Overview: Ever since the human mind awoke to its own existence, it has wondered about its cosmic significance. By dispelling myths and religious convictions, science entered the arena of explanatory templates.

A tectonic shift in understanding began when the mind started decoding the universe’s mathematical language. To this day, the technological prowess unleashed by scientific knowledge remains awe-inspiring. However, science excluded two crucial domains from its field of inquiry.

Verdict: Firstly, the formation of complex systems--especially metabolic structures--appears to defy the physics of cosmic disorder and decay. Then, the nature of consciousness itself was deemed unworthy of academic discourse until not too long ago.

Furthermore, the adoption of physicalism as a metaphysical foundation for science was an enormously consequential choice, erroneously seen today as integral to science.

This book chronicles an ongoing paradigm shift affecting physics and philosophy. Consciousness is rediscovered at the core of existence, expressing an intrinsic yearning for cosmic complexity, while the fabric of reality is woven from threads of information.

In what is a most penetrating inquiry into the nature of reality, one that cleverly, albeit with poise, educational preciseness and an almost intuitive distinctiveness toward physics, philosophy, complexity theory, psychology, psychedelics, and so much more, author James B. Glattfelder deep dives into our culture’s deepest metaphysical convictions, whilst at the same time providing an impassioned, yet profoundly insightful set of prose to enable us to formulate our own questions on the subject matter to hand.

Ever since the human mind awoke to its own existence, it has wondered about its cosmic significance. By generating knowledge about the external world, the mind decoded the most intimate aspects of reality, nurturing ever more stunning technological prowess.

To this day, the only definition of consciousness that enjoys widespread usage is a question asked in 1974: What is it like to be something? This idea first appeared in a famous publication by the philosopher Thomas Nagel, called What is It Like To Be a Bat? A being is conscious empty if it experiences reality from a private, subjective point of view. There is something that is like to be that eternity.

But, as the author himself states, in stark contrast, the mind’s apparent inability to comprehend its own nature appears bitterly cynical. Is consciousness really an unfathomable enigma? Are we condemned to inhabit a reality that denies us insights into the structure of our inner universe? Without any guiding principle, we seem lost in a futile battle of metaphysical convictions and clashing ontologies.

Exploring the structure of existence, from fundamental theories of physics to the emergence of complexity, including the accompanying philosophical insights, and what is within a massive tome of‎ 776 pages, Glattfelder’s third book marks a journey spanning over 10 years. Exploring the nature of consciousness and reality, examining how the two are connected and what it all means, proves that he is, and without a shadow of a doubt, a master of his chosen narrative.

About the Author - James B. Glattfelder is an author, academic, and quantitative researcher interested in the foundations of reality, the nature of consciousness, and the limits of knowledge. He has been invited as a speaker to various international academic and non-academic events, and multiple media outlets have featured his research. He holds an M.Sc. in theoretical physics and a Ph.D. in complexity science.

For sixteen years, James worked in the traditional finance industry next to the distributed ledger ecosystem and was also a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich. James lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

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