Amazon.com
As a scientist, Albert Einstein is undoubtedly the most epic among 20th-century thinkers. Albert Einstein as a man, however, has been a much harder portrait to paint, and what we know of him as a husband, father, and friend is fragmentary at best. With Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson (author of the bestselling biographies Benjamin Franklin and Kissinger) brings Einstein's experience of life, love, and intellectual discovery into brilliant focus. The book is the first biography to tackle Einstein's enormous volume of personal correspondence that heretofore had been sealed from the public, and it's hard to imagine another book that could do such a richly textured and complicated life as Einstein's the same thoughtful justice. Isaacson is a master of the form and this latest opus is at once arresting and wonderfully revelatory. --Anne Bartholomew
Read "The Light-Beam Rider," the first chapter of Walter Isaacson's Einstein: His Life and Universe.
Five Questions for Walter Isaacson
Amazon.com: What kind of scientific education did you have to give yourself to be able to understand and explain Einstein's ideas?
Isaacson: I've always loved science, and I had a group of great physicists--such as Brian Greene, Lawrence Krauss, and Murray Gell-Mann--who tutored me, helped me learn the physics, and checked various versions of my book. I also learned the tensor calculus underlying general relativity, but tried to avoid spending too much time on it in the book. I wanted to capture the imaginative beauty of Einstein's scientific leaps, but I hope folks who want to delve more deeply into the science will read Einstein books by such scientists as Abraham Pais, Jeremy Bernstein, Brian Greene, and others.
Amazon.com: That Einstein was a clerk in the Swiss Patent Office when he revolutionized our understanding of the physical world has often been treated as ironic or even absurd. But you argue that in many ways his time there fostered his discoveries. Could you explain?
Isaacson: I think he was lucky to be at the patent office rather than serving as an acolyte in the academy trying to please senior professors and teach the conventional wisdom. As a patent examiner, he got to visualize the physical realities underlying scientific concepts. He had a boss who told him to question every premise and assumption. And as Peter Galison shows in Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps, many of the patent applications involved synchronizing clocks using signals that traveled at the speed of light. So with his office-mate Michele Besso as a sounding board, he was primed to make the leap to special relativity.
Amazon.com: That time in the patent office makes him sound far more like a practical scientist and tinkerer than the usual image of the wild-haired professor, and more like your previous biographical subject, the multitalented but eminently earthly Benjamin Franklin. Did you see connections between them?
Isaacson: I like writing about creativity, and that's what Franklin and Einstein shared. They also had great curiosity and imagination. But Franklin was a more practical man who was not very theoretical, and Einstein was the opposite in that regard.
Amazon.com: Of the many legends that have accumulated around Einstein, what did you find to be least true? Most true?
Isaacson: The least true legend is that he failed math as a schoolboy. He was actually great in math, because he could visualize equations. He knew they were nature's brushstrokes for painting her wonders. For example, he could look at Maxwell's equations and marvel at what it would be like to ride alongside a light wave, and he could look at Max Planck's equations about radiation and realize that Planck's constant meant that light was a particle as well as a wave. The most true legend is how rebellious and defiant of authority he was. You see it in his politics, his personal life, and his science.
Amazon.com: At Time and CNN and the Aspen Institute, you've worked with many of the leading thinkers and leaders of the day. Now that you've had the chance to get to know Einstein so well, did he remind you of anyone from our day who shares at least some of his remarkable qualities?
Isaacson: There are many creative scientists, most notably Stephen Hawking, who wrote the essay on Einstein as "Person of the Century" when I was editor of Time. In the world of technology, Steve Jobs has the same creative imagination and ability to think differently that distinguished Einstein, and Bill Gates has the same intellectual intensity. I wish I knew politicians who had the creativity and human instincts of Einstein, or for that matter the wise feel for our common values of Benjamin Franklin.
More to Explore
Book Description
By the author of the acclaimed bestseller Benjamin Franklin, this is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available.
How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.
These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2007-10-07
A wonderful book which gives full and equal weight to both the man and the ideas which made him great, as well as the lasting place of those ideas in the history of scientific thought, if not of human thought itself. And on that latter point, the reader's debt to Isaacson is undoubtedly primarily for his continuing emphasis on Einstein's modus operandi: thought experiments, by which through the exercise merely of pure thought and a perspective unhampered by received wisdoms, a man was able to change millennia-old views of how we viewed the universe, and by extension, changed the universe itself. Whose thinking could remain uninfluenced by such a display of the power of thought?
Absolutely Fantastic.......2007-10-03
This biography reads like a story, creating suspense and other emotions that you experince while reading fiction. Einstein provides great insight into Einstein's mind and life. Highly recommended.
Greatest Book Ever on Einstein.......2007-10-03
I am 75 years old and have read over a dozen books on Einstein and his work, including his own. This is the best book ever on the personal life and tribulations of a great scientist as he trys to get his work done. With all the flaws and worts of a human the scientist struggles on.
Good, comprehensive look at the man..........2007-10-03
This is a good, comprehensive look at the life and career of Einstein. It is a bit long winded. But, the details are enlightening and well researched and documented. And, I learned a lot I didn't know about his life, times, and mentality.
I recommend the book to fans and those who want to understand what made this genius tick.
good but too long.......2007-10-01
This is really a good book. Mostly becuase Einstein was a great man and did amazing work. But it is not a great book becuase it gets too bogged down in his personal life. When the author is describing his miracle year of 1905 and then ten years later his theory of general relativitiy there is a sense of excitement and wonder. Unfortanately after that the book wanders around aimlessly. I really did not want to hear every tedious detail of his divorce or his (at times) acrimonious relationship with his first wife. It all feels like filler and a distraction from the amazing work that this man did. I'm sad to say but Einstein's personal life is not anywhere near as exciting as his great discoveries and to devote almost the entire book to his personal life seems like a waste of time.
Book Description
People have long gazed in wonder at the universe and asked, Why are we here? Until recently, the answer has been the province of priests and philosophers, but now scientists are starting to weigh in with ideas that are both surprising and deeply controversial. In his new book, physicist Paul Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many basic features of the physical universe— from the speed of light to the most humble carbon atom—seem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory says it’s because our universe is just one of an infinite number of universes, each one slightly different. Our universe is bio-friendly by accident; we just happened to win the cosmic jackpot. While this multiverse theory is compelling, it has bizarre implications, from infinite copies of each of us to Matrix-like simulated universes. Davies believes there’s a more satisfying solution to the question of existence: the observations we make today could help shape the nature of reality in the remote past. If this is true, then life and, ultimately, consciousness aren’t just incidental byproducts of nature, but central players in the formation of the universe.
