Known Unknowns

Our understanding of cosmology has advanced immeasurably over the last five hundred years of modern science, yet many fundamental mysteries of existence persist. How did our Universe begin, if it even had a beginning? How big is it? What's at the bottom of a black hole? How did life on Earth arise? Are we alone? Is time travel possible?These mysteries define the threshold of the unknown. To explore that threshold is to gain a deeper understanding of just how far science has progressed. In The Known Unknowns, bestselling popular science writer Lawrence Krauss explores cosmology's greatest known unknowns. Covering time, space, physical law, life and consciousness, Krauss introduces readers to the topics that will shape the state of science of the next few decades, and invites us to ponder and appreciate the universe in which we live.

What an achievement: science, the beauty of science, the adventure of science so well expressed. Even a wretched innumerate like me can grasp the excitement of the key stories in discovery that Lawrence Krauss tells with such spellbinding clarity and generous authority. Throughout it all runs a vivid and deeply important reminder of science’s respect for mistakes: doubt, the unknown and contingent truths that are always up for being questioned, reassessed, and refined. A book that reawakens wonder, With the ease of a master, Lawrence Krauss takes us on a sightseeing tour to the biggest unknowns in the universe. A breath-taking trip to the frontiers of knowledge and beyond., A fascinating exploration, with an expert and thoughtful guide, through the domains of what is reasonably well understood, what we can at least think about seriously, and those tantalizing areas that always seem to lurk beyond our grasp., Krauss has a genius for making science understandable and exciting in equal parts. This account of some of the key puzzles in physics is a wonderfully lucid and stimulating introduction, which only a real scientist with an enthusiastic gift for communication could achieve. Krauss ticks both boxes handsomely. It adds to his remarkable body of work in making the world more scientifically literate and greatly more rational., Lawrence Krauss knows science. Even more impressive Lawrence can explain science (even to me). This book is about the crucial stuff that Lawrence knows and some stuff that even Lawrence doesn’t know (and neither does anyone else). He explains clearly what no one knows, so we can all help figure it out.

Lawrence M. Krauss is an internationally known theoretical physicist and the author of the New York Times bestselling books, The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing, and The Physics of Climate Change. He has made significant contributions to our understanding of the Universe and has received numerous awards for his research and writing. He is currently President of the Origins Project Foundation and host of the Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss. He tweets @LKrauss1.