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The One: How an Ancient Idea Holds the Future of Physics
A particle physicist makes the scientific case for monism, the ancient idea about the universe that says, all is One In The One , particle physicist Heinrich Päs presents a bold fundamentally, everything in the universe is an aspect of one unified whole. The idea, called monism, has a rich three-thousand-year Plato believed that “all is one” before monism was rejected as irrational and suppressed as a heresy by the medieval Church. Nevertheless, monism persisted, inspiring Enlightenment science and Romantic poetry. Päs aims to show how monism could inspire physics today, how it could slice through the intellectual stagnation that has bogged down progress in modern physics and help the field achieve the grand theory of everything it has been chasing for decades. Blending physics, philosophy, and the history of ideas, The One is an epic, mind-expanding journey through millennia of human thought and into the nature of reality itself.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published January 17, 2023
149 people are currently reading
754 people want to read
About the author
Heinrich Päs
5 books10 followersHeinrich Päs is a professor of theoretical physics at TU Dortmund University in Germany. He has held positions at Vanderbilt University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Hawai'i and has conducted research visits at CERN and Fermilab. He lives in Bremen, Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 13, 2023
At first glance this book has all the hallmarks of an attempt to tie quantum woo into ancient philosophical and religious beliefs, where some vague resemblance between an ancient observation about, say, 'the oneness of everything' and some aspect of quantum physics is given as evidence of the great wisdom of the ancients. In practice, if you make vague enough statements they can be said to prefigure anything - and have no connection to modern science. Thankfully, though, that's not what much of Heinrich Päs's book is about.
What Päs sets out to show is that the reason that quantum physics can seem strange, if not downright weird, is that we are looking at things from the wrong direction. Quantum physics is hugely successful at practical stuff - predicting what will happen to enable successful design of, for example, electronics, but doesn't have a big picture: there is no satisfactory explanation of what's going on 'under the hood'. Päs suggests this is because we're looking at it the wrong way - it is impossible, he suggests, to truly understand what's really happening from the reductive viewpoint of particles and their interaction, we need start from a holistic view of the universe because everything interacts with everything else.
There's some excellent material in here, including a really good historical summary of the way that quantum physics has managed to be hugely successful while at the same time physicists have papered over the cracks of what is really happening - what's sometimes referred to as 'shut up and calculate'. There's no doubt that most of the science here is, while speculative, based on solid physics. (This is as opposed to the theology, for example, where Päs conjures up a totally fictional and rather hilarious battle between his ‘monism’ view of quantum mechanics and monotheistic religions, inevitably deploying Giordano Bruno.)
What's less sure, though, is whether or not this speculation is anything more than vaguely interesting. Päs suggests that the way to get to what's really happening is to start from the universe as a whole. This can be both technically true and practically useless. For example, you might argue the only way to fundamentally understand why you decided to have croissants for breakfast was to gather data on every single one of the 1027 atoms in your body. This may in principle be true, but in practice is totally useless as we both can't collect the data and can't do anything with it in a useful way. Similarly, we might get a better understanding of what is really happening when two quantum particles interact by studying the universe as a whole - but practically speaking it won't tell us anything.
It's also true that the book doesn't entirely avoid falling into the ancient wisdom trap. For example, we read 'as startling as it is, as long as fifty centuries ago the ancient Egyptians knew something very similar to entanglement'. That's on a par with Erich von Daniken in Chariots of the Gods saying that the book of Ezekiel in the Bible describes a spaceship. No - it's retrofitting a vague imagining from the past to a unlinked modern scientific idea and has no value.
As long as you can resist groaning at these references to ancient parallels, there's indubitably interesting content here, which is why I've given it four stars. However, despite the tag line calling this the 'future of physics', the monism concept at its heart is ascientific - it's highly unlikely it will ever be experimentally provable or have any meaningful impact on physical theory. I am far more interested in popular science that describes theory that links to experiment and has practical value, but as an exploration of one of the less painful aspects of such speculation, this still makes for an interesting read.
What Päs sets out to show is that the reason that quantum physics can seem strange, if not downright weird, is that we are looking at things from the wrong direction. Quantum physics is hugely successful at practical stuff - predicting what will happen to enable successful design of, for example, electronics, but doesn't have a big picture: there is no satisfactory explanation of what's going on 'under the hood'. Päs suggests this is because we're looking at it the wrong way - it is impossible, he suggests, to truly understand what's really happening from the reductive viewpoint of particles and their interaction, we need start from a holistic view of the universe because everything interacts with everything else.
There's some excellent material in here, including a really good historical summary of the way that quantum physics has managed to be hugely successful while at the same time physicists have papered over the cracks of what is really happening - what's sometimes referred to as 'shut up and calculate'. There's no doubt that most of the science here is, while speculative, based on solid physics. (This is as opposed to the theology, for example, where Päs conjures up a totally fictional and rather hilarious battle between his ‘monism’ view of quantum mechanics and monotheistic religions, inevitably deploying Giordano Bruno.)
