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

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A penetrating exploration of the new physics, including time travel, quantum computers, and the multiverse from an award-winning physicist For David Deutsch, a 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 based on four main strands: • Quantum physics and its many-universes interpretation • The theory of evolution (Darwin/Dawkins) • The theory of computation (quantum computation) • The theory of knowledge (Karl Popper), explanation and understanding 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. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (August 1, 1998)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 390 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014027541X


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 14


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.15 x 0.9 x 8.01 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #36,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #34 in Quantum Theory (Books) #37 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books) #89 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)


#34 in Quantum Theory (Books):


#37 in Astrophysics & Space Science (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • quantum computers
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. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2005 by Palle E T Jorgensen
    • The BEST book on Parallel Universes!!!
This is the best non-fiction book I have ever read. Deutsch has an amazing ability to articulate the most sophisticated high level physics in profoundly clear terms for non-physicists. He marches through each explanation, leaving no question unanswered, clearly painting word pictures that make every nuance of his ideas in quantum physics as clear and beautiful as a DaVinci painting. This is the BEST book on the subject of parallel universes and time travel available to non-physicists (and I have read them all, including F. A. Wolfe, Michio Kaku, etc). If you would like to read a Science Fiction novel on time travel that matches his theory of Parallel Universes and Time Travel, check out the following book, also available at Amazon.com The Hiroshima Agenda: "Does the NSA have a working time machine?" ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017 by JAD
    • Should compare with best alternatives, no evidence, limited
I would love to see many-worlds shown superior to all available alternatives, but this book did not make the case. The chapter on epistemology is excellent. He concludes that a successful theory must have explanatory power and must satisfy evidence that refutes all prior theories. He does a good but incomplete job of illustrating the explanatory power of many-worlds, failing to show how many-worlds explains the EPR results. Unfortunately he ignores all competent existing theories. Indeterminism and wavefunction collapse are not required by QM. They are merely interpretations. Wavefunction collapse in particular is not required to explain the double-slit results because the virtual particles (another interpretation) that constitute the wavefunction are not observable and have no relation to the new entity that results from a "measurement" interaction. The EPR experiments assert that "hidden variables" havc been eliminated, but indeterminacy is still not proven. Deutsch rightfully proclaims many-worlds superior to one interpretation of QM, based solely on the double-slit results, but he fails to mention alternatives. The most compelling evidence is the idea that a quantum computer could make computations requiring >10^500 parallel universes. IF such a computation is performed, it may be difficult to explain in any other way, but it has not been done and the obstacles may be fundamental. He asserts that all worlds in the multiverse must follow the same physical laws. There are many more worlds out there that fit in his philosophy. We know our particular laws result from post-Big-Bang broken symmetries and that event itself was not a pristine Perfect Form. What does Deutsch mean by "laws of physics"? Is his interpretation that there are many multiverses? I had great hopes for the chapter on time, but his writing style is sometimes impenetrable and it came across as hand-waving. If Richard Feynman liked many-worlds, it must be right. Deutsch should try again, in collaboration with a scientifically literate writer. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2003 by Not a Clue

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