This volume is dedicated to one of the founding figures of Israeli Chinese studies, Professor Irene Eber of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It assembles more than two dozen essays by colleagues from all over the world that reflect not only the wide range of her scholarly interests, but above all the fields of research which would not have been established without her and where her contributions will remain. Accordingly, the section "Philosophy in China and Intellectual History" discusses the thorny and complex process of 'organizing the heritage', from the earliest constructed traditions in Han times around the beginning of our era, up to the debates on modernization in present-day China. After an excursion in "Chinese Literature", much space is devoted to "Translating the Bible in China", a topic on which her numerous studies have proved seminal and that deals with Chinese perceptions. As its complement, perceptions of China in systematic and historical perspective are at the core of the section devoted to "Jewish Life and Letters in the World". The contributions share their approach of paying particular attention to the translation processes strictly speaking and to the hermeneutical process of understanding across time and space more generally. A comprehensive list of publications by Irene Eber concludes the volume.

What does realism about the quantum state imply? What follows when quantum theory is applied without restriction, if need be, to the whole universe? These are the questions which an illustrious team of philosophers and physicists debate in this volume. All the contributors are agreed on realism, and on the need, or the aspiration, for a theory that unites micro- and macroworlds, at least in principle. But the further claim argued by some is that if you allow the Schrödinger equation unrestricted application, supposing the quantum state to be something physically real, then this universe is one of countlessly many others, constantly branching in time, all of which are real. The result is the many worlds theory, also known as the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics. The contrary claim sees this picture of many worlds as in no sense inherent in quantum mechanics, even when the latter is allowed unrestricted scope and even given that the quantum state itself is something physically real. For this picture of branching worlds fails to make physical sense, let alone common sense, even on its own terms. The status of these worlds, what they are made of, is never adequately explained. Ordinary ideas about time and identity over time become hopelessly compromised. The concept of probability itself is brought into question. This picture of many branching worlds is inchoate, it is a vision, an error. There are realist alternatives to many worlds, some even that preserve the Schrödinger equation unchanged. Twenty specially written essays, accompanied by commentaries and discussions, examine these claims and counterclaims in depth. They focus first on the question of ontology, the existence of worlds (Part 1 and 2), second on the interpretation of probability (Parts 3 and 4), and third on alternatives or additions to many worlds (Parts 5 and 6). The introduction offers a helpful guide to the arguments for the Everett interpretation, particularly as they have been formulated in the last two decades.

Fun science meets humor and heart in this adventure about a boy who is searching for his mother . . . in a parallel universe. Stephen Albie Bright leads a happy, normal life. Well, as normal as it gets with two astrophysicist parents who named their son after their favorite scientists, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein. But then Albie’s mother dies of cancer, and his world is shattered. When his father explains that she might be alive in a parallel universe, Albie knows he has to find her. So, armed with a box, a laptop, and a banana, Albie sets out to do just that. Of course, when you’re universe-hopping for the very first time, it’s difficult to find the one you want. As Albie searches, he discovers some pretty big surprises about himself and our universe(s), and stumbles upon the answers to life’s most challenging questions. A poignant, funny, and heartwarming adventure, this extraordinary novel is for anyone who has ever been curious. Praise for The Many Worlds of Albie Bright: “A big book with a big brain, big laughs, and a big, big heart.” —FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE, New York Times bestselling author of Millions and Cosmic “Hilarious and full of heart.” —PIERS TORDAY, author of The Last Wild “I’d love this book in all the worlds. Heartbreaking, heartwarming, heartstopping. Amazing.” —HOLLY SMALE, author of the award-winning Geek Girl series “Heartwarming.” —The Guardian “Proves the theory that novels about science can be enormous fun.” —The Times Children’s Book of the Week (UK) “Moving, and exploding with scientific ideas and wonder.” —The Herald (UK)

A Leading Figure in the Development of the New Cosmology Explains What It All Means Among his peers, Alex Vilenkin is regarded as one of the most imaginative and creative cosmologists of our time. His contributions to our current understanding of the universe include a number of novel ideas, two of which—eternal cosmic inflation and the quantum creation of the universe from nothing—have provided a scientific foundation for the possible existence of multiple universes. With this book—his first for the general reader—Vilenkin joins another select group: the handful of first-rank scientists who are equally adept at explaining their work to nonspecialists. With engaging, well-paced storytelling, a droll sense of humor, and a generous sprinkling of helpful cartoons, he conjures up a bizarre and fascinating new worldview that—to paraphrase Niels Bohr—just might be crazy enough to be true.

Step inside homes all over the world. What makes them the same as yours? What makes them different?

A World of Many Worlds is a search into the possibilities that may emerge from conversations between indigenous collectives and the study of science's philosophical production. The contributors explore how divergent knowledges and practices make worlds. They work with difference and sameness, recursion, divergence, political ontology, cosmopolitics, and relations, using them as concepts, methods, and analytics to open up possibilities for a pluriverse: a cosmos composed through divergent political practices that do not need to become the same. Contributors. Mario Blaser, Alberto Corsín Jiménez, Déborah Danowski, Marisol de la Cadena, John Law, Marianne Lien, Isabelle Stengers, Marilyn Strathern, Helen Verran, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro

This book tells the story of Hugh Everett III (1930-1982) who invented a theory of multiple universes that has had a profound impact on physics and philosophy. Everett strove to bring a "rational" order to the interlacing worlds of nuclear war and physics, even as his personal world disintegrated because of his indulgent lifestyle. Using Everett's unpublished papers and dozens of interviews, the book paints a detailed portrait of a man who influenced foundational thinking in quantum mechanics by inventing a way of viewing the universe from inside (known as the universal wave function). In addition to his famous interpretation of quantum mechanics, Everett wrote one of the classic papers in game theory; invented computer algorithms that revolutionized military operations research; and did pioneering work in artificial intelligence. As a Cold Warrior, he designed systems that modelled human behaviour along rational lines, and yet he was largely oblivious to the emotional damage his irrational behaviour inflicted upon his family, lovers and business partners. But he left behind, in the papers on which this book is based, a fascinating record of his life, including correspondence with the leading scientific minds of the day, that illuminates the often bitter struggle over the interpretation of the mystery of measurement at the heart of quantum mechanics.