What's less sure, though, is whether or not this speculation is anything more than vaguely interesting. Päs suggests that the way to get to what's really happening is to start from the universe as a whole. This can be both technically true and practically useless. For example, you might argue the only way to fundamentally understand why you decided to have croissants for breakfast was to gather data on every single one of the 1027 atoms in your body. This may in principle be true, but in practice is totally useless as we both can't collect the data and can't do anything with it in a useful way. Similarly, we might get a better understanding of what is really happening when two quantum particles interact by studying the universe as a whole - but practically speaking it won't tell us anything.
It's also true that the book doesn't entirely avoid falling into the ancient wisdom trap. For example, we read 'as startling as it is, as long as fifty centuries ago the ancient Egyptians knew something very similar to entanglement'. That's on a par with Erich von Daniken in Chariots of the Gods saying that the book of Ezekiel in the Bible describes a spaceship. No - it's retrofitting a vague imagining from the past to a unlinked modern scientific idea and has no value.
As long as you can resist groaning at these references to ancient parallels, there's indubitably interesting content here, which is why I've given it four stars. However, despite the tag line calling this the 'future of physics', the monism concept at its heart is ascientific - it's highly unlikely it will ever be experimentally provable or have any meaningful impact on physical theory. I am far more interested in popular science that describes theory that links to experiment and has practical value, but as an exploration of one of the less painful aspects of such speculation, this still makes for an interesting read.
abandoned
February 14, 2023Got three chapters in but basically understood only a tiny fragment of what I was reading. Quantum mechanics seems to be baffling even when the author thinks they are creating a “For Dummies…” version of it.
Sometimes I read about Einstein’s theories and I get a happy feeling that in some way I’m grasping a tiny sliver of it. Not so with quantum mechanics. Just fully incomprehensible to me.
Sometimes I read about Einstein’s theories and I get a happy feeling that in some way I’m grasping a tiny sliver of it. Not so with quantum mechanics. Just fully incomprehensible to me.
November 24, 2023
The book is a challenging read for an amateur - Heinrich Pas covers many complex topics but does not spend a lot of words providing simple definitions, and moves rapidly through a variety of interrelated disciplines (quantum mechanics, the history thereof, relativity, some history of theology and philosophy, information theory, and consciousness). But overall, it really stretched my mind and I very much enjoyed it.
The book’s main point is that the universe should be understood as a single whole - a quantum universe composed of a single wave function - and that this modern scientific understanding, which follows from the acceptance of Everett’s many worlds theory, closely mirrors the notion of monism (“all is one”) that is repeatedly encountered in the history of philosophy and religion. Pas finds this startling, though frankly I think its unsurprising - the idea that “all is one” is one of just a few plausible theories on the nature of reality, so its no shock to me that we find variants of this idea throughout history.
What is more interesting to me is the author’s position that physicists should spend less effort trying to make sense of classical reality from quantum mechanics, and more time taking quantum mechanics seriously as the fundamental fabric of reality - that the universe is ultimately composed of a single quantum
whole, and Everett’s theory ought to be accepted. Pas posits that perhaps it is time to abandon notions of space-time, and that information and math may compose the fundamental essence of reality.
I cannot claim to have understood everything in this book, but overall I found it quite enjoyable.
The book’s main point is that the universe should be understood as a single whole - a quantum universe composed of a single wave function - and that this modern scientific understanding, which follows from the acceptance of Everett’s many worlds theory, closely mirrors the notion of monism (“all is one”) that is repeatedly encountered in the history of philosophy and religion. Pas finds this startling, though frankly I think its unsurprising - the idea that “all is one” is one of just a few plausible theories on the nature of reality, so its no shock to me that we find variants of this idea throughout history.
What is more interesting to me is the author’s position that physicists should spend less effort trying to make sense of classical reality from quantum mechanics, and more time taking quantum mechanics seriously as the fundamental fabric of reality - that the universe is ultimately composed of a single quantum
whole, and Everett’s theory ought to be accepted. Pas posits that perhaps it is time to abandon notions of space-time, and that information and math may compose the fundamental essence of reality.
I cannot claim to have understood everything in this book, but overall I found it quite enjoyable.
January 25, 2024
In The One, Heinrich Pas presents an impressive argument for a new [physics] perspective of reality. I seriously enjoyed challenging my brain to understand the various concepts and postulations expressed throughout this book — the explanation as to why we have been so focused on our current perspective of physics since Bohr and beyond, the deep dive into the historical context of the central idea, and the presentation of so many ways this theory fits into our current landscape.
My only negative note, which I see as a relatively significant one, is that this book is 100% not for a reader who does not have a background in physics. I have an entire degree in this stuff, and plenty of chunks of the text went right over my head. I wish there was a way to remedy that.
