The Impossible Man
Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius
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The Impossible Man
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Beville
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By:
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Patchen Barss
About this listen
The first biography—“a stunning achievement” (Kai Bird, American Prometheus)—of the dazzling and painful life of Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose.
When he was six years old, Roger Penrose discovered a sundial in a clearing near his house. Through that machine made of light, shadow, and time, Roger glimpsed a “world behind the world” of transcendently beautiful geometry. It spurred him on a journey to become one of the world’s most influential mathematicians, philosophers, and physicists.
Penrose would prove the limitations of general relativity, set a new agenda for theoretical physics, and astound colleagues and admirers with the elegance and beauty of his discoveries. However, as Patchen Barss documents in The Impossible Man, success came at a price: He was attuned to the secrets of the universe, but struggled to connect with loved ones, especially the women who care for or worked with him.
Both erudite and poetic, The Impossible Man draws on years of research and interviews, as well as previously unopened archives to present a moving portrait of Penrose the Nobel Prize-winning scientist and Roger the human being. It reveals not just the extraordinary life of Roger Penrose, but asks who gets to be a genius, and who makes the sacrifices that allow one man to be one.
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The Best of All Possible Worlds
- A Life of Leibniz in Seven Pivotal Days
- By: Michael Kempe, Marshall Yarbrough - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a "universal genius" who ranged across many fields and made breakthroughs in most of them. Leibniz invented calculus (independently from Isaac Newton), conceptualized the modern computer, and developed the famous thesis that the existing world is the best that God could have created.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great bio of Leibniz
- By JJ on 01-22-25
By: Michael Kempe, and others
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The Emperor's New Mind
- Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics
- By: Roger Penrose
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4 out of 5 stars 111
In this absorbing and frequently contentious book, Roger Penrose puts forward his view that there are some facets of human thinking that can never be emulated by a machine. The book's central concern is what philosophers call the "mind-body problem". Penrose examines what physics and mathematics can tell us about how the mind works, what they can't, and what we need to know to understand the physical processes of consciousness.
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2 out of 5 stars
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One one zero zero zero zero zero one zero zero ...
- By john galt on 12-10-19
By: Roger Penrose
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Waves in an Impossible Sea
- How Everyday Life Emerges from the Cosmic Ocean
- By: Matt Strassler
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
In Waves in an Impossible Sea, physicist Matt Strassler tells a startling tale of elementary particles, human experience, and empty space. He begins with a simple mystery of motion. When we drive at highway speeds with the windows down, the wind beats against our faces. Yet our planet hurtles through the cosmos at 150 miles per second, and we feel nothing of it. How can our voyage be so tranquil when, as Einstein discovered, matter warps space, and space deflects matter? The answer, Strassler reveals, is that empty space is a sea, albeit a paradoxically strange one.
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2 out of 5 stars
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No pdf
- By Mark on 01-14-25
By: Matt Strassler
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Why Machines Learn
- The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI
- By: Anil Ananthaswamy
- Narrated by: Rene Ruiz
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
We are living through a revolution in machine learning-powered AI that shows no signs of slowing down. This technology is based on relatively simple mathematical ideas, some of which go back centuries, including linear algebra and calculus, the stuff of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century mathematics. It took the birth and advancement of computer science and the kindling of 1990s computer chips designed for video games to ignite the explosion of AI that we see today. In this enlightening book, Anil Ananthaswamy explains the fundamental math behind machine learning.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great listen, but a physical book is pre appropriate
- By Sameer D. on 11-07-24
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Meet the Neighbors
- Animal Minds and Life in a More-than-Human World
- By: Brandon Keim
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2
In this wide-ranging exploration of animals' inner lives, Keim takes us into courtrooms and wildlife hospitals, under backyard decks and into deserts, to meet anew the wild creatures who populate our communities and the philosophers, rogue pest controllers, ecologists, wildlife doctors, and others who are reimagining our relationships to them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Meet Your Neighbors
- By Amazon Customer on 04-03-25
By: Brandon Keim
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The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved
- How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry
- By: Mario Livio
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they encountered the quintic equation, which resisted solution for three centuries. Working independently, two prodigies ultimately proved that the quintic cannot be solved by a simple formula. The first popular account of the mathematics of symmetry and order, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved is told not through abstract formulas but in a beautifully written and dramatic account of the lives and work of some of the greatest and most intriguing mathematicians in history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Historical Perspective Appreciated
- By Michael Hanrahan on 01-22-20
By: Mario Livio
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Euclid's Window
- The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 594
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 420
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 422
Through Euclid's Window Leonard Mlodinow brilliantly and delightfully leads us on a journey through five revolutions in geometry, from the Greek concept of parallel lines to the latest notions of hyperspace. Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow!
