TheUniverse Speaks in Numbers

Dr Graham Farmelo is an award-winning science writer and biographer, and the winner of the 2012 Kelvin Prize and Medal. Formerly an academic, museum professional and undercover restaurant critic, he is now a Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, and a regular Visitor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. His biography of Paul Dirac, The Strangest Man, won the 2009 Costa Biography Award and the 2010 Los Angeles Times Science Book Prize. www.grahamfarmelo.com @grahamfarmeloA groundbreaking exploration of how the interplay of physics and mathematics has enriched our understanding of the universe - essential reading for anyone who wants to grasp how physicists are attempting, in Stephen Hawking's words, to 'know the mind of God'.I am overcome with admiration for its range and profundity. An amazing achievement.A wonderful book.A superbly written, riveting book.Fascinating and elegantly written.'Farmelo deftly retraces the growing realisation that maths can unlock understanding of real phenomena . [he] provides a rich history of this interplay, along with a well-informed account of how it has worked in recent decades.''A rich survey of the growing connections between pure mathematics and fundamental physics... Farmelo has worked in some of the world's most prestigious research centres and spoken to many leading theorists... rewarding.'As authoritative as it is fascinating.Farmelo tells the story with a keen eye for anecdotes, and the excitement of an eyewitness to an intellectual revolution.Powerful and eloquent . . . A must-read.Crisply written, entertaining and extraordinarily well informed.If you like reading about math without having to do math, this is a stellar book.'Entertaining and written with contagious enthusiasm that could almost be described as a page-turner.'A superbly written, riveting book.'
MARTIN REES, Astronomer Royal

'I am overcome with admiration for its range and profundity. An amazing achievement.'
MICHAEL FRAYN

'A wonderful book.'
TOM STOPPARD

A groundbreaking exploration of how the interplay of physics and mathematics has enriched our understanding of the universe - essential reading for anyone who wants to grasp how physicists are attempting, in Stephen Hawking's words, to 'know the mind of God'.

Searching for the fundamental laws of the universe, physicists have found themselves developing ambitious mathematical ideas. But without observation and experiment as their guide, are they now doing 'fairy-tale physics' as their detractors claim?

In The Universe Speaks in Numbers, Graham Farmelo argues that today's greatest scientific minds are working in a tradition that dates back to Newton. He takes us on an adventure, from the Enlightenment to the breakthroughs of Einstein and Dirac, to the work of modern physicists and mathematicians shedding light on each other's disciplines, to their mutual surprise and excitement. This blossoming relationship is responsible for huge advances in our understanding of space and time - and as Farmelo explains, could redefine reality as we know it.

LISTEN TO THE ACCOMPANYING PODCAST featuring interviews with leading scientists at www.grahamfarmelo.com