Customer Reviews:
Reading Jackpot.......2007-10-02
Very interesting reading, captivating topics, most definitely a great source of reflection. Without diminishing the fascination of the big bang and inflation theories, I enjoyed more the second half, related to the fundamental questions about Universe and Existence. I found out for the first time about a possible Self-Explaining and Self-Determined Universe, where our existence could have a special and privileged meaning. Some parts of the book seemed a bit inclined towards dry classifications as opposed to elaborate dissertations "Elegant Universe" style.
A good exposition of physical theories for the uninitiated.......2007-10-02
Having read his scientific arguments in the rest of the book, I was somewhat surprised (although he says his inclinations "will be clear") by the author's concluding section (p.267), where he states, "I do take life, mind, and purpose seriously, and I concede that the universe at least appears[italicized word] to be designed with a high level of ingenuity".
Elsewhere (p.196) he contrastingly says, "If there is a designer, then this being is clearly not micromanaging the process very well", and alleges some "design flaws". Interestingly, he also writes (p.192) that biological organisms "look nothing short of miraculous. The many and diverse components function together in a coherent and amazingly orchestrated manner", and that the living cell contains "exquisite examples of nanotechnology", and so forth.
To add to these conflicting observations, the author downgrades the Intelligent Design movement, an American defense of the idea that organisms have an intelligent designer. Perhaps he does so because he is British, since other Brits have that attitude, but what seems truly unfortunate is that the Intelligent Design group is the only one he denigrates with name-calling. He speaks of their being "political" (p.284n.8), their "propaganda" (p.196), not to mention "confusions".
Not to be misunderstood, I love Americans and Brits equally (I am of middle-European Jewish birth), but I consider the Intelligent Design group just as honorable and intelligent as others, though I hold, like other cases, its arguments deficient. Presently, my concentration is on the author discussed, and I find numerous weaknesses in his argumentation.
He puts special emphasis on the concept of explanation. To him every fact must be explained; otherwise it must be "taken on faith" (p.217). He illustrates this on that page and the preceding one with humorous pictures in which the Earth is "explained by a deeper reality" of resting on an elephant, the elephant explained by resting on a turtle, which rests on another turtle, and, to "avoid infinite regress", last is "a levitating super-turtle, which is self-explaining and self-supporting".
The trouble is that the author is unclear about what he means by "explanation", by a "reason", and why some is always necessary. There exist various "reasons". A most common one is giving a cause for an event. Another one is giving a proof for a logical or mathematical proposition. All these have the purpose of satisfying some desire for resulting knowledge. But much of knowledge is gained directly, without explanation, by for instance any immediate perception of something. Laws pertaining to things are likewise often learned from experience, without need of further explanation, unless an underlying broader law might be helpful. The point is that once certain facts are learned, they become objects of knowledge, whether or not one learns more about them. If accordingly the existence of God, considered as a "super-turtle", is the question, it is beside the point whether or not "God exists reasonlessly" (p.219).
Returning to the first-mentioned last section (p.267), the author disputes there a like "exist reasonlessly", but this time appears to connote an additional sense of "a reason", namely "a purpose". He evidently means that, with the universe "a package of marvels", he takes "life [and] mind...seriously" as resulting by some "purpose", saying, "It seems to me that there is a genuine scheme of things--the universe is 'about' something". However, in Darwinian fashion he says, "I do not believe Homo sapiens to be more than an accidental by-product of haphazard natural processes". Here goes inconsistency again; he believes in both, life (and mind) as purposeful and as accidental.
Let me observe for one again that mind, consciousness, is the medium by which all reality is known. One is reminded of Berkeley's dictum, "To be is to be perceived" (Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues (Oxford World's Classics)). It is hard to explain how a world can be certain to exist if unperceived, that is without live beings like us perceiving it. As regards life itself, in that last section the reviewed author wonders about a "life principle", and one can indeed speak of life in terms of purpose, as I have tried to convey in reviews before and especially, among other issues concerning knowledge, in my book On Proof for Existence of God, and Other Reflective Inquiries. Unlike held by scientists for whom, as the author notes in that section, "any suggestion of a teleological (purposive) trend...is anathema", purpose in life is so glaringly staring us in the face that it may be for that reason this purpose is completely overlooked: All of life is characterized by its unceasing purpose of action toward self-preservation.
It is satisfying to me that the author considers at least this "half-glimpsed life principle". He, as indicated, is besides lucidly informative of contemporary theories, even if I personally question the correctness of a number of them. I accordingly gladly recommend the book for its educational worth.
Almost there!.......2007-09-19
This is the first popular cosmology book I have read in years. (They were getting a bit samey - big bang, quantum theory, multiverse etc etc.) But this book is an interesting addition to the genre. Anyone reading this, whether a born-again Christian or a convinced MWI atheist, will have his thoughts well and truly provoked.
I get the feeling that we are almost there. Just one little brainwave away from linking consciousness and the universe to explain the whole shebang. If it comes to me, I'll let you know.
A summary of the cutting edge ideas.......2007-09-01
This book talks about everything that is known about cosmology as of 2007. The author argues with an anthropic bias, the theories of the origin of the universe. He tries to make sense of the many questions, like why we are here, why the universe is as we see it, what is it that breaths fire into the equations etc. In the light of all theories about the universe, the author attempts a synopsis of which one makes more sense than the other. Again his main criterion is which theory gives life, mind and consciousness a priority and tries to incorporate them as a fundamental thing in universe. He also argues for the Goldilocks universe, that is everything in this universe looks too right for life to evolve, saying that any theory that talks about the origin of the universe must explain these anthropic conditions. Theory of Multiverse is just a Platonic scapegoat to all these questions. This book teaches you not to indulge into too much of mathematics, but to pause and ponder where are we heading and also what are we doing, and ask oneself the question whether it all makes sense or not.
broad.......2007-08-31
Very good in all respect. Broad and up to date view of the universe and a deep discussion of the problem (or solution) of God. Religions, long time ago, tried to explain the creation of the world and science took this task afterwards. The bigbang and a single universe extremely biofriendly (why?)seems almost an probabilistic absurd (without God). Than (using strig theories) science invented (or discovery)a multiverse, whith an infinity number of diferent universes, and ours is one of them. Whith an infinity number, some should be biofriendly. But this also is problematic because send the problem a step backward. The solution (up to now) is a loop, a self creating universe cosmos/life/mind/cosmos ...
