The Universe - Solved!

By Jim Elvidge

Book Overview

What if reality isn't really what you think it is? What if our world was just a big video game?It's actually not as far-fetched as it seems, says Jim Elvidge. Within 30 years, we will be able to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1424336260
• ISBN13: 9781424336265
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: AT Press
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Solved??? Well not quite.

"Many" of us have pondered by now whether we might be living in a virtual reality. But few people take this option seriously. Jim Elvidge does, and so do I. His book is the first ever, I think, devoted solely to this topic--one that has preoccupied me for most of my life. I read it in one sitting. It's an excellent start. His arguments are roughly as follows. 1)Virtual reality simulations are technically feasible. 2) Virtual reality fits well with physical observations of our reality (e.g. the discontinuous nature of space and time) 3) Virtual reality would explain some knotty problems associated with our reality (the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, fine tuning, and the big bang among others) 4) V. R. also explains a variety of "anomalies" in our lives . These include things paranormal, out of body and near death experiences, UFO's , altered mind states, and unbelievable coincidences. Elvidge devotes a lot of space to this area and has come up with some good examples but these rarely experienced and poorly documented events, which I have never encountered personally, do not work for me. The beauty and the problem with virtual reality is that it explains almost anything - from the cosmic to the trivial -quantum entanglement at a distance, Elvis sightings, cornflakes that look like Jesus, Jesus. Invoking V.R. to solve the universe is akin to a novelist extracting his hero from an impossible pickle by having him wake from a dream. We really need stronger evidence. Our unlikely place in civilization's time line is one item that Elvidge gives some attention. But what else? A student probably spoke for the masses when she observed that if she is living in a virtual reality "the graphics are great, but the plot sucks." In comparison to what is possible I suspect that even the graphics are only so so . But what about the plot? Why do so many bad things happen to good people and vice versa? Who would do this to us and why? Elvidge just barely touches on this in his last chapter. And the rest of the evidence? It's out there, but not in this book.

For anyone who has ever wondered about the meaning of life.

Do you believe in God? Are you an agnostic? Are you an athiest? This book doesn't give you the answers despite its' title. Well, okay, it propounds one possible answer. But its' value is in the fact that it provides the reader with the tools to understand the possibilities and the ability to come to your own conclusions. Regardless of your belief system, this book will give you food for thought. Amazingly, it may even provide the universal truth that incorporates all belief systems. Reading this book will inspire you by enabeling you to realize that your intuitive hunches about the meaning of life were probably not so far off the mark and, at the same time, humble you by making you realize how limited our comprehension is in understanding the inexplicable meaning of our existence.

Excellent book - bend your mind around this

Excellent read. Great gift for those who like to think that there is more beyond what we see (or think we see). Mr. Elvidge is great at taking information from many disciplines and triangulating it against possibilities to give you something to _really_ think about. The writing style makes it an easy read - highly recommended.

A book to blast reality to smithereens and then put it back together in infinite ways.

The Universe - Solved! FINALLY, a book that will do more than just pose questions and present hypotheses! All that is needed to digest this fine melange of the scientific and metaphysical is an open mind. Elvidge presents his own mix in grand style building upon and crumbling to pieces the time-worn yawns of "why are we here" and "is there more than this". He draws from every angle of the the "known"- from Hollywood and dreams to particle physics and nanotechnology to the cosmos; all laid upon a finely diced bed of humor and pop-culture reference- for a mind-expanding, door-opening, myth-blasting journey that puts words to that "niggling sensation" of our own concepts of reality. Some if it may be a bit disconcerting or just a bit humbling but this book is sure to make a huge impact on many fronts. It is a must-read for anyone who has ever posed the question of existence. Elvidge knows his stuff- behind the droll humor is good pure science and research. To imagine is to create- and whose creations are we? And in which game are we the players? Our consciousness, our being, our "stuff" and our perceptions are all put into another perspective, layer upon layer. This book is guaranteed to make you think outside of any box that you could ever imagine!