There are considerable mysteries surrounding the strange values that Nature's actual particles have for their mass and charge. For example, there is the unexplained 'fine structure constant' ... governing the strength of electromagnetic interactions.

our present picture of physical reality, particularly in relation to the nature of time, is due for a grand shake up

Consciousness ... is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very existence is made known.

I would say the universe has a purpose. It's not there just somehow by chance.

This book is about physics and its about physics and its relationship with mathematics and how they seem to be intimately related and to what extent can you explore this relationship and trust it.

People think of these eureka moments and my feeling is that they tend to be little things, a little realisation and then a little realisation built on that.

What right do we have to claim, as some might, that human beings are the only inhabitants of our planet blessed with an actual ability to be "aware"? The impression of a "conscious presence" is indeed very strong with me when I look at a dog or a cat or, especially, when an ape or monkey at the zoo looks at me. I do not ask that they are "self-aware" in any strong sense (though I would guess that an element of self-awareness can be present). All I ask is that they sometimes simply feel!