Book Description
What would you do if you were sitting quietly in your living room when a mysterious couple appeared from out of nowhere - and then told you they were "ascended masters" who had come to reveal some shocking secrets of existence and teach you the miraculous powers of advanced forgiveness? Would you call the cops? Call a psychiatrist? Call out for pizza?
When two such teachers appeared before Gary Renard in 1992, he chose to listen to them (and ask a lot of impertinent questions). The result is this startling book: an extraordinary record of 17 mind-bending conversations that took place over nearly a decade, reorienting the author's life and giving the world an uncompromising introduction to a spiritual teaching destined to change human history.
Customer Reviews:
You definately need to be open minded to read this.......2007-10-09
This is interesting and different from anything I'd ever read before! I don't believe everyone should read this book. I know many people who are just not ready or open minded enough to accept some of what's covered/proposed here and would end up vehemently opposing it. The first time I read this I honestly didn't know what to think. I was shocked really. Many of the things this guy was saying was just out of bounds of the 'conditioning' I grew up with. I initially checked this out from the library and returned it without having made it thru the first chapter. Then, several weeks later, I ordered it kind of by accident (a recommendation from another source)and was surprised to see that this was the same book I had checked out and returned mostly unread. I think things happen for a reason, and so I thought obviously I was supposed to read this book.
This guy has had the experience of two spiritual instructors who materialize to him on several different occassions and set him straight on how things really are. They are from his past and his future. As far as the information they conveyed, I'm thinking, how could they know all of those things if they were not who they claimed to be, and why would they and Gary lie about it? Some things were easier for me to accept than others. But, that doesn't mean that I don't believe it all, it just means that I don't exactly understand it all, so therefore I won't say that it's not true, because I really don't know. Some things I just need to think about a little longer I guess.
I still pick this up and read it now and then. I have underlined and made notes to myself which I have found helpful. I was glad to have read this before I started 'A Course In Miracles'. Otherwise, I think I would have had a harder time with that. This was like a primer to get me ready for the concepts presented in ACIM.
This book has the power to change the world!.......2007-10-03
I am recommending this book whenever and wherever I have the chance to. I suffered all my life from a traumatic and tragic childhood until I read this book and began practicing true forgiveness. Mr.Renard's teachings showed me a new way to view this world and a new way to forgive. My life is forever changed. If I can heal from sexual assault, deaths, and a lifetime of suicidal depression than so can others. This book has the power to change the world, one life at a time.
Everyone must read this book!.......2007-10-01
This is a life changing book. A must read by everyone. I loved it.
Interested in A Course in Miracles?.......2007-10-01
Disappearance of the Universe has captured the interest not only of those that are new or unfamiliar with A Course in Miracles, but also by the vast majority of us that have been studying the Course for years.
The principles of the Course are presented in an easy-to-understand format, his premise involving conversations with Arten & Pursah, two ascended masters who appeared to him in his living room. Whether or not the reader believes in the appearance of these two is secondary, in my opinion, to the spiritual truths revealed in his book.
Disappearance of the Universe is not only introducing thousands to A Course in Miracles, it is also re energizing many long-time students of the Course with a fresh perspective and newfound zeal with which to continue their studies. Though a later book has been written and published by the author, if you're curious about or interested in knowing more about A Course in Miracles, this is the book to read.
Thanks for the great book, Gary!
a fascinating, reviting read!.......2007-09-30
I loved this book. It was very exciting. What an awesome experience (some would find it terrifing) to be visited by 2 spirits in physical form. I had been struggling to read A Course In Miracles and this book made that book more understandable, more relevant. I recommend everyone read this book before ACIM. The wisdom that is shared with us through his visitors is priceless. It was awesome to watching Gary change and grow over the course of their visits... With their insight and his determination to implement the studies of ACIM. It made me realize how important our lives are...and gave me a real sense of "what it is all about". His book also helped me to be prepared and even delight in the changes that ACIM brings to you. Thanks Gary! I am looking forward to reading more of your books!
Amazon.com
Richard Dawkins is not a shy man. Edward Larson's research shows that most scientists today are not formally religious, but Dawkins is an in-your-face atheist in the witty British style:
I want to persuade the reader, not just that the Darwinian world-view happens to be true, but that it is the only known theory that could, in principle, solve the mystery of our existence.
The title of this 1986 work, Dawkins's second book, refers to the Rev. William Paley's 1802 work, Natural Theology, which argued that just as finding a watch would lead you to conclude that a watchmaker must exist, the complexity of living organisms proves that a Creator exists. Not so, says Dawkins: "All appearances to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature is the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way... it is the blind watchmaker."
Dawkins is a hard-core scientist: he doesn't just tell you what is so, he shows you how to find out for yourself. For this book, he wrote Biomorph, one of the first artificial life programs. You can check Dawkins's results on your own Mac or PC.
Book Description
"The best general account of evolution I have read in recent years."—E. O. Wilson. With a new introduction.
Twenty years after its original publication, The Blind Watchmaker, framed with a new introduction by the author, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the eighteenth-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin's brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte. Natural selection—the unconscious, automatic, blind, yet essentially nonrandom process Darwin discovered—is the blind watchmaker in nature.
Customer Reviews:
Makes evolution understandable.......2007-10-02
It is some years since I read this excellent book on evolution. But I still remember it as the book that really laid out the nuts and bolts of the process and made it easy to understand at the "Ah now I see" level. I know of no better layman's guide to evolution.
"Passionate advocacy" and storytelling: 2 stars?.......2007-10-02
". . . there are wonderful stories to be told, and I love storytelling." Dawkins, tBW, chapter 2.
It must be admitted that Dawkins is an entertaining expositor, at least when he avoids repetition and a bad habit of prolonged hammering away at very simple concepts, often for pages on end, as if his assertions and arguments were more difficult to grasp than they actually are. In some instances he explains rather well, in comfortably pedestrian language, certain specific biological details, but when he tries to generalize and extend his views to larger scale philosophical perspectives, his assertions quickly disintegrate under critical scrutiny. All things considered, TBW isn't very impressive.
