Robin le Poidevin

Travels in four dimensions

One might expect a book called Travels in four dimensions: The enigmas of space and time to be primarily concerned with the theory of relativity. Einstein does get a look in in Robin Le Poidevin's book, but it is more concerned with other aspects of the philosophy of time. The book is in the science section of my local library, but I feel that it is more of a philosophy book, and that the 'popular science' bits - time travel, multiple universes and the like - are the weakest parts of the book. But what it does well is to introduce the reader to philosophical ideas about time in a clear and readable way. If you've read popular science books about time, but would like to hear more about what philosophers have had to say on the subject then you should give this book a try.

The book starts by looking at whether time is anything more than things changing, and at Newton and Leibniz's ideas on absolute and relative space and time. Le Poidevin then considers the nature of the universe - the big bang, non-euclidean geometry and whether the universe is infinite. He then moves on to look at Zeno's paradoxes and McTaggart's ideas of A and B series. The last part of the book is more 'popular science' in nature (which as I have said I wasn't that impressed with), looking at time travel, parallel universes and the different arrows of time.

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Paperback 303 pages
ISBN: 0198752555
Salesrank: 277718
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2005 Oxford University Press, USA

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Paperback 303 pages
ISBN: 0198752555
Salesrank: 407618
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2004 OUP Oxford

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Paperback 303 pages
ISBN: 0198752555
Salesrank: 188497
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2004 Oxford University Press

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Product Description
Does time really flow, or is that simply an illusion? Did time have a beginning? What does it mean to say that time has a direction? Does space have boundaries, or is it infinite? Are our space and time unique, or could there be other, parallel worlds with their own space and time? Do space and time really exist, or are they simply the constructions of our minds? Robin Le Poidevin provides a clear, witty, and stimulating introduction to these deep questions, and many other mind-boggling puzzles and paradoxes. He gives a vivid sense of the difficulties raised by our ordinary ideas about space and time, but he also gives us the basis to think about these problems independently, avoiding large amounts of jargon and technicality. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required to enjoy this book. The universe might seem very different after reading it.

Product Description

Does time really flow, or is that simply an illusion? Did time have a beginning? What does it mean to say that time has a direction? Does space have boundaries, or is it infinite? Are our space and time unique, or could there be other, parallel worlds with their own space and time? Do space and time really exist, or are they simply the constructions of our minds?
Robin Le Poidevin provides a clear, witty, and stimulating introduction to these deep questions, and many other mind-boggling puzzles and paradoxes. He gives a vivid sense of the difficulties raised by our ordinary ideas about space and time, but he also gives us the basis to think about these problems independently, avoiding large amounts of jargon and technicality. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required to enjoy this book. The universe might seem very different after reading it.

