Life is Simple: How Occam's Razor Set Science Free And Unlocked the Universe

· Basic Books · Narrated by Tom Lawrence
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13 hr 9 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

Life is Simple tells the remarkable story of how a thirteenth century monk's search for simplicity led to the emergence of the modern world.

We begin in the turbulent times of the medieval friar, William of Occam, who first articulated the principle that the best answer to any problem is the simplest. This theory, known as Occam's razor, cut through the thickets of medieval metaphysics to clear a path for modern science. We follow the razor in the hands of the giants of science, from Copernicus, to Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Rubin and Higgs. Its success suggests that we live in the simplest possible habitable universe and supports the revolutionary theory that our cosmos has evolved.


By highlighting the very human passion, curiosity, mistakes and struggles of those who were inspired by Occam's razor to create the modern world, Johnjoe McFadden provides new insight into what science is really about. And that the principle of simplicity is as relevant today as ever.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

About the author

JohnJoe McFadden is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Surrey. He has published over 100 academic journal articles and has written extensively for a more popular audience in the Guardian, Washington Post and Frankfurter Allgemeine. He has also published a number of popular science books, most recently Life on the Edge with Jim Al-Khalili (Black Swan 2014).

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