(3.5 stars)
My only negative note, which I see as a relatively significant one, is that this book is 100% not for a reader who does not have a background in physics. I have an entire degree in this stuff, and plenty of chunks of the text went right over my head. I wish there was a way to remedy that.
(3.5 stars)
January 3, 2023
"The One" can be hefty in some areas with it's lofty ideas and many names, but overall Päs writes with the fluidity needed to keep a book of this sort from becoming unmanageable.
This book threads ancient and modern ideas in terms that laypersons can understand.
I received this advance copy from Basic Books.
This book threads ancient and modern ideas in terms that laypersons can understand.
I received this advance copy from Basic Books.
March 14, 2024
I did not finish this book. What I thought would be an interesting engagement with ancient philosophy was a bait-and-switch about the multiverse. The multiverse is an interesting idea for thinking about how events happen and how we reconcile the macrocosmic to the microcosmic. I don't have the theoretical physics background to make an actual judgment about that, and neither do most people reading this, so it was awkward when the author kept writing as if he were trying to convince me of it. I've read others explaining their theoretical physics hypotheses who have done a much better job of remaining level-headed and responsible when communicating with a nonspecialist audience.
March 1, 2023
Interesting until..
Very interesting for the first half or more. A new way of looking at quantum theory, explaining spooky action at a distance in terms of a singular "one" combining everything, collapsing time and space into illusions of our consciousness, however this hand was overplayed when he wandered into pan theism, A form of religious expression. Too bad.
Very interesting for the first half or more. A new way of looking at quantum theory, explaining spooky action at a distance in terms of a singular "one" combining everything, collapsing time and space into illusions of our consciousness, however this hand was overplayed when he wandered into pan theism, A form of religious expression. Too bad.
May 1, 2023
Are we one with the universe or are we put into the universe? The One will change how you see reality. Honestly, the content is pretty earth shattering, but in a hopeful way. This book covers both the history and science of monism and its relationship to quantum physics. It is a very enlightening and entertaining read!
June 5, 2024
Tough slog, but very interesting material. Discussions of quantum mechanics, the cosmos, and all creation is one.
January 27, 2023
Eye-opening.
I thought I had a pretty good layman's understanding of both quantum physics and cosmology.
I knew there were open questions on both fronts. But that is the nature of science. I also thought I had a pretty good take on the "hard question" about the nature of consciousness.
Now here we have Heinrich Päs, an actual particle physicist, proposing well thought out answers to all those questions, from quantum entanglement to the origin of the cosmos.
By tracing out the history of thought about these questions, he finds plenty of agreement among the great minds on whose thinking our edifice of science has been built. The universe as a whole is the sum of all that is in it, and as such is itself one entity. But there are many viewpoints that may be assumed from within the universe, and each of these has its own perspective. It is the differing perspectives of the many views from within that lead to the illusion of separateness.
Päs does not pretend to have all the answers. He views his ideas as a starting point. He anticipates that on this foundation a firm and complete structure can be built. Eventually arriving at an actual theory of everything.
I thought I had a pretty good layman's understanding of both quantum physics and cosmology.
I knew there were open questions on both fronts. But that is the nature of science. I also thought I had a pretty good take on the "hard question" about the nature of consciousness.
Now here we have Heinrich Päs, an actual particle physicist, proposing well thought out answers to all those questions, from quantum entanglement to the origin of the cosmos.
By tracing out the history of thought about these questions, he finds plenty of agreement among the great minds on whose thinking our edifice of science has been built. The universe as a whole is the sum of all that is in it, and as such is itself one entity. But there are many viewpoints that may be assumed from within the universe, and each of these has its own perspective. It is the differing perspectives of the many views from within that lead to the illusion of separateness.
Päs does not pretend to have all the answers. He views his ideas as a starting point. He anticipates that on this foundation a firm and complete structure can be built. Eventually arriving at an actual theory of everything.
June 4, 2023
As a huge fan of ideologies in the classic "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra, this book feels like the modern extension of it.
With all the scientific achievements in quantum mechanics we had as a modern society, it goes deeper into the drama, politics of the characters (physicists) that played their crucial part in this great journey of finding the ultimate truth in physics.
The author did a great job in presenting all important angles to show how monism is closely related to scientific revolution in the past history, how reductionism is creating the stumbling block for physics to grow, and whats the future holds, all in a way that is neutral and non-bias, in my view.
This book blown my mind on how the reality really works, and totally changed my perspective fundamentally in many crucial ways.
To me, it answers scientifically the question: "How does reality works?"
With all the scientific achievements in quantum mechanics we had as a modern society, it goes deeper into the drama, politics of the characters (physicists) that played their crucial part in this great journey of finding the ultimate truth in physics.
The author did a great job in presenting all important angles to show how monism is closely related to scientific revolution in the past history, how reductionism is creating the stumbling block for physics to grow, and whats the future holds, all in a way that is neutral and non-bias, in my view.
This book blown my mind on how the reality really works, and totally changed my perspective fundamentally in many crucial ways.
To me, it answers scientifically the question: "How does reality works?"
July 22, 2023
This book, though it will not always be completely accessible to non-physicists, totally inspired me to pursue more on the topic. I feel there is deep truth in this. The book explores theoretical physics (quantum cosmology, string theory, general relativity, information theory, particle and classical physics, etc) and monistic philosophies, religion, theory of consciousness and psychedelic experience… to reveal the concept of the “One” quantum universe - out of which everything we understand and see is an emergent property - basically a creation of a subjective conscious observer. Everything is One. Pretty amazing stuff. It’s something that has always seemed innate to me - and apparently to many - but I’ve never seen it attempted in one book for the lay person. It’s an amazing overview with the potential to send me down many future rabbit holes.
July 31, 2023
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book from Basic Books.
I enjoyed Päs's attempt at explaining the important and sometimes misunderstood reality that the universe is fundamentally quantum-mechanical in nature. The first 3 chapters do a marvellous job of taking the reader on a tour of the development of the Copenhagen and many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, with some of the well-known names in the history of the subject making an appearance and with their interactions recounted in an interesting manner. It was the first time that I was brought to reflect a bit more carefully on Everett's many-worlds interpretation.
The detour he takes in the next 2 chapters through the history of the philosophy of monism turned out to be less appealing to me, simply because it is based on much speculation and interpretations that seem to draw parallels between a quantum reality and the impression that everything seems to be coming from a single entity.
In the remaining chapters, Päs delves into relatively recent developments in theoretical physics (black hole entropy, adS/CFT correspondence, EPR=ER, etc.) to try to bring this all together, but I remain quite skeptical about whether the threads that he's so nicely woven throughout his book could be connected via the use of these speculative ideas.
Overall, I found the book an entertaining and quite enlightening tour of many ideas from physics, philosophy (almost exclusively western, unfortunately), and religion, all with the idea of drawing parallels among schools of thought and effectively trying to show how they intersect. What seems to result from this coming together is what the author calls a monistic vision of fundamental reality as a unified whole. Although I remain unconvinced about whether the philosophical concepts have meaningful things to say about physical reality, I would still recommend the book as an interesting appreciation of the unity of physical reality from a theoretical physicist.
I enjoyed Päs's attempt at explaining the important and sometimes misunderstood reality that the universe is fundamentally quantum-mechanical in nature. The first 3 chapters do a marvellous job of taking the reader on a tour of the development of the Copenhagen and many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics, with some of the well-known names in the history of the subject making an appearance and with their interactions recounted in an interesting manner. It was the first time that I was brought to reflect a bit more carefully on Everett's many-worlds interpretation.
The detour he takes in the next 2 chapters through the history of the philosophy of monism turned out to be less appealing to me, simply because it is based on much speculation and interpretations that seem to draw parallels between a quantum reality and the impression that everything seems to be coming from a single entity.
In the remaining chapters, Päs delves into relatively recent developments in theoretical physics (black hole entropy, adS/CFT correspondence, EPR=ER, etc.) to try to bring this all together, but I remain quite skeptical about whether the threads that he's so nicely woven throughout his book could be connected via the use of these speculative ideas.
Overall, I found the book an entertaining and quite enlightening tour of many ideas from physics, philosophy (almost exclusively western, unfortunately), and religion, all with the idea of drawing parallels among schools of thought and effectively trying to show how they intersect. What seems to result from this coming together is what the author calls a monistic vision of fundamental reality as a unified whole. Although I remain unconvinced about whether the philosophical concepts have meaningful things to say about physical reality, I would still recommend the book as an interesting appreciation of the unity of physical reality from a theoretical physicist.
August 20, 2023
If the topic of this book interests you, I recommend you instead read Max Tegmark’s “Our Mathematical Universe” which does not resort to quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo and references to Plato and Goethe to describe our physical reality.
The first half or so of the book reminded me of one of my favorite college courses (30 years ago) about the History of Science. Päs provides a decent summary of the Pre-Socratics all the way through Einstein and co.
But any scientist who uses a phrase like “The One” can’t be taken seriously.
The first half or so of the book reminded me of one of my favorite college courses (30 years ago) about the History of Science. Päs provides a decent summary of the Pre-Socratics all the way through Einstein and co.
But any scientist who uses a phrase like “The One” can’t be taken seriously.
April 5, 2023
I studied undergraduate physics, including quantum mechanics, in the 1980s, and I've tried to stay abreast of developments in the field through articles and books like this one. So I'm probably a little more familiar with quantum mechanics than the average reader. The ideas in this book are fascinating, but even with my background and knowledge, it was still a challenging read.
Quantum mechanics, first developed in the 1920s, has proven enormously successful at modelling and predicting the behaviour of atomic and sub-atomic particles. It's given us nuclear power (and nuclear weapons) and semiconductors, and is the basis for all our communications and information technology. But the implications of quantum equations and theories are bizarre, to say the least. There are multiple ways to interpret the meaning of those equations and theories. One is called the "Copenhagen Interpretation". Another is called the "Many Worlds Interpretation". Attempts over the past several decades to figure out which interpretation is closest to reality are, frankly, going nowhere. Author Heinrich Päs suggests a new interpretation based on an ancient Greek philosophical idea called "monism", which is encapsulated in a quotation from Heraclitus: From all things One and from One all things.
Päs suggests that the entire universe is a single quantum object that can be described by a single deterministic quantum wave equation. We perceive the universe to consist of multiple objects only because of our perspective from within the universe. Päs uses a metaphor similar to Plato's Allegory of the Cave: imagine that the fundamental reality of the universe is like a movie projector containing a reel of film. What we see is a story projected onto a screen; because of our perspective, we can't see the projector or the film reel. The on-screen story has many characters and events and objects, but all those things are contained on the single object that is the film reel. Can quantum mechanics allow us to discover the nature of the projector and the film reel?
The first three chapters are a history of quantum mechanics in the 20th century. We meet scientists such as Einstein, Bohr, Wheeler, and Everett. Päs describes some key concepts such as complementarity, entanglement, and decoherence, and explains why he thinks these ideas support the notion that the universe is a single One. This notion has met strong resistance, however, so starting in Chapter 4, Päs goes back some three thousand years to show that monism has been struggling against monotheism for at least that long. Monotheism, in contrast to the One of monism, requires a dualistic view of the universe: God is outside the everyday world and separate from it. Päs suggests that monotheism is challenged by a view that the world, the universe, is God.
Päs spends another chapter recounting the history of the Christian church and the development of science, and the conflicts between religious doctrine and scientific theories supported by experimental evidence. He says there was an intellectual movement called Romanticism that tried to equate nature with God (which is essentially monism), but it did not convince the Church.
Having shown that monism has a long pedigree, Päs returns to the present in Chapter 6 and explores how monism could inform and transform physics, and what implications and questions arise from this interpretation. He writes about the failures of modern physics and how monism might address them. Chapter 7 deals with time and space and the possibility that these are not fundamental properties of reality but rather emergent properties derived from fundamental quantum properties. This is really mind-bending stuff, but it's also hard to grasp. Chapter 8 explores the nature and meaning of consciousness in a monistic universe. A final concluding paragraph tries to sum up all these ideas and prescriptions.
Päs writes very well, but, as with any book that deals with philosophy, language is just not sufficient to describe some of these truly weird ideas. Words have meanings that are specific to physics and philosophy, and you have to keep those meanings in mind (there's a handy glossary at the back) as you read, or many passages just won't make sense.
This is all fascinating, and I'm glad I read it, but I don't know that the idea that the universe is a single quantum object and my experience of it is at least partly created by my own conscious observation of it is going to have much effect on my daily life. Päs says more and more physicists are starting to look at this monistic interpretation and see where it leads them. If it's true, or at least useful, it could lead to many wonderful new inventions that no one can foresee today, just as quantum mechanics led to computers. I hope I live long enough to see what happens next.
Quantum mechanics, first developed in the 1920s, has proven enormously successful at modelling and predicting the behaviour of atomic and sub-atomic particles. It's given us nuclear power (and nuclear weapons) and semiconductors, and is the basis for all our communications and information technology. But the implications of quantum equations and theories are bizarre, to say the least. There are multiple ways to interpret the meaning of those equations and theories. One is called the "Copenhagen Interpretation". Another is called the "Many Worlds Interpretation". Attempts over the past several decades to figure out which interpretation is closest to reality are, frankly, going nowhere. Author Heinrich Päs suggests a new interpretation based on an ancient Greek philosophical idea called "monism", which is encapsulated in a quotation from Heraclitus: From all things One and from One all things.
Päs suggests that the entire universe is a single quantum object that can be described by a single deterministic quantum wave equation. We perceive the universe to consist of multiple objects only because of our perspective from within the universe. Päs uses a metaphor similar to Plato's Allegory of the Cave: imagine that the fundamental reality of the universe is like a movie projector containing a reel of film. What we see is a story projected onto a screen; because of our perspective, we can't see the projector or the film reel. The on-screen story has many characters and events and objects, but all those things are contained on the single object that is the film reel. Can quantum mechanics allow us to discover the nature of the projector and the film reel?
The first three chapters are a history of quantum mechanics in the 20th century. We meet scientists such as Einstein, Bohr, Wheeler, and Everett. Päs describes some key concepts such as complementarity, entanglement, and decoherence, and explains why he thinks these ideas support the notion that the universe is a single One. This notion has met strong resistance, however, so starting in Chapter 4, Päs goes back some three thousand years to show that monism has been struggling against monotheism for at least that long. Monotheism, in contrast to the One of monism, requires a dualistic view of the universe: God is outside the everyday world and separate from it. Päs suggests that monotheism is challenged by a view that the world, the universe, is God.
Päs spends another chapter recounting the history of the Christian church and the development of science, and the conflicts between religious doctrine and scientific theories supported by experimental evidence. He says there was an intellectual movement called Romanticism that tried to equate nature with God (which is essentially monism), but it did not convince the Church.
Having shown that monism has a long pedigree, Päs returns to the present in Chapter 6 and explores how monism could inform and transform physics, and what implications and questions arise from this interpretation. He writes about the failures of modern physics and how monism might address them. Chapter 7 deals with time and space and the possibility that these are not fundamental properties of reality but rather emergent properties derived from fundamental quantum properties. This is really mind-bending stuff, but it's also hard to grasp. Chapter 8 explores the nature and meaning of consciousness in a monistic universe. A final concluding paragraph tries to sum up all these ideas and prescriptions.
Päs writes very well, but, as with any book that deals with philosophy, language is just not sufficient to describe some of these truly weird ideas. Words have meanings that are specific to physics and philosophy, and you have to keep those meanings in mind (there's a handy glossary at the back) as you read, or many passages just won't make sense.
This is all fascinating, and I'm glad I read it, but I don't know that the idea that the universe is a single quantum object and my experience of it is at least partly created by my own conscious observation of it is going to have much effect on my daily life. Päs says more and more physicists are starting to look at this monistic interpretation and see where it leads them. If it's true, or at least useful, it could lead to many wonderful new inventions that no one can foresee today, just as quantum mechanics led to computers. I hope I live long enough to see what happens next.
November 27, 2024
Any author that attempts to bring together ideas from quantum mechanics, Plato and Pythagoras, has got to be brave, and Heinrich Pas is certainly that. His book draws on the theme of monism from throughout history and his scholarly work has plenty of references to follow up from all kinds of scientists, theologians and heretical thinkers throughout time. I applaud him for this heroic venture and will certainly draw on his work for the final novel in my "Realities of Meaning" trilogy, which has at it's heart a character who needs to understand what his views are about both metaphysics as well as physics. However, I do wish that westerners could go beyond ancient Greece and Egypt for their ideas. The Indus Valley and the ancient Vedic civilisation was filled with ideas even before Egypt and modern thinkers must learn to take into account these ideas if they want to wrestle with what we call "consciousness" these days. Unfortunately, Pas' last chapter on this subject was weak and confused because of his tendency to "believe" the myth that it is the physical brain where this "emerges". Vedic civilisation is entirely based on an understanding of a subtle body of "Mind, Intelligence and False Ego" as well as a physical body of senses and organs such as the brain. Resuscitation scientists such as Sam Parnia, author of "Lucid Dying" now have ample evidence for the continuity of "consciousness" and a universal process that follows the brain flatlining and the heart ceasing to beat. Medical science can now revive people up to nine hours after they have legally died. Neuroscientists have failed to be able to explain how this can be possible and yet the reality is that it has been verified time and time again. Pas needs to open his mind to these facts and bring them into his explanations. Equally, his dismissal of "the self" as a mental construct and his amalgamation of monism with nihilism is nothing short of disappointing for one who is so capable of intelligent and logical writing. Be that as it may, his book is worth reading. it just doesn't yet go far enough for me to be convinced that monism is much of a solution to our pressing needs at the beginning of the 21st century. We all need to take on far more from the Vedas for our lessons to be fully learned and for quantum mechanics to really progress from its "stuckness" and incessant idle speculation and nonsensical blind alleys.
April 29, 2023
Hard for me to rate this one. I LOVE the topic and some of the exposition, but I thought the presentation was hit or miss overall. The theme is that there is 'oneness' underlying reality.
The parts I loved the best was discussion of quantum mechanics and the lack of a need of a true collapse of the wave function (but rather it is merely the local perspective that gives one an impression of a collapse) and the fact that space and time can, indeed, arise from some weird melding of quantum mechanical entanglement and general relativity. I am very interested in this very modern view of an emergent space-time and loved the connections made to information-as-entropy and time going forward and the information fire-wall of the event horizon of blackholes. These portions of the book were terrific. I feel like this book helped me take a giant step forward in understanding the overall entanglement (see what I did there?) of general relativity, quantum mechanics, time, and space.
The other threads, namely the philosophical history of 'oneness', the experiences of 'oneness' while under the influence, and the special problem of consciousness as it relates to quantum issues and to way we perceive the universe, were much less satisfying. In fact, they felt like an interruption of the physics to me.
So, really a 5 star and 3 star read melded together.
The parts I loved the best was discussion of quantum mechanics and the lack of a need of a true collapse of the wave function (but rather it is merely the local perspective that gives one an impression of a collapse) and the fact that space and time can, indeed, arise from some weird melding of quantum mechanical entanglement and general relativity. I am very interested in this very modern view of an emergent space-time and loved the connections made to information-as-entropy and time going forward and the information fire-wall of the event horizon of blackholes. These portions of the book were terrific. I feel like this book helped me take a giant step forward in understanding the overall entanglement (see what I did there?) of general relativity, quantum mechanics, time, and space.
