Programming the Universe: Difference between revisions

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

{{Advert|date=April 2008}}

{{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]], [[Quantumquantum computers]]

| genre = [[Nonfiction]]

| publisher = [[Alfred A. Knopf]]

| pub_date = 2006

| isbn = ISBN 978-14000409261-4000-4092-6

| 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 written by [[Seth Lloyd]], andprofessor firstof published[[mechanical inengineering]] 2006.at Givingthe a[[Massachusetts tourInstitute of howTechnology]]. informationThe hasbook evolvedproposes fromthat the earliestUniverse daysis ofa Man[[quantum tocomputer]] how it is presented now([[supercomputer]]), Lloydand providesadvances anin extensionthe understanding of the[[physics]] oldermay laymanscome sciencefrom bookviewing [[entropy]] as hea providesphenomenon of [[information]], rather than simply [[thermodynamics]]. Lloyd also postulates that hasthe beenUniverse discoveredcan recentlybe viafully experiments.simulated Itusing givesa anquantum overviewcomputer; however, in the absence of thermodynamicsa andtheory of [[quantum mechanicsgravity]], withsuch thea laymanssimulation surpriseis asnot heyet dealspossible. with"Particles thenot essentialonly aspectscollide, ofthey [[physics]]compute."<ref>Lloyd, toSeth, explain''Programming histhe pointUniverse'', ofAlfred viewA. Knopf, 2006, 978-1-4000-4092-6</ref>

==Reaction==

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 book's 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."

==Notes==

{{Citations missing|date=May 2008}}

{{reflist}}

==References==

*{{cite news

| last = Powell

| first = Corey S.

| title = Welcome to the Machine

| newspaper = The New York Times

| work = 'Programming the Universe,' by Seth Lloyd

| publisherdate = ''[[TheApril New2, York Times]]''2006

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

| date = 2006-04-02

| accessdate = 20082009-0506-1708}}

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

</ref>

| accessdate = 2008-05-17

</blockquote>

}}

*{{cite news

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

<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

| title = Life, the Universe, and Everything

| work = Issue 14.03

| publisher = ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''

| date = March 2006

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

| accessdate = 20082009-0506-1708

}}</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]]

[[it:Il Programma dell'Universo]]