In The Shortest History of Reality, the idea of ‘what’s real’ is traced from its everyday, common-sense beginnings to the mind-bending discoveries of modern physics. Along the way, we encounter the great shifts in thought that reshaped our view of existence – from ancient philosophy to the rise of science, from Newton’s universe to the strange probabilities of the quantum world and beyond.

Blending science, history and philosophy, this is a brisk and lucid tour through humanity’s changing grasp of reality. With clarity and wit, it introduces key thinkers and turning points, revealing how each era has deepened – and complicated – our understanding of what’s really out there.

Rather than an encyclopaedia of everything that exists, this book is the compelling story of how we’ve tried to make sense of it all.

With a foreword by Derek Muller (Veritasium)

‘This book takes you from the tiniest quantum quirks to the grand sweep of the cosmos, all in one exhilarating ride.’ —Dr Karl Kruszelnicki

‘The Shortest History of Reality is more than history or science – it is a journey of humanity’s attempts to answer one simple question: Is this real?’ —Brad Tucker, astrophysicist, Australian National University

‘A who’s who of the history of physics, revealing the characters behind the discoveries that shook our conception of reality’—Tamara Davis, astrophysicist, University of Queensland

‘A compact and lucid study that takes us right up to “dark matter” and the nature of consciousness itself.’ —Sydney Morning Herald

Table of Contents

PART 1: EARLY IDEAS OF REALITY

1. What Was Reality?
2. The Nature of Reality

PART 2: REALITY IN THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

1. The Rules of Reality
2. Light, Colour and the Illusion of Reality
3. The Stuff of Nature

PART 3: REALITY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

1. What Is Reality Made Of?
2. The Second Theory of Relativity
3. The Biological Revolution
4. The Quantum Revolution
5. The Particle Zoo

PART 4: EXPLORING THE QUANTUM WORLD

1. What Is a Quantum Wave Really?
2. The March of Unification
3. Symmetry and Antimatter

PART 5: THE FUTURE OF REALITY

1. Where Is My Mind?
2. The Unfinished Symphony
3. Where and When Is Everything?
4. Closing Thoughts