The Demon in the Machine
How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life
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4.4 • 12 Ratings
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Physics World Book of the Year
A Financial Times, Sunday Times, and Telegraph Best Science Book of the Year
What is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question, for life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. Huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery.
In this penetrating and wide-ranging book, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name; it is a domain where biology, computing, logic, chemistry, quantum physics, and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity which has the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and force us to fundamentally reconsider what it means to be alive—even illuminating the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe.
From life’s murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine journeys across an astounding landscape of cutting-edge science. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window onto the secret of life itself.
Customer Reviews
A nice point of view
Excellent point of view at biological systems from point of view of physics and theory of informations. Interesting reading.
Deeply unsatisfying
The author set himself a lofty goal: to try and explain what differentiates a living from non-living system. He states the problem initially and clearly but spends almost all of the book not addressing the issue or worse, rambling about even more unanswerable questions (e.g. the nature of consciousness) or how probable life is in the observable universe.
As a scientist and an avid consumer of scientific literature I found this book to be deeply unsatisfying. The science is shallow and I didn’t walk away with any more of an understanding of the living process than when I started out.
I remember reading a monograph by Gilbert Ling years ago (in the mid ’60’s) about a “physical theory of the living state.” Although Dr. Ling’s hypotheses have not withstood scientific scrutiny at least there was some formal meat to the arguments.
In short, if you are hoping to get an answer to the question posed (what defines the living state), this book will frustrate more than illuminate.