Introducing Time: A Graphic Guide

a very informative and interesting book. it is an overview of the subject which clearly explains the differing viewpoints and theories of various philosophers and physicists concerning time - all the way from those who believe that time is an essential and absolute reality, to those, like goedel, who maintained that it is simply an illusion and does not even exist (the book clearly presents his reasoning for this conclusion.)

Gulp. Since this book sets out to explain concepts that originated with Einstein, it was perhaps predictable that this book was going to be a challenge. It was. The comic strip approach helps initially - and the graphics are amazing. But ultimately, it added to my frustration as subliminally I was feeling that I wasn't able to understand a kids comic. Not the best feeling. I managed to gain a little more knowledge about the topic - so kudos to the author for that. But I can't say that I got to the end feeling that I'd enjoyed the book. It was too much like hard work for that.

I found the way the book dealt with time done well, though the graphics didn't really add much. It was a bit of a distraction. If you want to know some of the theories regarding the arrow of time, is time real and can you travel back in time, it's worth a read.

The author did a very good job for introducing this big and diffuclt topic within simple paragraphs. Here I'll try to figure out the main points which are hidden in the structure of the book. In the beginning, the author started to talk about several concepts such as 1.Clocks 2.Psychological time 3.Time scenarios 4.Relationalism and absolute time 5.Relative and non-relative 6.Tenseless and tensed 7.Dimensions 8.Motion and change These conceptions can help us to rethink our world in several different ways. Then, he introduced special relativity--to explain Time Travel is logical possible(under the classical logic: A=A).It means that we can not violate the rule "A=A" when we think about Time travel. Further, he continued to discuss General relativity to explain--is it possible for phyical Time Travel? After that,he used a very good,in my opinion,method- Thermodynamics- to explain: 1.where and how did the universe come from? 2.what possible will the universe be in the future? According to a great German philosopher-Kant,we human beings carry a piror facualty-Time,Space,Cause,Effect- when we were born. We percept our surrounding under this framework. Hence,to understand these categories (Time,Space,Cause,Effect) are important. Physics has devoted a big part to Time and Space(or Timespace). In history, many great thinkers-such as Newton, Einstein-proposed thier unique worldview of space and time to promote human beings' intellection. The book included their conceptions and discussed two of categories well. I do not have any background of physics. However, I bet that even you are in lack of fundemental knowledge of physics, you still can learn about "Time(Space)" through this book. Finally, I have to say again that the author introduced the difficult topic very well. By the way, I think my review may be more suitable for someone who has finished the book than those who don't. p.s.Sorry for my poor English.

I know even less about time than I did before reading this book, which means this book did its philosophical job.

It's not that the back is not good quality....it just isn't good for ME. It was way too technical and I found myself unable to follow the concepts. But when it comes right down to it, I may not have been that interested, either. The graphics were great and what grabbed my attention in the first in place. So I recommend the book for those who really want to learn more about time, literally.

Great introduction to the concept of "Time". This book, with it's comic book style illustrations and easy to digest content, helps one begin to fathom the many complexities and paradoxes inherent in our current understanding of "time".

It’s difficult to wrap one’s mind around every concept, but this material is enough to instigate a way of thinking not conventional to the normal way of life. It’s enough to demonstrate how little we understand about the universe.