- By Eric on 08-13-10
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 641
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 544
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 546
Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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The Last Man Who Knew Everything
- The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age
- By: David N. Schwartz
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 374
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 322
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 321
In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything - at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By Peter Ryers on 01-16-18
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Everything Is Predictable
- How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World
- By: Tom Chivers
- Narrated by: Tom Chivers
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
At its simplest, Bayes’s theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event. But in Everything Is Predictable, Tom Chivers lays out how it affects every aspect of our lives. He explains why highly accurate screening tests can lead to false positives and how a failure to account for it in court has put innocent people in jail. A cornerstone of rational thought, many argue that Bayes’s theorem is a description of almost everything. But who was the man who lent his name to this theorem?
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1 out of 5 stars
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I was looking forward to this. What a disappointment.
- By Alessandro Fadini on 06-28-24
By: Tom Chivers
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What Is Real?
- The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
- By: Adam Becker
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 718
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 624
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 617
Every physicist agrees quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation and dismissed questions about the reality underlying quantum physics as meaningless. A mishmash of solipsism and poor reasoning, Copenhagen endured, as Bohr's students vigorously protected his legacy, and the physics community favored practical experiments over philosophical arguments.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good, "light" "read"... potential caveat below...
- By James S. on 03-31-18
By: Adam Becker
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Playing with Reality
- How Games Have Shaped Our World
- By: Kelly Clancy
- Narrated by: Patty Nieman
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
We play games to learn about the world, to understand our minds and the minds of others, and to make predictions about the future. Games are an essential aspect of humanity and a powerful tool for modeling reality. They’re also a lot of fun. But games can be dangerous, especially when we mistake the model worlds of games for reality itself and let gamification co-opt human decision making. Playing with Reality explores the riveting history of games since the Enlightenment.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fluidity of concept to reality explanation from the author
- By Rony exantus on 01-06-25
By: Kelly Clancy
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Into the Unknown
- The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
- By: Kelsey Johnson
- Narrated by: Kelsey Johnson
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story5 out of 5 stars 7
In Into the Unknown, astrophysicist Kelsey Johnson takes us to the edge of scientific understanding about the universe: What caused the Big Bang? What happens inside black holes? Are there other dimensions? She doesn’t just celebrate what we know but rather what we don’t, and asks what it means if we never find that knowledge. Exploring the convergence of science, philosophy, and theology, Johnson argues we must reckon with possibilities—including those that may be beyond human comprehension.
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5 out of 5 stars
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informative and insightful
- By Sandra Schoeb on 03-30-25
By: Kelsey Johnson
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Mathematica
- A Secret World of Intuition and Curiosity
- By: David Bessis, Kevin Frey - translator
- Narrated by: Mike Lenz
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
Math has a reputation for being inaccessible. People think that it requires a special gift or that comprehension is a matter of genes. Yet, the greatest mathematicians throughout history, from Rene Descartes to Alexander Grothendieck, have insisted that this is not the case.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great General Creativity Guide (w' math as a lens)
- By V. Bandy on 07-19-24
By: David Bessis, and others
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Blood Test
- A Comedy
- By: Charles Baxter
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 16
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Story3 out of 5 stars 16
In this fresh take on love and trouble in America, Brock Hobson, an insurance salesman and Sunday-school teacher, finds his equilibrium disturbed by the results of a predictive blood test. Baxter, a master storyteller, brings us a gradually building rollercoaster narrative, and a protagonist who is impertinent, searching, and hilariously relatable.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Creepy.. and also boring as hell
- By BallerinaAstronaut on 10-31-24
By: Charles Baxter
What listeners say about The Impossible Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-01-25
Extraordinary portrait of a flawed genius
His scientific achievements are lucidly described, which in itself would make this worth reading. But the depth and details of his relationships with his kith and kin and colleagues transforms this into a moving work of literature.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KA
- 01-15-25
beautiful language
excellent biography of one of the most significant scientists of our times. highly recommended for any one interested in fhe genius, flawed as it appears, behind some of the most brilliant ideas about cosmology
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 01-12-25
Flawed
The writing was good, and the details of Penrose’s private life were mildly interesting. Penrose’s contributions to physics are mentioned but not really explained at all, and Penrose’s views on consciousness are also mentioned, but not explored very deeply. If you want to expand your understanding of Penrose’s ideas on science, this book won’t help. If you want to hear about Penrose’s messed up family and love-life, well, this book kind of explores that. After finishing the book, I was a little sorry I read it. It felt a little like exploring a famous person’s trash can.
Penrose’s books are really pretty understandable (but do have quite a few equations, thus are not very popular). I would recommend reading the Penrose Wikipedia page for a more interesting read.
Some reviewers feel the author relied way too much on the 80 year old Penrose’s failing memories and viewpoints and did not capture the Penrose in his prime. I suspect there is some truth to this.
The narration was excellent.
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2 people found this helpful