Dawkins states early on that he is writing from the perspective of a "passionate advocate" rather than that of a scientist proceeding along lines of argument that might be recognized as being scientific. He says that he does this because the reader can't grasp the science involved, therefore he is to invoke "wonderful stories." He frets that some will not believe him because they do not "want to believe." Dawkins wants to believe.
I find it curiously disingenuous, perhaps even insulting and intellectually evasive on Dawkins' part, that he suggests he must deal in metaphors and stories because his readers are too stupid (no, he doesn't use the word `stupid', but this is what he repeatedly describes) to understand his deep, scientific understanding of the Darwinian story. His lengthy insistence that evolution has hard-wired us to be unable to understand and appreciate echolocation in bats, is obviously wrong. In Dawkins' hands, this kind of suggestion is supposed to, in its own merit, buttress some of his arguments (see the following paragraph). A thinking person begs to differ. Many of the most brilliant and penetrating minds of modern theoretical science and mathematics, including Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, John von Neumann, and Kurt Gödel, among others, have found the Darwinian story to be non-compelling at best, and on some points glaringly wrong. Dawkins may want to dismiss them as `not wanting to believe' or as being somehow stupid, but . . .
Dawkins: "Our minds can't cope with [large numbers] . . . Our minds can't imagine a time span [greater or less than `routine' human experience]," because "it offends the economically minded human." Dawkins says "there was no need for our ancestors to cope with sizes and times outside the narrow range of everyday practicality, so our brains never evolved the capacity to imagine them." Dawkins loves this mythic defense and ducks behind it frequently, but it is a hapless argument. It is "a slander against humanity," as one philosopher of science has stated, and it is self evidently wrong. The human mind can certainly `imagine' larger numbers than we experience in "routine experience!" Consider for a mere moment the insights of a Gauss, Cantor, or Riemann; consider that even a modestly competent math student CAN not only imagine very large and very small numbers [including quantities of distance and time units], but CAN engage and manipulate these numbers accurately, often rather easily when abstracted with recognizable notations like exponents!
It is not a matter of this _kind_ of observation being inherently untrue; many physicists, including Paul Dirac, have spoken this way about quantum mechanics, for example. Indeed it is difficult to understand quantum mechanics because neither Bohr's complimentarity principle nor Heisenberg's uncertainty principle have any obvious analogs within normal human experience, let alone the way in which these two surprising qualities are entangled. But this observation is fundamentally different than Dawkins' argument that humans cannot understand imaging with non-visible frequencies or what to make of big numbers! Anyone curious person who has ever considered a sonogram or x-ray image, or seen a movie featuring submariners watching sonar screens, grasps non-visual spectrum images, and any modestly competent high school student well understands what large numbers are!
Dawkins' sluggardly argument "whistles past the graveyard" that is home to a real problem for the great Darwinian thesis: why should our abilities to examine non-commutative algebras or higher dimensional topologies or even advanced number theory [or any of the more esoteric fields of mathematics] exist at all in a Darwinian world? Certainly not for any of the rationales that Dawkins appeals to. They provide no survival or reproductive advantage within evolutionary `routine experience,' or in any other sense whatsoever. They avail "the selfish gene" nothing. They exist as a non-Darwinian/ anti-Dawkins reality.
Dawkins says that "5 per cent of an eye" would probably provide "5 per cent vision." Skepticism seems reasonable here, except perhaps for those who "want to believe." He presents many such dubious assertions, like: "living organisms exist for the benefit of DNA rather than the other way around" (ultimately--in DNA--teleology and `purpose' are alive and well!) and, "DNA molecules themselves, as physical entities, are like dewdrops" (true in a very limited and caricatured sense perhaps, but grossly misleading, to put it mildly). Presumably Dawkins would deflect criticism of some such colorful assertions by claiming them mere metaphors. Okay, but what then are the actual `truths' he is trying to demonstrate? Can they be stated precisely or directly and seem less cartoonish? Or are his readers merely too stupid for the `scientific' explanations that he is protecting them from? (With apologies to Dawkins' fans who might consider the last question a cheap shot [I do not].)
There are so many aspects of Dawkins' book that beg critical analysis, that, in the desire to keep this review short, I will have to simply point some of them out briefly before moving forward: (1.) His programmed stick figure "bio-morphs" obviously have been brought into `existence' by design, in an intelligently designed `world,' and for a specific purpose, how does this support his "without purpose" and "without design" doctrine? (2.) His `typing monkeys,' borrowed from one of his heroes, TH Huxley, is hopelessly burdened with design, purpose and intelligent contrivance--who builds the typewriters, who made the language and symbols thereof that the builder of the typewriters clearly needed as a starting point, who makes the paper (cuts and mills the trees, etc), who keeps those 99.999. . . percent of monkeys that would simply smash the typewriters away from them and keeps that rare typing monkey on task?--again, how could any of this support his "without purpose" and "without design" doctrine? He eventually (chapt 6) admits that it does not. (3.) His computer program designed to derive a sentence from Hamlet, if given the necessary letters to work with, and if specifically designed to achieve a specific result, will do so--well folks, are you beginning to see a pattern here? Design is supposed to equal no design! Dawkins' core thesis in TBW, as presented in the book's subtitle, "the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design," fails utterly in all of his memorable and now famous arguments, no matter what points concerning natural selection one may believe he has made cleanly.
