Infinite Book, The

Forathousandyears,infinityhasproventobeadifficultandilluminatingchallengeformathematiciansandtheologians.Itcertainlyisthestrangestideathathumanshaveeverthought.WherediditcomefromandwhatisittellingusaboutourUniverse?Canthereactuallybeinfinities?Ismatterinfinitelydivisibleintoever-smallerpieces?Butinfinityisalsotheplacewherethingshappenthatdon't.Allmannerofstrangeparadoxesandfantasiescharacterizeaninfiniteuniverse.IfourUniverseisinfinitethenaninfinitenumberofexactcopiesofyouare,atthisverymoment,readinganidenticalsentenceonanidenticalplanetsomewhereelseintheUniverse.NowInfinityisthedarlingofcuttingedgeresearch,themeasuringstickusedbyphysicists,cosmologists,andmathematicianstodeterminetheaccuracyoftheirtheories.FromtheparadoxofZeno’sarrowtostringtheory,CambridgeprofessorJohnBarrowtakesusonagrandtourofthismostelusiveofideasanddescribeswithclarifyingsubtletyhowthissubjecthasshaped,andcontinuestoshape,ourverysenseoftheworldinwhichwelive.TheInfiniteBookisathoroughlyentertainingandcompletelyaccessibleaccountofthebiggestsubjectofthemall–infinity.