Is the Universe an App?

Exploring the Physics of Awareness

De: Andrea Diem-Lane, David Christopher Lane

Narrado por: James Killavey

The idea that the world is an illusion that betrays its real origin has a long tradition and can be found in the writings of Hindu rishis, early Greek philosophers, and Christian Gnostics. What is perhaps surprising is to find such a rich literature on the subject in neuroscience and quantum physics. The latest, and perhaps most provocative, idea to gain some currency in varying scientific disciplines is the hypothesis that the universe is the result of a computational simulation and, as such, is an incredibly rich and detailed illusion that has ultimately tricked us into believing otherwise.

©2014 David Christopher Lane (P)2016 David Christopher Lane

Saved Me

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes...listening was much easier than trying to read it on my own.

What did you like best about this story?

Not a story...A had to read this for a course I'm taking. Found it very tough going.
It made a lot more sense to me listening than reading on my own. Narrator helped me make sense of some difficult concepts. Trying to "parse" the sentences and pronounce some difficult words on my own was not working for me.

Which scene was your favorite?

No scenes...non-fiction.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I doubt is this would be a film.

Any additional comments?

Narrator did a very good job of helping me to understand this. I actually had to listen twice to really "get" it. Good thing was, I was able to do it driving to school every day so that was a big time saver. Another big advantage of the audio was pronunciations. During class discussion I was able to pronounce some of the Indian names and word correctly, earning approving looks from the Prof and a bit of envy from other students. Many thanks to the publisher for making this available in audio. It saved my butt! :)

Useful

What made the experience of listening to Is the Universe an App? the most enjoyable?

The Lanes put together an accessible and entertaining overview of current theories of consciousness.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

James Killavey, at least in this book, has one of the strangest reading cadences and end-sentence inflections I've ever heard. I put the chances at about 50/50 he's an AI.

Any additional comments?

One of the Lanes has an annoying preoccupation with a particular East Indian guru and a contemporary writer who espouses mystical dualism. A little of these two goes a long way, and they are used more than a little.