"It could happen:" Dawkins' most fundamental and foundational arguments and speculations are also his most flawed, and are appropriately employed in the center of the book, chapter six, "Origins and miracles." Here Dawkins quickly demands that an extra-cosmic designer (God) must be an "organized complexity" that evolves naturally within an infinite regress of causes. This is certainly a convenient construction, as it makes "god" quite expendable by definition, but the definition is poor quality straw. The god whose fire he steals is not the "simple unity" or the "first cause of causes" that one finds in either Abrahamic or neo-Platonic theology. His wrong argument simply defeats a wrong god. He next sketches a somewhat accurate picture of the profound difficulties of `abiogenesis'/ `autogenesis'/ `spontaneous generation' of life theories. He says that to effectively put these problems aside, we only need to imagine that these difficulties were somehow overcome--"it must have happened." The "pathway" model he chooses to champion as being plausible is due to Graham Cairns-Smith, and goes something very like this:
Carbon macromolecules, proteins and nucleic acids, necessary to all carbon-based life, that is all life that we know of, are so complex that it is hopelessly difficult to imagine them arising spontaneously in any non-living substratum. That Stanley Miller and others have synthesized amino acids is of no real help here, the gap between mere amino acids and the highly complex carbon macromolecules is too great. So let's imagine something simpler, that silicon-base lattices are "life-like" in that they are "organized" and rudimentarily "complex." Now imagine that non-directed geological and meteorological forces in some sense "select" certain silicon dust crystals such that they accumulate and form larger "organizations." Now imagine that these silicon "organizations" become something that might be described as "RNA-like" mud. Now imagine that actual RNA begins to "take over" the "RNA-like" mud. Carbon macromolecules somehow have arisen and now somehow replace silicon structures. Viola! "Life-like" "organizations" of "RNA-like" mud are now organizations of RNA and RNA organizations eventually become DNA organizations and "life-like" organizations become life. Inorganic structures somehow `commute' to carbon molecules. Mineral (silicon being the best candidate) crystal `genes' commute to carbon-based genes, RNA "takes over" "RNA-like", DNA eventually takes over. I suppose this is plausible for a `true believer' for whom the proper kind of `imagination' is sufficient, but it's not plausible in any scientific sense. The entire heart of the original problem remains intact. Where did the carbon macromolecules come from? How did RNA "appear"?
Dawkins defense of this problem is interestingly empty and invokes "a marble statue of the Virgin Mary suddenly" waving its hand at us. Here it is: "In the case of the marble statue, molecules in solid marble are continuously jostling against one another in random directions. The jostlings of the different molecules cancel one another out, so the whole hand of the statue stays still. But if, by sheer coincidence, all the molecules just happened to move in the same direction at the same moment, the hand would move. If they then all reversed direction at the same moment the hand would move back. In this way it is possible for a marble statue to wave at us. It could happen. The odds against such a coincidence are unimaginably great but they are not incalculably great. A physicist colleague has kindly calculated them for me. The number is so large that the entire age of the universe so far is too short a time to write out all the noughts! It is theoretically possible for a cow to jump over the moon with something like the same improbability. The conclusion to this part of the argument is that we can calculate our way into regions of miraculous improbability far greater than we can imagine as plausible."
All that is left to Dawkins is to again regale our inability to imagine numbers "so large that the entire age of the universe so far is too short a time to write out all the noughts!" It's the final sum of his argument--we don't have good enough imaginations! It is interesting that Dawkins doesn't recognize that this same specie of argument can more easily be employed to defend belief in a First Cause of causes (here Dawkins seems to have a contentedly parochial imagination). And of course, neither a cow jumping over the moon nor a marble statue waving at us either establishes or quantifies the plausibility of life spontaneously arising from non-life.
Although his deepest philosophical assertions fail grandly, although he is repetitive and wordy, and although he is given to belittling his readers' intelligence even while trying to educate and entertain them, the book has its moments; Dawkins certainly doesn't get EVERYTHING wrong, he IS at times entertaining, and this book isn't as bad as The Selfish Gene.
Please Read (Especially if You're Religious)!.......2007-09-29
I have a degree in English and American Literature and my minor was in History. In other words, I'm not great at science or math. But I've always been interested in some aspects of science and biology and evolution happen to be subjects I like. I'm not a complete moron when it comes to scientific subjects but I'm sure any 8th grade science geek could probably run rings around me.
Consequently, this book by Richard Dawkins is made for me. The way I understood it it was written with a general reader in mind. The book is well written and plausibly argued. And as long as you pay attention and follow the logic of the author's arguments it's not that hard to follow.
The basic premise of the book is to show how life could appear in the universe without a creator or any pre-conceived notion of design (the whole "Intelligent Design" argument now being debated across the U.S.). Dawkins obviously loves Darwin and bases his argument on cumulative evolution over billions of years (the age of the Earth [and please shut-up you stupid creationists trying to argue that the Earth is only 6,000 years old!]). Dawkins patiently explains how such a slow and random process like natural selection could evolve our life-forms over vast amounts of time. Like I said, I'm no great scientist, but the argument makes perfect sense and I still fail to see why anyone tries to argue otherwise (except, of course, for religious reasons, but those are very silly reasons).
Overall, this is a good way to try to understand evolution in more depth than the few words hopefully given to you in high school and college. There are a few parts which I found to be boring (like the taxonomy debates and different schools of thought in taxonomy) but I think this book is an important read--especially now that religious nuts are trying to dumb people down.
468 pages of evasive reasoning.......2007-09-15
Dawkins' thesis in this book is to prove that the universe is a non-sentient thing which merely exists. There is no God who creates. What order there is (e.g. life) has been produced by mutation and cumulative selection (i.e. evolution).
But one could ask, who designed evolution? How did the universe come to be? Dawkins' sidesteps these questions for 468 pages (in my edition of the book).
As an engineer, I find his whole approach disturbing because he asks us to have faith in evolution rather than in God. I write this because evolution seems to be an untestable theory. If I propose to do an experiment to evolve bacteria into human beings a Darwinist will tell me that it is impossible to do because the time required would be much, much longer than that of a single human lifespan. And Dawkins seems to be saying that even if one could do that, the result would not be a human being but maybe something resembling a human being. What is there left to do but have faith in the priests of evolution? It's not as though I can test their theory. Given this, Dawkins' obvious contempt for those who believe in God is hard to take.
Great explanation of evolution.......2007-09-13
This book is an excellent explanation of evolution. It's a little on the dry side, and people who already know quite a bit about evolution will find it slow in the beginning. It picks up, though. Dawkins starts off with simple concepts and gradually builds into the more complex understandings of evolution. He explains everything very clearly, using analogies to help visualize some of the more difficult concepts. This book does a great job of clearing up a lot of the misunderstandings of what evolution is really about and putting a beautiful concept in science into terms any lay person can understand. Dawkins makes evolution impossible to dispute once you have read his book. I think most people who try to argue with evolution could only possibly be doing so because they do not fully understand it.
Book Description
Long recognized as the "Gold Standard" text for astrobiology courses, The Search for Life in the Universe now appears in a completely revised and updated Third Edition. This book engages students in astronomy by presenting a great, unsolved mystery: How likely is life beyond earth, and how can we find it if it exists? The text covers the fundamentals of astronomy and astrophysics, including the discovery of more than 55 planets around other stars, and also provides an overview of biology, geology, evolution, and the possibilities of interstellar travel and communication. Written for readers with no background in mathematics, the book includes 24 color insert pages and brilliantly rendered illustrations by Jon Lomberg.
Customer Reviews:
Jack Kennedy.......2006-02-27
This book is used as a text by the University of North Dakota Space Studies program where I was exposed to its content. It is an excellent book filled with the recent nuggets of information about the search for life in the universe. It is an excellent guide to understanding the cosmos in galatic and down-to-Earth terms. This book can be read for pure pleasure as well as for general knowledge of astrobilogy and astronomy.
Excellent Overview.......2003-11-07
The new edition of this book still is by far the most comprehensive introduction to Bioastronomy, touching almost every branch of science along the exciting path it follows. Remaining firmly grounded in science it shows that reality is so fantastic that it is in no way necessary to fantasize up facts and fictions. Science still is one of the greatest adventures of mankind, and the search for life in space is one of its most stimulating branches. It also is a good motivation for young college students from other subjects to further their knowledge in science - which is necessary because we live in a science dominated world.
Stefan Thiesen www.bioastronomie.de
Great for people interested in SETI ..........2001-02-27
The book deals with everything from the formation of stars and planets, to how life formed, to even the best ways to search for life and the odds of life being on other planets. It goes step by step, is easy to understand and even has review questions at the end of each chapter (along with a summary). Lots of photos, some in color, along with figures and tables to help explain and give more details. Great for people who want to understand the reasons people are searching for life on other planets, but also great for just understand the science of life on our planet too. All that and humor too.
The search for life in the spotlight........2000-09-04
This book really explaines in simple language how scientists work on this search. It is written in a way that keeps your interest on top all the way.
Customer Reviews:
Light, casual reading that's very informative........2007-03-26
The next time the kid doesn't want to take a bath, remember back to this book. Dr. Callahan says that our bodies are filled with thousands of different kinds of bacteria, parasites, fungi, and viruses and they are indeed responsible for keeping us alive. We are rather like a colony, of which those cells we call human are ten percent or less of the total.
His conclusion is that we are living too clean a life, our bodies were designed to live in close quarter with animals, dirt, and not bathing too often. He also talks about the overuse of antibotics that are creating new antibiotic resistant strains and basically wiping out the effectiveness of the antibiotics we have (especially in hospitals).
This is a light, easy read book that in turn leaves us with a lot of information about what's happening to our own bodies and to the medical world in general.
Book Description
Key Message: Life in the Universe takes readers on a journey through the solar system and beyond, using a rigorous yet accessible introduction to astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology to explain natural phenomena and explore unanswered scientific questions. The Second Edition has been thoroughly revised to include updated scientific discoveries, optional quantitative coverage, an enhanced illustration program, and expanded coverage of the solar system and stellar material.
Key Topics: Introducing Life in the Universe: A Universe of Life?, The Science of Life in the Universe, The Universal Context of Life. Life on Earth: The Habitability of Earth, The Nature of Life on Earth, The Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth. Life in the Solar System: Searching for Life in Our Solar System, Mars, Life on Jovian Moons, The Nature and Evolution of Habitability. Life Among the Stars: Habitability Outside the Solar System, The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Interstellar Travel and the Fermi Paradox. Epilogue: Contact – Implications of the Search and Discovery
Market: For all readers interested in a rigorous yet accessible introduction to astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology, while exploring fundamental pan-scientific questions such as: How did life begin on Earth? What are the most extreme forms of life currently known? What are the challenges of trying to colonize another planet?
Customer Reviews:
Expensive, but worth it.......2006-06-24
This is a really expensive paperback, but it should have an honored place in your home, next to your dictionary, your atlas, your Roget's Thesaurus and your Holy Bible, Koran or any other book that is important to you.
Its opening chapter, "A Universe of Life," is awe-inspiring, summoning up as it does the almost-endless, vast reaches of known creation and inviting us to consider how MUCH there is out there that might be home to any form of life --from the submicroscopic to beings, well, something like us (although not much of the book is given over to the latter possibillity).
It tackles the place of religion, too, in all of this -- including Creationism and its offshoots -- and gives you some pretty good reasons for setting aside your feelings and just going along for the scientific ride in this 346-page stunner (plus appendixes).
The artwork is superb. Worth the price of admission by itself.
So, drag out the old credit card and put yourself even deeper into literary debt, because you will return to this book again and again over the years.
A good college text for non-science majors.......2006-01-22
This book seems to have two goals. One is to teach the reader something about astrobiology. The other is to be a text for a science course for college undergraduates (in most cases, underclassmen majoring in something other than science).
The book begins by discussing how stars and planets are formed. And then comes a major point: biology may be common in the universe given evidence that organic molecules form fairly easily, life appears to have originated early in the Earth's history, and there's evidence that Earth life can survive under a wide range of conditions. Next, there's a section on the nature of science and the scientific method. And then some material on the definition and nature of life. From there we go to the Earth's geological record. And there's a useful discussion of greenhouse gases, possible high surface temperatures on Earth when life first developed, and a possible "Snowball Earth" much later.
Now comes a key chapter: how did life get started? And when. The text shows that it was not all that long after the Earth emerged from forming and being heavily bombarded. And that hyperthermophiles may well have been the common ancestor of life on Earth today. The book speculates that the process was: synthesis of organic precursor molecules, development of replicators (RNA), development of protocells (enclosing membranes), primitive cells (the RNA world), and then DNA-based cells. It also addresses the question of whether life could have migrated to Earth from Mars or elsewhere. There's a discussion of the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. And how primitive life evolved into the intelligent life that now exists.
These are certainly the right topics to start with. But I wish this book, even with the constraint of being for non-science majors, had gone into just a little more detail on all of them. It does just that on the rest of the topics.
The book continues with an excellent section about possibilities of life elsewhere in our planetary system, including the environmental requirements. We look at Mars (including evidence from Martian meteorites), Jovian moons, and Titan. And we see why Venus is too close to the Sun to be in the "habitable zone." I hope that the next edition of this book, due out in 2006, will mention the Saturnian moon Enceledus as well.
After that, there is a discussion of extrasolar planets and the serach for extraterrestrial intelligence. If anything, there is an excess of material here, including speculations about the possible technology levels of an intelligent society and interstellar travel. But this does lead to a worthwhile discussion of the Fermi paradox: if there are relatively nearby extraterrestrials, why aren't they here by now?
Writing an overview of this field for non-science majors is a daunting task, and I think the authors did a really good job. After reading such a book, I think one will find it much easier to understand any advances made in this field in the future.
A Very Delightful Book.......2005-04-22
This is the ONE Science Textbook I will keep forever and ever.
A good college text for non-science majors.......2004-12-02
This book seems to have two goals. One is to teach the reader something about astrobiology. The other is to be a text for a science course for college undergraduates (in most cases, underclassmen majoring in something other than science).
The book begins by discussing how stars and planets are formed. And then comes a major point: biology may be common in the universe given evidence that organic molecules form fairly easily, life appears to have originated early in the Earth's history, and there's evidence that Earth life can survive under a wide range of conditions.
Next, there's a section on the nature of science and the scientific method. And then some material on the definition and nature of life. From there we go to the Earth's geological record. And there's a useful discussion of greenhouse gases, possible high surface temperatures on Earth when life first developed, and a possible "Snowball Earth" much later.
Now comes a key chapter: how did life get started? And when. The text shows that it was not all that long after the Earth emerged from forming and being heavily bombarded. And that hyperthermophiles may well have been the common ancestor of life on Earth today. The book speculates that the process was: synthesis of organic precursor molecules, development of replicators (RNA), development of protocells (enclosing membranes), primitive cells (the RNA world), and then DNA-based cells. It also addresses the question of whether life could have migrated to Earth from Mars or elsewhere. There's a discussion of the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. And how primitive life evolved into the intelligent life that now exists.
These are certainly the right topics to start with. But I wish this book, even with the constraint of being for non-science majors, had gone into just a little more detail on all of them. It does just that on the rest of the topics.
The book continues with an excellent section about possibilities of life elsewhere in our planetary system, including the environmental requirements. We look at Mars (including evidence from Martian meteorites), Jovian moons, and Titan. And we see why Venus is too close to the Sun to be in the "habitable zone."
After that, there is a discussion of extrasolar planets and the serach for extraterrestrial intelligence. If anything, there is an excess of material here, including speculations about the possible technology levels of an intelligent society and interstellar travel. But this does lead to a worthwhile discussion of the Fermi paradox: if there are relatively nearby extraterrestrials, why aren't they here by now?
Writing an overview of this field for non-science majors is a daunting task, and I think the authors did a really good job. After reading such a book, I think one will find it much easier to understand any advances made in this field in the future.
Book Description
What is the ultimate destiny of our universe? That is the striking question addressed by James Gardner in The Intelligent Universe.
Traditionally, scientists (and Robert Frost) have offered two bleak answers to this profound issue: fire or ice.
The cosmos might end in fire—a cataclysmic Big Crunch in which galaxies, planets, and life forms are consumed in a raging inferno as the universe contracts in a kind of Big Bang in reverse.
Or the universe might end in ice—a ceaseless expansion of the fabric of space-time in which matter and energy are eternally diluted and cooled; stars wither and die, , and the cosmos simply fades into quiet and endless oblivion.
In The Intelligent Universe, James Gardner envisions a third dramatic alternative—a final state of the cosmos in which a highly evolved form of group intelligence engineers a cosmic renewal, the birth of a new universe.
Gardner's vision is that life and intelligence are at the very heart of the elegant machinery of the universe. It is a viewpoint that has won outspoken praise from an array of leading scientists, including Sir Martin Rees, Britain's Astronomer Royal, and Templeton Prize winner Paul Davies.
The Intelligent Universe is both a look into the past and a road map for the future of the universe. It explores the mysteries of the universe and of consciousness, and provides a frank and fascinating look at where our minds are taking us.
Customer Reviews:
Evolution debacle.......2007-08-10
The cosmos seems to be intelligent and friendly to life. Intelligent in the sense there exists many biological patterns that are self-similar. Friendly, in the sense of the existence of the elements of carbon, hydrogen, gravity, water, super novas, the organization of universes, and the diversity of DNA. Evolution fails to explain this intelligence in life. All evidence points to God, as the creator. The cosmo self-organizing algorithms seem to be low order simple programs with highly condensed information. Intelligence seems to be everywhere in time, space, and matter.
Richard Dawkins work seems exciting. Dawkins looks to overthrow the Drawin doctrines that have kept science in the dark for hundreds of years. Dawkins biological algorithms suggest intelligent design rather than random mutation as the process of organization.
Celluar Automata Genius, Wolfram, author of "A New Kind of Science" is search for "The Algorithm of Everything", a sort of genius program, once started would generate all patterns in the universe, says, Wolfram, "the entire cosmos, from quantum particles to the formation of galaxies, was a perpetual runtime flowing from simple rules. Complexity arises from simple rules. The universe can be understood by running computer simulations of these rules. The algorithm is more powerful than fragmentational stitching of equations. Extraterrestial might be communicating with us in messages we can't perceive. Drawian natural selection is overrated. Maximum levels of complexity are equivalent from human thought to rain hitting pavement, "Wolfram's Law". The only way to discover the consequences of complex processes is too let things proceed naturally. Computational equivalence means that computer programs can do all the stuff that happens in nature. Does this mean "Thinking Machines"? The Kurzeil prediction, "Singularity", 2050.
"Yet despite all our learning, human beings have missed the point of it all, because of the elusive nature of complexity." Considering the big bang theory, as singularity, almost instantly, matter begin to form, in an amazing dimension of plasma, high energy particles, and light. Considering the emense region of the cosmos, 13 billion light years of increasingly expanding matter and homogeneous distribution, the event seems intelligent by design.
The authors deduce that there must be other worlds that support life. The authors also theorize that life on those planets would not differ too much from life on earth. Similar patterns for plants, animals, and humans would exist on those planets. The intelligence of the cosmos would not create structures that were nonfunctional.
I found Kauffman discoveries interesting, but he spends too much time attributing life diversity to "evolution". Kauffman did not demostrate evolution could create the tree of life in his book, "Self-Organization and Complex System". However, Kauffman does support the idea that intelligent design can be discovery by applying physics equations to biology. Kauffman in his book, "At Home in the Universe" does not demonstrate adequately 1. how life emerged from the elements 2. how protein strains emerged into multi-cell life 3. the lineage links too a single original parent celluar structure.
