Fear of a Black Universe An Outsider's Guide to the Future of Physics

by Alexander, Stephon

• ISBN13: 9781541604223
• ISBN10: 1541604229
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-09-05
• Publisher: Basic Books
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Summary

A top cosmologist argues that physics must embrace the excluded and listen to the unheard  

“A brief yet undiluted history of the most groundbreaking discoveries that have shaped our understanding of the universe, peering into the unlit horizons of its future.” ―Maria Popova, The Marginalian 

When asked by a legendary theoretical physicist why he had attended graduate school, cosmologist Stephon Alexander answered: “To become a better physicist.” As a young student, he could hardly have anticipated his mentor’s response: “Then stop reading those physics books.” Instead, he said, Alexander should start listening to his dreams.  
 
This is only the first of the many lessons in Fear of a Black Universe. As Alexander explains, greatness in physics requires transgression, a willingness to reject conventional expectations. He shows why progress happens when some physicists come to think outside the mainstream, and why, as in great jazz, great physics requires a willingness to make things up as one goes along.  
 
Taken as a whole, these lessons provide a unique look at the art of thinking big. 

Author Biography

Stephon Alexander is a professor of theoretical physics at Brown University, an established jazz musician, and an immigrant from Trinidad who grew up in the Bronx. He is the 2020 president of the National Society of Black Physicists and a founding faculty Director of Brown University's Presidential Scholars program, which boosts underrepresented students. In addition to his academic achievements, he was the scientific consultant to Ava DuVernay for the feature film A Wrinkle in Time. His work has been featured by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, WIRED, and many other outlets. He has been a guest on Nova, the “Brian Lehrer Show”, and Neil deGrasse Tyson's “StarTalk,” among much else. The author of Fear of a Black Universe and The Jazz of Physics, Alexander lives in Providence, Rhode Island.