Person
Every book Brian Greene recommended on podcasts
Brian Greene appears on podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience, Lex Fridman Podcast, and StarTalk Radio as a theoretical physicist and science communicator, discussing topics ranging from quantum gravity and the Big Bang to consciousness and human mortality. In the course of these conversations, Greene recommends and reflects on books that have deeply influenced his worldview. He frequently recommends William James's Varieties of Religious Experience, suggesting that more people should read the 1902 work to understand different states of consciousness, spiritual experiences, and rational approaches to religion. Greene also highlights the profound personal influence of Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death, using it to explore human behavior and our psychological relationship with mortality. In addition to these primary recommendations, he briefly discusses other scientifically and philosophically relevant works, such as Erwin Schrödinger's What Is Life? and Dennis Overbye's Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, weaving these texts into broader dialogues about the nature of existence and the history of scientific discovery.
Books recommended by Brian Greene
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The Varieties of Religious Experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience is a foundational 1902 psychological work by William James based on his lecture series regarding human consciousness and spiritual phenomena.
Recommended“there's a book that I think everybody should read it maybe you've read it William James's book varieties of religious experience it's old written back in 1902 William James great psychologist he gave some lectures in Scotland I think it was at the turn of the century and and he interviewed a whole host of people in order to get”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning psychological study that posits that human civilization, culture, and individual ambition are ultimately driven by an underlying, often unconscious fear of mortality.
Recommended“you know there's this wonderful book that had a great influence in me called the denial of death by ernest becker”
Where to get it
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Lonely hearts of the cosmos
Discussed“i think he wrote a book the lonely hearts of the cosmos which was about um two astronomers trying to find the scale of the universe”
Where to get it
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Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland
Mr.
Discussed“- Oh you mean "Mr. Tompkins Wonderland." - Yeah, "Mr. Tompkins Wonderland."”
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The elegant universe
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene is a bestselling popular science book that introduces readers to string theory, quantum mechanics, and the ongoing quest to find a unified theory of physics.
Discussed“my early books were all focused on trying to bring scientific ideas out to the general public now the elegant universe was about string theory that but the cosmos space and time hidden realities about multiple universes”
Where to get it
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The fabric of the cosmos
The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene is a popular-level physics book that explores space, time, and the fundamental nature of reality.
Discussed“my early books were all focused on trying to bring scientific ideas out to the general public now the elegant universe was about string theory that but the cosmos space and time hidden realities about multiple universes”
Where to get it
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The Principles of Psychology
The Principles of Psychology is a foundational 19th-century work by psychologist William James.
Discussed“and from that I went to read you know William James's book a varieties of religious experience”
Where to get it
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WHAT IS LIFE?.
Discussed“i mean so i have to ask as you described in your book once again uh schroedinger wrote the book what is life based on the few lectures he gave in 1944”
Where to get it
Books Brian Greene wrote
Appearances
Other mentions (10: passing, ad reads, own books)
“what have we been around for what 300,000 years 400,000 years it depends how you define the species but yeah that's not a bad number some people will go back to a million or so if you go back to early human species but yeah and compared to the length of time scales that compose reality from the beginning to”
“yeah the paperback of until the end of time is out today”
“and really that's in some sense what what my book until the end the time is all about”
“uh-oh so one of the things i describe in the book is that in the far future and that's where the book ends the thought is”
“and in many ways in my own book the one was coming out actually today until the end of time”
“and in many ways in my own book the one was coming out actually today until the end of time”
“I was in the middle of a big project in fact I describe this and toward the end of the book so you'll you'll get to this little anecdote if you choose to carry on reading”
“but the funny thing is in writing this book for the very first time I found that there were passages that I couldn't write if it was quiet”
“i I feel like I've moved in a significantly different direction through this book because yes there's science you know entropy evolution”
“- "The Hidden Reality." - "The Hidden Reality," thank you, thank you.”