The other threads, namely the philosophical history of 'oneness', the experiences of 'oneness' while under the influence, and the special problem of consciousness as it relates to quantum issues and to way we perceive the universe, were much less satisfying. In fact, they felt like an interruption of the physics to me.
So, really a 5 star and 3 star read melded together.
May 19, 2024
Yeah, no. I was hoping this book would get into some theoretical concepts regarding the underlying nature of spacetime and offer some perspectives to help explain quantum entanglement among other things. Instead, it comes off like some crank pseudo-religious nut shouting "The One!!" every paragraph and filling the rest of the book in with ... words.
There's a lot of words, but no real meaning, no explanation, no hard science. I know the author is a physicist, but the lack of real science in this book is very disappointing. References to ancient societies and implying they pointed toward quantum physics are eye-rollingly droll.
Ultimately, this book offers nothing new. It suggests a "top down" study of the universe (as a single quantum entity) instead of using high-energy colliders, but how physicists could approach this is vaguely mumbled as "it would be hard". The little bit of real science it does offer has been known for a while and explained better elsewhere.
I suggest a drinking game - take a sip everytime he shouts "the one!" in the book. You won't make it far. Don't read this if you have a real love for science, it's not here. It's pseudo-religious yawn-inducing wordmash.
There's a lot of words, but no real meaning, no explanation, no hard science. I know the author is a physicist, but the lack of real science in this book is very disappointing. References to ancient societies and implying they pointed toward quantum physics are eye-rollingly droll.
Ultimately, this book offers nothing new. It suggests a "top down" study of the universe (as a single quantum entity) instead of using high-energy colliders, but how physicists could approach this is vaguely mumbled as "it would be hard". The little bit of real science it does offer has been known for a while and explained better elsewhere.
I suggest a drinking game - take a sip everytime he shouts "the one!" in the book. You won't make it far. Don't read this if you have a real love for science, it's not here. It's pseudo-religious yawn-inducing wordmash.
July 1, 2024
Engaging narrative connecting the concept of Oneness with Quantum Mechanics. The Physics concepts are superbly explained, connected mainly through Decoherence, its development and implications. The Philosophy comes across as a long superficial recount of characters and events, that becomes a bit boring.
The book can be seen also as a common plot american movie. The bad guys are Bohr and Heisenberg, the good guys are The Many Worlds Interpretation and Decoherence. At the end of course, the good guys win.
While the defense of the Many Worlds Interpretation is a very strong one, I don’t see why it is emphasized as the only one that connects to the concept of Monism. The Copenhagen or the Bohmian interpretations also connect to the concept. Wholeness is key in David Bohm’s writings, and The Copenhagen Interpretation also assumes an underlying reality, in this case a metaphysical one, what Heisenberg calls Potentia! Dismissing all other interpretations to exclusively support The Many Worlds one, doesn’t make sense. The author clearly has a strong prejudice against Bohr and Heisenberg. They are truly portrayed as the most evil ever villains in the history of science 😬.
The book can be seen also as a common plot american movie. The bad guys are Bohr and Heisenberg, the good guys are The Many Worlds Interpretation and Decoherence. At the end of course, the good guys win.
While the defense of the Many Worlds Interpretation is a very strong one, I don’t see why it is emphasized as the only one that connects to the concept of Monism. The Copenhagen or the Bohmian interpretations also connect to the concept. Wholeness is key in David Bohm’s writings, and The Copenhagen Interpretation also assumes an underlying reality, in this case a metaphysical one, what Heisenberg calls Potentia! Dismissing all other interpretations to exclusively support The Many Worlds one, doesn’t make sense. The author clearly has a strong prejudice against Bohr and Heisenberg. They are truly portrayed as the most evil ever villains in the history of science 😬.
January 28, 2024
Interesting topic, poorly written.
I have no quarrel with the thesis posed in this book (monism, the idea that all is one, might be the key to understanding fundamental physics), but it gets lost in a chaotic array of unnecessary details, references to scientists' backgrounds, and examples.
I also got the impression that the book contains multiple logical fallacies, although admittedly maybe that's due to my limited understanding of physics.
I think this book could have easily been twice as short and it would win in readability. After all, as the author himself states in the conclusion:
"Only if science is transparent and plausible for the mainstream of nonscientists will it help to steer humanity away from its daunting threats."
I have no quarrel with the thesis posed in this book (monism, the idea that all is one, might be the key to understanding fundamental physics), but it gets lost in a chaotic array of unnecessary details, references to scientists' backgrounds, and examples.
I also got the impression that the book contains multiple logical fallacies, although admittedly maybe that's due to my limited understanding of physics.
I think this book could have easily been twice as short and it would win in readability. After all, as the author himself states in the conclusion:
"Only if science is transparent and plausible for the mainstream of nonscientists will it help to steer humanity away from its daunting threats."
