Book Reviews | The Order of Time, by Carlo Rovelli
But you still need to worry about those pesky deadlines…
"The nature of time is perhaps the greatest remaining mystery." — Carlo Rovelli, in The Order of Time.
What would you do if someone told you that time doesn't exist?
That's precisely what Carlo Rovelli does in his non-fiction book, The Order of Time. The Italian physicist uses his extensive knowledge of the world to show us how flawed our conception and understanding of time are.
"Wonder is the source of our desire for knowledge, and the discovery that time is not what we thought it was opens up a thousand questions." —Carlo Rovelli, in The Order of Time.
Time doesn't exist?
The book starts with the physicist deconstructing time. You read that right. He takes our understanding of time, now and through the ages, and he analyses it through a lens of daily perceptions mixed with scientific wisdom.
How much of our knowledge about time is influenced by what we've been taught in school and how our society works? Rovelli delves deep to show us that much of what we understand as time isn't time at all.
The next step in the book is more technical, but not any less exciting. The Order of Time explains why, at the most elementary level, time is meaningless. Not only there's no such thing as time, but it doesn't even influence a lot of natural phenomena.
Rovelli goes through the history of physics and how famous scientists built our modern understanding of time. Including our own perceptions and how the knowledge of time in science changed as humankind learned more about our universe.
And finally, the Italian physicist rebuilds time. Using all his technical expertise, he explains how humans may be so sure of time when it's not as simple as we think.
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You don't need to be a physicist to read this book
Don't worry, you do not need a physics degree to understand The Order of Time. At least, not the general idea.
Carlo Rovellie does have a physics degree, and he has an exceptional understanding of the world. He's been working in the area for years and shares part of his knowledge in this book.
Sure, some chapters are more technical and, if like me your understanding of physics is at best shaky, you won't be able to fully grasp all the implications of what Rovelli is discussing. Whenever he had a formula on the page, he lost me a bit.
But Rovelli isn't called the poet of physics for nothing. If you expect dry, straightforward, and perhaps even boring language, you won't find it in this book. Not only can the author write very complex ideas in an understandable way, he does it in a beautiful style.
The Order of Time is an incredible book, full of mind-blowing and mind-boggling information. Rovelli brings you on a journey of discovery — investigating time, shattering your misconceptions, and infusing all his knowledge in an inspiring explanation of time.
Did I feel lost at times? Yes, I did, pun intended. But that didn't take away the joyful enjoyment of applying real science and a deep understanding of the world to mundane tasks.
"It's a conclusion that leaves us flabbergasted: is it really possible that a perception is so vivid, basic, existential — my perception of time — depends on the fact that I cannot apprehend the world in all of its minute detail?" — Carlo Rovelli, in The Order of Time.
One of my favourite things about The Order of Time is that Rovelli ties his scientific mastery of physics with our shared perception of the world. After all, it doesn't matter that time doesn't exist at an elementary level. It's clear that humans experience something, be that called time or whatever else.
It's fascinating to read the explanation of why we experience such a thing as time, even if I find it hard to understand entropy.
"We inhabit time as fish live in water. Our being is being in time." — Carlo Rovelli, in The Order of Time.
The Order of Time is for all those fascinated by learning. Even if you know nothing about physics, you can still enjoy this book and learn from it. The Italian physicist enchants with his knowledge of the world and delights with the beauty of his words.
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