Examining Time

This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Lee Smolin who is a faculty member of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. The basis of this wide-ranging conversation are Lee Smolin’s books Life of the Cosmos and Time Reborn. This detailed discussion offers an investigation of time, both what it is and how the true nature of it impacts our world and future and provides behind-the scenes insights into the development of Lee Smolin’s groundbreaking theory on the nature of time.


This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, Full Circle, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:

I. Physics via Architecture - The power of Einstein
II. Justifying the Laws - Two possibilities
III. Collaboration - Physics meets politics
IV. Rolling Up Our Sleeves - Towards overcoming tautologies
V. Cosmological Natural Selection - Evolutionary details
VI. The Meta-law Dilemma - Harder and harder
VII. Scientific Impact - Implications, applications and responses
VIII. Making A Difference - The heart of the matter



About Ideas Roadshow Conversations:


This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert through a focused yet informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks.