In his most ambitious book yet, Clifford Pickover bridges the gulf between logic, spirit, science, and religion. While exploring the concept of omniscience, Pickover explains the kinds of relationships limited beings can have with an all-knowing God. Pickover's thought exercises, controversial experiments, and practical analogies help us transcend our ordinary lives while challenging us to better understand our place in the cosmos and our dreams of a supernatural God. Through an inventive blend of science, history, philosophy, science fiction, and mind-stretching brainteasers, Pickover unfolds the paradoxes of God like no other writer. He provides glimpses into the infinite, allowing us to think big, and to have daring, limitless dreams.
From Publishers Weekly
Pickover, an inventor, computer artist and professional puzzler (who has edited brainteaser columns for both Discover and Odyssey), invites readers on a paradoxical and sometimes merely quirky exploration of logical and psychological puzzles surrounding God and religion. Many of these "paradoxes" simply put a new face on the familiar conflict between divine foreknowledge and free will; others lead to unexpected conclusions such as Pickover's demonstration of how omniscient beings are at a huge disadvantage in games of "chicken" with non-omniscient beings. (By staying the course, a daring challenger can compel an all-knowing opponent to turn aside, guaranteeing their mutual safety.) This and other examples show how omniscience can become a practical liability in some situations, countering the widespread assumption that knowledge is power. The book is also liberally salted with religious and nonreligious curiosities and conundrums, ranging from biblical oddities to the neuropsychology of time perception, all related with an attitude of mischievous irreverence...
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