Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt is a fascinating exploration of a question that does not occupy many people – and seems remote: why is there something, rather than nothing? This is a remote concern: answering this question will not save the earth from the damage we have done or feed hungry people, but there is a place for such questions in human life. Why are we here? Why does the world exist? Is there a purpose to our existence – and if so, how can we find it, and how do we even frame that question to get a meaningful answer?
Just take one idea from this book. The Big Bang happened around 14 billion years ago. That makes the universe not very old at all. What was before it? How does that make us related to time, the creation of the universe, and the “stuff” of the universe?
In this book, Holt takes on questions like these, and dozens of others. All of this he does in an approachable manner.
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