The Philosophy of Time and Space *****
The Philosophy of Time and the Philosophy of Space are some of the most neglected branches of philosophy to date. Of course it is mainly the natural philosophy of Physics that mainly focuses on the implications and the concept of time and the relation to spatial ontology. This book is a great book for anyone who has the guts to engage with the possibilities, contradictions, and paradoxes of the natural phenomena of time and the relationship to space. We all talk about time, more so than space, and some of us even complain about how little time we have and the like. But do we truly know what time is and how it affects our statements, in terms of controlling tense in our language? This book helps understand the concepts of time and helps us use precise language in terms of talking about the past, present, and future along with space thrown in the mix. Robin Le Poidevin does humanity a service for writing this book and summarizing the dialogues on time and it's relation to space. On this discourse Poidevin, delves into concepts in mathematics such as the plausible tension between classical Euclidian space and non Euclidian space as first mentioned by Nikolai Lobachevski. Dimensionality is touched on a bit, in terms of what a dimension really is. Furthermore, the book should really be bought for the discussion of the A Theory of Time and B Theory of Time and McTaggart's proof of the unreality of time. Time travel also has its due portion in the book. Is time travel even possible? Poidevin does an excellent job in presenting plausible time travel scenarios and discussing the paradoxes and nonsense that arises from plausible scenarios of time travel and as always, discussion of the Arrow of Time (the direction of time) is found within this book as well. Even the location of time is mentioned! Is there differing times for different locations in space? Read this book. As always, Zeno and his classical paradoxes of movement and motion are also mentioned within the book and add insight to classical Greek views of time. Especially that of Aristotle. The edge of space is also discussed along with Pythagoras's encounters with space and its difficulties. Even the origins of time and space have their place within this book along with God's relation to time. If you are interested with God and time, then William Lane Craig, another philosopher, has an excellent discourse on this called Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time and a book called God & Time: 4 Views is recommended. Otherwise, stick with this book. Overall, this book is pretty dense. It is dense enough to entertain and enlighten, but not enough to bore or too technical in its language. It's a historical, mathematical, and mainly philosophical discourse on the debates on space and time form a professional philosopher's out look. If you are tired of reading and hearing horribly oversimplified talk of space and time by natural philosophers like Physicists, then try the general philosophers' take on the issue. Here is a list of all the Chapters with few sections mentioned (I am not writing all the section names, just some that I think will catch your eyes) Ch 1. The Measure of All things Time and the Laws of Nature Ch 2. Change Time as Change Time without Change? Ch 3. A Box with No Sides? Aristotle against the Void Lessons of the Vacuum The Redundancy of Space The Search for Absolute Motion Ch 4. Curves and Dimensions Euclid Displaced More than Three Dimensions? Ch 5. The Beginning and End of Time Can the Past be Infinite? Ch 6. The Edge of Space Is there Space Beyond the Universe? The Illusion of Infinity Ch 7. Infinity and Paradox Zeno: How the Tortoise bat Achilles Two Responses to Zeno: Infitismals and Finitism Democritus' Cone Ch 8. Does Time Pass? McTaggart's Proof of the Unreality of Time First Response: Presentism Second Response: the B - Theory Why is there only One Present? Ch 9. The Cinematic Universe Muybridge's Horse and Zeno's Arrow No Motion at an Instant? No Motion in the Present? Ch 10. Interfering with History Lost Days Dilemmas of the Time Traveler Causation in Reverse Ch 11. Other Times and Spaces Probability and the Multiverse Ch 12. The Arrows of Time Parallel Causes And more.... Bravo for Poidevin for writing such and informative work. This book truly deserves a wide audience.

The Philosophy of Time and Space *****

The Philosophy of Time and the Philosophy of Space are some of the most neglected branches of philosophy to date. Of course it is mainly the natural philosophy of Physics that mainly focuses on the implications and the concept of time and the relation to spatial ontology. This book is a great book for anyone who has the guts to engage with the possibilities, contradictions, and paradoxes of the natural phenomena of time and the relationship to space. We all talk about time, more so than space, and some of us even complain about how little time we have and the like. But do we truly know what time is and how it affects our statements, in terms of controlling tense in our language? This book helps understand the concepts of time and helps us use precise language in terms of talking about the past, present, and future along with space thrown in the mix.

Robin Le Poidevin does humanity a service for writing this book and summarizing the dialogues on time and it's relation to space.

On this discourse Poidevin, delves into concepts in mathematics such as the plausible tension between classical Euclidian space and non Euclidian space as first mentioned by Nikolai Lobachevski. Dimensionality is touched on a bit, in terms of what a dimension really is. Furthermore, the book should really be bought for the discussion of the A Theory of Time and B Theory of Time and McTaggart's proof of the unreality of time. Time travel also has its due portion in the book. Is time travel even possible? Poidevin does an excellent job in presenting plausible time travel scenarios and discussing the paradoxes and nonsense that arises from plausible scenarios of time travel and as always, discussion of the Arrow of Time (the direction of time) is found within this book as well. Even the location of time is mentioned! Is there differing times for different locations in space? Read this book. As always, Zeno and his classical paradoxes of movement and motion are also mentioned within the book and add insight to classical Greek views of time. Especially that of Aristotle. The edge of space is also discussed along with Pythagoras's encounters with space and its difficulties. Even the origins of time and space have their place within this book along with God's relation to time. If you are interested with God and time, then William Lane Craig, another philosopher, has an excellent discourse on this called Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time and a book called God & Time: 4 Views is recommended. Otherwise, stick with this book.

Overall, this book is pretty dense. It is dense enough to entertain and enlighten, but not enough to bore or too technical in its language. It's a historical, mathematical, and mainly philosophical discourse on the debates on space and time form a professional philosopher's out look. If you are tired of reading and hearing horribly oversimplified talk of space and time by natural philosophers like Physicists, then try the general philosophers' take on the issue.

