Evolution & Genetics

Evolution & Genetics Contents I. How Evolution Seems to Work II. What a Gene Does III. Sex, and Why It Is Worth the Trouble IV. The Evolution of Cooperation V. What Is an Organism, and What Is Behaviour? VI. The Major Transitions VII. Where This Leads VIII. What We Do Not Know IX. The Impartial […]

Emergence & Complexity

Emergence & Complexity Contents I. What Emergence Is II. Simple Rules, Staggering Complexity III. Self-Organisation IV. The Levels of Reality V. Weak and Strong Emergence VI. Complexity Theory and Feedback VII. Tensegrity: The Body as Emergent Structure VIII. The Free Energy Principle IX. Emergence and You X. What We Do Not Know XI. The Impartial […]

Entropy

Entropy Contents I. What Is Entropy? II. The Second Law and the Arrow of Time III. The Part Almost Everyone Gets Backwards IV. Life as a Dissipative Structure V. The Entropy Accelerator VI. The Dissipation-Driven Adaptation VII. The Micro Example: Your Metabolism VIII. Why Growth and Decay Are the Same Process IX. The Arrow of […]

The Forces

The Forces Contents I. What a “force” is II. Gravity III. Electromagnetism IV. The Strong Nuclear Force V. The Weak Nuclear Force VI. The Standard Model VII. The Unification Story VIII. The Forces and You IX. What We Don’t Know X. The Takeaway XI. Cross-links Gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces.   […]

The Big Bang

The Big Bang Contents I. Deep History II. What “The Big Bang” Actually Means III. The First Moments IV. Inflation V. The Light Elements VI. Recombination and the First Light VII. The Dark Sector VIII. From First Light to First Life IX. What We Do Not Know X. The Takeaway XI. Cross-Links The proposed birth […]

The Universal Rabbit Hole

The Universal Rabbit Hole Contents I. The Fine-Tuning Question II. Constructor Theory III. The Fate of the Universe IV. Earth’s History and Conditions for Life V. The Simulation Hypothesis VI. Why Did the Universe Start So Ordered? VII. Quantum Weirdness at the Frontier VIII. Are We Alone? IX. Open Research Questions X. Future Topics XI. […]

Origin of Everything Resources

Origin of Everything Resources The Popular-Physics Landscape The literature on cosmology and fundamental physics for non-specialists is large, mostly excellent, and shaped by a particular tension worth understanding before you read. The underlying physics is some of the most rigorously tested knowledge humans possess. The popular books that convey it are written by people who […]