, Lloyd then informs them that it may well be the answer to physicists' search for a unified theory of everything. Exploring big questions in accessible, comprehensive fashion, Lloyd's work is of vital importance to the general-science audience.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400033861 Quoted on the Amazon website.]</ref></blockquote>

==See also==

*[[Digital physics]]

*''[[Decoding the Universe]]'', a 2007 book by [[Charles Seife]]

*[[Seth Lloyd]]

*[[Simulation hypothesis]]

*[[Simulated reality]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==

*{{official website|http://www.randomhouse.com/kvpa/lloyd/}}

* ''Ultimate physical limits to computation'', [[Nature (journal)|Nature]], volume 406, pages 1047&ndash;1054

[[Category:Science books]]

[[Category:Computer science books]]

[[Category:Information science]]

[[Category:Alfred A. Knopf books]]