Here is a list of all the Chapters with few sections mentioned (I am not writing all the section names, just some that I think will catch your eyes)

Ch 1. The Measure of All things
Time and the Laws of Nature

Ch 2. Change
Time as Change
Time without Change?

Ch 3. A Box with No Sides?
Aristotle against the Void
Lessons of the Vacuum
The Redundancy of Space
The Search for Absolute Motion

Ch 4. Curves and Dimensions
Euclid Displaced
More than Three Dimensions?

Ch 5. The Beginning and End of Time
Can the Past be Infinite?

Ch 6. The Edge of Space
Is there Space Beyond the Universe?
The Illusion of Infinity

Ch 7. Infinity and Paradox
Zeno: How the Tortoise bat Achilles
Two Responses to Zeno: Infitismals and Finitism
Democritus' Cone

Ch 8. Does Time Pass?
McTaggart's Proof of the Unreality of Time
First Response: Presentism
Second Response: the B - Theory
Why is there only One Present?

Ch 9. The Cinematic Universe
Muybridge's Horse and Zeno's Arrow
No Motion at an Instant?
No Motion in the Present?

Ch 10. Interfering with History
Lost Days
Dilemmas of the Time Traveler
Causation in Reverse

Ch 11. Other Times and Spaces
Probability and the Multiverse

Ch 12. The Arrows of Time
Parallel Causes

And more....

Bravo for Poidevin for writing such and informative work. This book truly deserves a wide audience.

Weighty matters in simple language ****
This book arose out of a series of lectures the author gave under the title of Space, Time and Infinity. It is a philosophical introduction to the questions of space and time, written to stimulate further thought on the paradoxes of these concepts, in other words, to look again at the conceptual questions and puzzles that our ordinary view of space and time presents. The questions that the author considers include the following: Are space and mind just mental constructions? Is there a fourth spatial dimension? Do parallel worlds exist? Could time run backwards? Might time travel be possible? Could space exist with nothing in it? Could there be space beyond the universe? and, Did time have a beginning? Le Poidevin guides the reader through these puzzles with lots of wit in an engaging writing style. Best of all, he makes clear the limitations of our ordinary ideas of space and time and provides us with the tools to think about these problems with a broader brush. He does this by using only a modest amount of physics, so no prior knowledge of science or philosophy is required to enjoy the book. He also deals with the Fine Tuning of the universe. Even slight differences in the fundamental physical features of the universe (such as in the forces that bind atoms together, the masses of particles, electromagnetic equations and the rate of expansion in the early universe) would have made it impossible for life as we know it to evolve in the universe. Similar thought-provoking books include Small World by Mark Buchanan, Hidden Connections by Fritjof Capra, The Universe Next Door by Marcus Chown, Before The Beginning by Martin Rees, Time And Space by Barry Dainton and God's Equation by Amir Aczel.

Weighty matters in simple language ****

This book arose out of a series of lectures the author gave under the title of Space, Time and Infinity. It is a philosophical introduction to the questions of space and time, written to stimulate further thought on the paradoxes of these concepts, in other words, to look again at the conceptual questions and puzzles that our ordinary view of space and time presents.

The questions that the author considers include the following: Are space and mind just mental constructions? Is there a fourth spatial dimension? Do parallel worlds exist? Could time run backwards? Might time travel be possible? Could space exist with nothing in it? Could there be space beyond the universe? and, Did time have a beginning?

Le Poidevin guides the reader through these puzzles with lots of wit in an engaging writing style. Best of all, he makes clear the limitations of our ordinary ideas of space and time and provides us with the tools to think about these problems with a broader brush. He does this by using only a modest amount of physics, so no prior knowledge of science or philosophy is required to enjoy the book.

He also deals with the Fine Tuning of the universe. Even slight differences in the fundamental physical features of the universe (such as in the forces that bind atoms together, the masses of particles, electromagnetic equations and the rate of expansion in the early universe) would have made it impossible for life as we know it to evolve in the universe.

Similar thought-provoking books include Small World by Mark Buchanan, Hidden Connections by Fritjof Capra, The Universe Next Door by Marcus Chown, Before The Beginning by Martin Rees, Time And Space by Barry Dainton and God's Equation by Amir Aczel.