The Big Picture
On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
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The Big Picture
Buy Now for $33.99
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Narrated by:
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Sean Carroll
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By:
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Sean Carroll
About this listen
Does human purpose and meaning fit into a scientific worldview?
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on the Higgs boson and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions. Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void?
In short chapters filled with intriguing historical anecdotes, personal asides, and rigorous exposition, listeners learn the difference between how the world works at the quantum level, the cosmic level, and the human level - and then how each connects to the other. Carroll's presentation of the principles that have guided the scientific revolution - from Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe - is dazzlingly unique.
Carroll shows how an avalanche of discoveries in the past few hundred years has changed our world and what really matters to us. Our lives are dwarfed like never before by the immensity of space and time, but they are redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning.
The Big Picture is an unprecedented scientific worldview, a tour de force that will be listened to alongside the works of Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Daniel Dennett, and E. O. Wilson for years to come.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2016 Sean Carroll (P)2016 Penguin AudioCritic Reviews
Included on Brain Picking’s “The Greatest Science Books of 2016” List and included on NPR Science Friday’s “The Best Science Books of 2016” List
“Weaving the threads of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and philosophy into a seamless narrative tapestry, Sean Carroll enthralls us with what we’ve figured out in the universe and humbles us with what we don’t yet understand. Yet in the end, it’s the meaning of it all that feeds your soul of curiosity.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey)
“With profound intelligence and lucid, unpretentious language, Sean Carroll beautifully articulates the worldview suggested by contemporary naturalism. Thorny issues like free will, the direction of time, and the source of morality are clarified with elegance and insight. The Big Picture shows how the scientific worldview enriches our understanding of the universe and ourselves. A reliable account of our knowledge of the universe, it is also a serene meditation on our need for meaning. This is a book that should be read by everybody.” (Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics)
"Vivid...impressive....Splendidly informative." (The New York Times Book Review)
What listeners say about The Big Picture
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 03-04-2024
Poetic Naturalism - An intriguing viewpoint
A fantastic viewpoint on very deep and difficult questions in modern science and philosophy. Sean touches on many areas of science and gives a realistic viewpoint on modern philosophical concepts which are difficult to grasp. I enjoyed reading it and as someone who has done heavy research into the science and philosophy covered in this book, I found Sean's explanations and opinions on the concepts refreshing, solid and interesting.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank
- 17-04-2021
Must read - easy, engrossing sensible explanation of the universe and us
Brilliant, understandable, inspiring and read with enthusiasm.
Carroll covers everything in this book -
Laws and theories of physical world
Consciousness
Philosophy
God
Evolution
Every chapter follows in logical thought sequence.
Thoroughly enjoyed the reading and the knowledge and thought process.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr Richard B Chard
- 26-02-2023
A compelling journey through science and philosophy by a gifted communicator
Sean builds a remarkable coherent picture of existence at many levels with the clarity and piercing analysis of someone with a deep understanding. He lives up to Richard Feynman’s ideal that if you understand it properly you can explain it to others. I am privileged to have enjoyed the fleeting moments when I “got it” and recognise how much more that is beyond me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-05-2020
Wonderful, simply wonderful
I loved it, my listening is restricted to garden work on weekends, having Sean as my intellectual partner in these mundane activities has turned a chore into a delicious delight. Thank you Sean. It's like gardening with Sagan.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-04-2019
Great listen!
Deeper than expected! Great information covered and explained by Sean Carroll through science, history and the human mind. Very enjoyable.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 07-07-2020
Sean's done it again 😁
I really loved this book, it broke the world down into many of its different parts and explained them all well, including how they fit together. Sean brought up many popular viewpoints, not just his own and presented them all fairly which I appreciate. Lastly the wording and explanations of the concepts mentioned werr great, great enough that me, a high school student who hasn't even had his first calculus class yet can learn more about what I'm interested in.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Leandro Torres Cavalcanti
- 21-04-2022
interesting content but long winded
Easy to get lost in the sequence and logic as it takes too long to make a point in a chapter. Interesting content.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Murray Robinson
- 25-12-2023
boring as hell
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Joanne
- 08-03-2023
Mind-Numbing
I tried. Love this genre but just found this book painfully tedious. The grains-of-sand-creedence section was the final mind-numbing straw.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- Marcus
- 20-11-2020
Stream of consciousness
Less like a book and more like a stream of consciousness. Drifting pontification on fragmented topics.
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1 person found this helpful