February 20, 2023
One is all
For anyone already familiar with modern perspectives on physics and reality, this concept of a single, universal, indivisible, interconnected, quantum wave function, uniting all of existence, should be no surprise.
I remember my mother puzzling over the nature of the universe, rejecting the idea it could be infinite but then asking what could be beyond the limit?
The answer in essence, is new space. Any intrepid particle or wave encountering such a limit would essentially define the new space, that would emerge by its existence.
And gravity. The shape of the space-time defined by the stuff. Connected quantum energy. All of it.
One.
For anyone already familiar with modern perspectives on physics and reality, this concept of a single, universal, indivisible, interconnected, quantum wave function, uniting all of existence, should be no surprise.
I remember my mother puzzling over the nature of the universe, rejecting the idea it could be infinite but then asking what could be beyond the limit?
The answer in essence, is new space. Any intrepid particle or wave encountering such a limit would essentially define the new space, that would emerge by its existence.
And gravity. The shape of the space-time defined by the stuff. Connected quantum energy. All of it.
One.
March 4, 2023
Thinking required
I struggled a bit with this book. In order for the author to make his points, he had to review a lot of history in science, religion, and philosophy. This allowed him to argue his conclusions. In addition, as a physicist, he described things that were based in scientific thought and its vocabulary, and for me, that required some mental chewing. He referred to others who have held positions similar to his and one of them was Sean Carroll. Carroll is a bit better at storytelling (from my perspective).
The book was worth the effort it took to read it, and his conclusions offer an interesting and worthy argument.
I struggled a bit with this book. In order for the author to make his points, he had to review a lot of history in science, religion, and philosophy. This allowed him to argue his conclusions. In addition, as a physicist, he described things that were based in scientific thought and its vocabulary, and for me, that required some mental chewing. He referred to others who have held positions similar to his and one of them was Sean Carroll. Carroll is a bit better at storytelling (from my perspective).
The book was worth the effort it took to read it, and his conclusions offer an interesting and worthy argument.
May 9, 2023
This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Every chapter is absolutely mind blowing and conscious altering. Pas does a great job of describing complicated concepts and makes it very interesting to boot, keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
I really hope more people have the opportunity to read this and see the universe for what it really is.
This book is a combo of (quantum) physics, philosophy and even a bit of religious history.
I really hope more people have the opportunity to read this and see the universe for what it really is.
This book is a combo of (quantum) physics, philosophy and even a bit of religious history.
July 23, 2024
The book, like an entangled system, can be too many things at the same time. History of development of the Everett interpretation, History of Philosophy of Oneness, survey of current research of quantum cosmology. Good ideas in general but the writing can sometimes feel too technical or other times pretty vague. I hope the author will revisit and publish an updated version in the future since the main idea of the book is very interesting
April 16, 2025
one of the best, most comprehensive books on the subject’
This hasn’t gotten enough recognition in the science podcasts I listen to. I really want to hear the author be interviewed! It seems most of us, even educated physicists, are misinterpreting/not even aware of Everett’s original dissertation and the pressure he was under to alter it into what eventually got published and coined “many worlds”. The historical context of these developments is enlightening and Päs does a fantastic job of weaving the threads together to give an overarching picture.
This hasn’t gotten enough recognition in the science podcasts I listen to. I really want to hear the author be interviewed! It seems most of us, even educated physicists, are misinterpreting/not even aware of Everett’s original dissertation and the pressure he was under to alter it into what eventually got published and coined “many worlds”. The historical context of these developments is enlightening and Päs does a fantastic job of weaving the threads together to give an overarching picture.
July 7, 2023
I have little to add to Brian’s excellent review, but will say that for me the author jumped several sharks in the closing chapter, where our forebears are credited with a degree of insight that seems unlikely. Furthermore the rallying call for a more tolerant and equal world based on a universal acceptance of monism seems somewhat of a stretch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2023
By following the philosophical current of monism from Ancient Greece to the Renaissance, and comparing it to the most modern interpretations of Quantum Physics, from Everett to now, this book reaches an unusual achivement: being at the same time the best philosophical book and the best scientific book of the year. Highly recommended!
October 16, 2023
This book explores the concept of “The One” (monism) — from both a rigorous scientific perspective grounded in a mastery of quantum physics and cosmology, and a tour de force through the history of oneness as a philosophical, religious and psychological perspective. To quote the author himself, it’s “a wild ride through times and places, topics and theories, including many fascinating sideshows.”
March 7, 2023
Strong but myopic model...
Quantum monism is one of two recent interpretive models that make sense, and the author does a fine job in presenting the problems potentially solved on its application. But he conspicuously ignores the other; relational quantum mechanics.
Quantum monism is one of two recent interpretive models that make sense, and the author does a fine job in presenting the problems potentially solved on its application. But he conspicuously ignores the other; relational quantum mechanics.
June 2, 2023
In a KMS state
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