Book Reviews
Amazon Reviews
★★★★★ Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
When I saw the passage in the introduction, “physics [made] sense until I realized that it did not really explain anything,” I knew I was the audience for this book. That was more or less my conclusion from my college physics courses, as well. The book didn’t disappoint. It starts by pointing out that if you were an echolocating bat, you’d inhabit a relativistic universe in which the speed limit is that of sound in air, and goes on to interpret special relativity in the same vein – that is, as a consequence of human sensory limitation rather than absolute reality. There’s a synopsis of philosphical and cognitive-science thinking about how we know reality, then non-mathematical explanations of the physics. Certain astrophysical phenomena such as gamma ray bursts and active galaxy jets are re-interpreted as superluminal objects perceived from their electromagnetic emissions, which are all we can sense. Then appendices that go into the physics in more depth. I didn’t get too much “applied spirituality” but anything that expands your ideas about reality is likely to be spiritually expanding as well. I found it liberating, at least.
★★★★★ A must-read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
An excellent read, shifting things inside of the human psyche. Recommended to all and sundry. Skip the maths if you like, but read it. This is the kind of book that grows human intelligence with the passing of time. Let it impact upon you too…
Bobbie Christmas
Bobbie is the author of Write In Style, a triple-award-winning textbook for writers of fiction and nonfiction. She is the Owner — Zebra Communications, Atlanta, GA (since 1992). She is editor, ghostwriter, book doctor, copywriter, consultant, seminar and workshop leader.
Bobbie copy-edited The Unreal Universe. Describing it as “such an insightful and intelligent book,” she says, “A book for thinking laymen, this readable, thought-provoking work offers a new perspective on our definition of reality.”
Wendy Lochner
Wendy is the Senior Executive Editor for Religion, Philosophy and Animal Studies at Columbia University Press.
Calling The Unreal Universe a good read, Wendy says, “It’s well written, very clear to follow for the nonspecialist.”
The Straits Times
The national newspaper of Singapore, the Straits Times, lauds the readable and conversation style used in The Unreal Universe and recommends it to anybody who wants to learn about life, the universe and everything.
M. S. Chandramouli
M. S. Chandramouli graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1966 and subsequently did his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. After an executive career in India and Europe covering some 28 years he founded Surya International in Belgium through which he now offers business development and industrial marketing services.
Here is what he says about The Unreal Universe:
“The book has a very pleasing layout, with the right size of font and line spacing and correct content density. Great effort for a self-published book!”
“The impact of the book is kaleidoscopic. The patterns in one reader’s mind (mine, that is) shifted and re-arranged themselves with a ‘rustling noise’ more than once.””The author’s writing style is remarkably equidistant from the turgid prose of Indians writing on philosophy or religion and the we-know-it-all style of Western authors on the philosophy of science.”
“There is a sort of cosmic, background ‘Eureka!’ that seems to suffuse the entire book. Its central thesis about the difference between perceived reality and absolute reality is an idea waiting to bloom in a million minds.”
“The test on the ‘Emotionality of Faith,’ Page 171, was remarkably prescient; it worked for me!”
“I am not sure that the first part, which is essentially descriptive and philosophical, sits comfortably with the second part with its tightly-argued physics; if and when the author is on his way to winning the argument, he may want to look at three different categories of readers – the lay but intelligent ones who need a degree of ‘translation,’ the non-physicist specialist, and the physicist philosophers. Market segmentation is the key to success.”
“I think this book needs to be read widely. I am making a small attempt at plugging it by copying this to my close friends.”
Steven Bryant
Steven is a Vice President of Consulting Services for Primitive Logic, a premier Regional Systems Integrator located in San Francisco, California. He is the author of The Relativity Challenge.
“Manoj views science as just one element in the picture of life. Science does not define life. But life colors how we understand science. He challenges all readers to rethink their believe systems, to question what they thought was real, to ask “why”? He asks us to take off our “rose colored glasses” and unlock new ways of experiencing and understanding life. This thought provoking work should be required reading to anyone embarking on a new scientific journey.”
“Manoj’s treatment of time is very thought provoking. While each of our other senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – are multi-dimensional, time appears to be single dimensional. Understanding the interplay of time with our other senses is a very interesting puzzle. It also opens to door to the existence possibilities of other phenomena beyond our know sensory range.”
“Manoj’s conveys a deep understanding of the interaction of our physics, human belief systems, perceptions, experiences, and even our languages, on how we approach scientific discovery. His work will challenge you to rethink what you think you know is true.”
“Manoj offers a unique perspective on science, perception, and reality. The realization that science does not lead to perception, but perception leads to science, is key to understanding that all scientific “facts” are open for re-exploration. This book is extremely thought provoking and challenges each reader the question their own beliefs.”
“Manoj approaches physics from a holistic perspective. Physics does not occur in isolation, but is defined in terms of our experiences – both scientific and spiritual. As you explore his book you’ll challenge your own beliefs and expand your horizons.”
Blogs and Found Online
From the Blog Through The Looking Glass
“This book is considerably different from other books in its approach to philosophy and physics. It contains numerous practical examples on the profound implications of our philosophical viewpoint on physics, specifically astrophysics and particle physics. Each demonstration comes with a mathematical appendix, which includes a more rigorous derivation and further explanation. The book even reins in diverse branches of philosophy (e.g. thinking from both the East and the West, and both the classical period and modern contemporary philosophy). And it is gratifying to know that all the mathematics and physics used in the book are very understandable, and thankfully not graduate level. That helps to make it much easier to appreciate the book.”
From the Hub Pages
Calling itself “An Honest Review of The Unreal Universe,” this review looks like the one used in the Straits Times.
Anonymous Readers
Some readers who wish to remain anonymous express their opinions as follows.
“Leo” says, “I’ve begun to read it and I like very much the depth at which you look at the world.” He continues, “You’ve astounded me once more with your insight! Who knows how many more phenomena could be explained with LTT effects? The amount of a dozen such demonstrations would make your point totally convincing for science.”
“Mark” says, “I really like your idea on our sense of the speed of light and your explanation is simple and effective with no fancy tricks or made up forces, but with a common sense understanding. Right or wrong your idea opens up many possible theories that may have been overlooked due to our stubbornness to conform to long-standing ideas and assumptions.” And he continues, “I find your ideas very interesting and like the way you look at things from different angles. I agree philosophy plays a big part in our understanding of nature and the universe.”
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