Programming The Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos
Seth Lloyd
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE BIT...
The universe is made of bits of information and it has been known for more than a century that every piece of the the universe - every electron, atom and molecule - registers these bits and that information. It is only in the last years, however, with the discovery and development of quantum computers, that scientists have gained a fundamental understanding of just how that information is registered and processed.
Building on recent breakthroughs in quantum computation, Seth Lloyd shows how the universe itself is a giant computer. Every atom and elementary particle stores these bits, and every collision between those atoms and particles flips the bits into a new arrangement and effortlessly spins out beautiful and complex systems, including galaxies, planets and life itself.
But every computer needs a program, the set of instructions that tell it what patterns to create. Where did the bits come from that tell the universe to create its magnificent complexity? Who - or what - is programming the universe?
Product Details
About Seth Lloyd
Reviews for Programming The Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos
Stephen Poole
Guardian
Lloyd does an excellent job of explaining all this in clear, accessible language... I urge you to buy the book
John Gribbin
Independent
Visionary and fun
New York Times
His excellent book explains the science in terms as simple as one could hope for
Andrew Crumey
Scotland on Sunday
Lloyd thinks he has found a new way to explain one of the most basic questions in science: Why is the world so complex?... Fascinating and profoundly comforting... Seth Lloyd certainly gives his readers a lot of bang for their buck
The New York Times Book Review
Lloyd is one of the gurus of quantum and information theory, and in this accessible book he presents an insightful new perspective on the cosmos
Sir Martin Rees, University of Cambridge Renowned for his innovative conflation of pure physics and computation, Lloyd is well positioned to hack his way into space-time and come back with answers
Seed
What an astonishing book! Lloyd is at the forefront of a revolution
Kevin Kelly, Editor-at-Large
Wired