"[An] important, brain-tickling new book.... Laughlin's thesis is intriguing." ( New York Times Book Review ) In this age of superstring theories and Big Bang cosmology, we're used to thinking of the unknown as impossibly distant from our everyday lives. But in A Different Universe , Nobel Laureate Robert Laughlin argues that the scientific frontier is right under our fingers. Instead of looking for ultimate theories, Laughlin considers the world of emergent properties-meaning the properties, such as the hardness and shape of a crystal, that result from the organization of large numbers of atoms. Laughlin shows us how the most fundamental laws of physics are in fact emergent. A Different Universe is a truly mind-bending book that shows us why everything we think about fundamental physical laws needs to change. "I started reading and, clichŽ though it be, I couldn't stop. Despite the Nobel, Laughlin has an appealing, anarchic kind of sanity, and his company through this vivid and entertaining book is inspirational. A Different Universe should be required reading for physics researchers, teachers and students." ( New Scientist ) "Peppered with his imaginative illustrations, analogies and anecdotes." ( Philadelphia Inquirer )