Bit and the Pendulum: From Quantum Computing to M Theory -- The New Physics of Information »

TOM SIEGFRIED is Science Editor of the Dallas Morning News. He is the recipient of the 1997 American Psychiatric Association's Robert T. Morse Writer's Award.

"An eager, ambitious book. A stimulating, accessible introduction to scientific theory."—Dallas Morning News "An enjoyably quick-paced interdisciplinary survey of the outer limits of scientific thought."—Kirkus Reviews

"Siegfried weaves a provocative and convincing argument. . . . Recommended for an informed audience."—Library Journal "An excellent introduction to the myriad small worlds that can be teased out of our big one."—Publishers Weekly

"A volume of remarkable sweep."—Booklist

Now in paperback, The Bit and the Pendulum explores the radical idea at the center of the new physics of information: everything in the universe, from the molecules in our bodies to the heart of a black hole, is made up of bits of information.Award-winning author Tom Siegfried interviews top scientists-all using "bits" to solve the seemingly unsolvable-and provides a highly accessible introduction to a fundamentally new way of seeing the world. Lively, engaging, and topical, The Bit and the Pendulum shows how the computer and the "bit" are revealing secrets of the brain, the nature of matter, and the workings of the universe.

Library Journal

Siegfried, the science editor of the Dallas Morning News, presents the radical idea that information is not merely something abstract and intangible but that it is physical. He asserts that bits and bytes of information are the foundation of reality; in other words, "it from bit." He argues that everything in the universe, from the biology of living things to the cosmology of a black hole, is constructed of nothing more substantial than bits of information. Whether one agrees with this far-out concept or not, Siegfried weaves a provocative and convincing argument, supported by a plethora of scientific and mathematical research cited in numerous sources recommended for further reading. This is the new physics of information, and Siegfried says it is leading to major breakthroughs in a vast range of science such as teleportation and the development of "quantum computers" designed to decode the mysteries of DNA and human consciousness. Recommended for an informed audience.--Joe J. Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\