The author conclude that the universe is becoming more intelligent. Life is become better adapted, more resourceful, and the universe will serve the purpose of man. Man himself is thought to be the source from which the new emerging reality is being created. Science can not explain all truth.
There are two truthes evolution does not explain: why does man need God? What does God want for man? The purpose of man is too find joy, an emotion. Emotion is required to act and without emotion man becomes a "flesh and bones machine". Man is moves contrary to the second law of thermodynamics because he exercises free will.
stimulating speculation about the underlying nature of the cosmos.......2007-05-11
Having read Gardner's earlier work Biocosm: The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life Is the Architect of the Universe, I was prepared for "The Intelligent Universe" to be the work of a visionary thinker who is not afraid to speculate about the cosmological principles underlying our universe. I cherish the work of authors who are not afraid to think big. Gardner does not disappoint in the grandeur of his vision. If you think there is nothing new under the sun, I encourage you to read "The Intelligent Universe". One can't help but find enlightening material in the book. Oliver Wendell Holmes said "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." This sentiment certainly applies to my reading of Gardner's book.
Gardner's book is, however, not without flaws. One criticism I won't make of the book is that the ideas are hopelessly speculative. The book employs the kind of theoretical flights of fancy that John Horgan dismisses as "ironic science" in his book The End of Science (Helix Books), a book which says that science is asymptotically approaching a point at which there won't be any major new scientific theories, not because of science's failures but because science has been so successful. I mention Horgan because the scope of Gardner's vision encourages me to believe that we haven't even begun to exhaust our potential to develop breathtaking scientific theories of the cosmos. I came away from The Intelligent Universe with an excitement about the power of large-scale thinking about the universe.
Having said that, while Gardner presents an original "story", weaving together the work of numerous cosmologists and other scientists, perhaps paradoxically, the book often reads as a rehashing of the ideas of numerous big-picture thinkers. Maybe both perspectives can be accurate: Gardner summarizes the work of many while putting together the pieces in a unique way. There is nothing wrong with synthesizing the views of one's peers. However, the book too often lapses into a series of synopses of the big ideas of other scientific thinkers, brilliant though these thinkers may be.
To give you an idea of Gardner's method I reproduce the train of thought found in a few early chapters. Gardner uses extended paragraph-long quotations to run through the following thinkers (not all of which Gardner ultimately endorses):
Fred Hoyle on the fine-tunedness of physical constants, Francis Crick on directed pansperma (the idea that extraterrestrials seeded the biosphere with the first life forms on Earth), Stephen Wolfram and Ed Fredkin on cellular automata principles underlying physics, Seth Lloyd on the cosmos as quantum computer, Erwin Schrodinger on quantum physics underlying life, John Wheeler's on the "participatory anthropic principle" (the idea that only with conscious life does the universe summon itself into being), John Koza on genetic programming, Roger Penrose on the quantum physical underpinnings of consciousness, (leading to a gloss on the implications of combining quantum computing and genetic programming). Then Gardner begins the next chapter with Mark Bedau on artificial life, with an interlude about the perils of nanotechnology run amok, alluding to Michael Crichton's techno-thriller Prey. After that, we move on to topic of the technological singularity, where Ray Kurzweil plays a prominent role, both for his vision of smarter-than-human artificial intelligence and his optimism about the prospects for immortality. In the same chapter Gardner describes how Vernor Vinge forsees the arrival of super-human intelligence as more likely to result from intelligence amplification (at least at first) than from artificial intelligence.
Many of the later chapters work in a similar fashion, cycling through the big ideas of major thinkers. If a book is going to run through thinkers as this one does I guess what I would wish for is a book with the kind of comprehensiveness of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford Paperbacks). Instead, too often there is only a superficial treatment of one thinker before we move on to another superficial treatment of the big idea of the next thinker. Such a technique is particularly unsatisfying for someone who is already familiar with many of the thinkers presented. I would relish a deeper engagement with the work of many of the thinkers treated. So one problem that I have with the book is simply that it is not in-depth enough. The body of the text takes up 196 pages, with an additional 46 pages comprising reprints of three articles from the International Journal of Astrobiology and Complexity magazine (2 articles).
I don't mean to dismiss Gardner's writing style. The value of his approach was demonstrated to me by his discussion of Beatriz Gato-Rivera's proposed solution to the Fermi Paradox. I had never heard of Gato-Rivera but Gardner's treatment of her position in The Intelligent Universe provided a nice jumping off point to her work. It is easy to see how the book could function as a window into a lot of other scientific topics. I was wondering how Gardner would reconcile the Fermi Paradox with Gardner's view that the universe is "hard-wired" to produce intelligent life, and Gato-Rivera's work figures prominently in his proposed resolution to the conundrum, although, characteristically, there is no attempt made to contradict this hypothesis or to pronounce on the merits of any alternative explanations.
"The Intelligent Universe" ultimately attempts to answer what Brian Greene has called the biggest of the big questions: Why is the universe life-friendly? Gardner, bold and original thinker that he is, thinks he knows the answer. His solution is the Selfish-Biocosm Hypothesis. The central claim of his Selfish-Biocosm Hypothesis is "that the ongoing process of biological and technological emergence, governed by still largely unknown laws of complexity, could function as a von Neumann controller, and that a cosmologically extended biosphere could serve as a von Neumann duplicating machine in a conjectured process of cosmological replication." In other words, the universe comes to life and then reproduces itself through the creation of other universes. This comes right out of Gardner's first book Biocosm. In this picture, human beings (or other intelligent life forms) might be thought of as the mitochondria of the cells that make up the universe as organism. The Intelligent Universe can be seen as the exploration of this basic storyline, and this includes dealing with the religious implications of the radically new perspective afforded by the Selfish-Biocosm Hypothesis. All in all, the story is well worth reading.
Interesting, but speculative.......2007-03-24
I read this as a follow-up to Kurzweil's "The Singularity Is Near" and found it interesting. However, it seems a bit overly speculative on the ultimate origin of the universe(s) (which I suppose is the point). I found the use of closed timelike curves to imply that the universe created itself too much of a stretch. Ultimately the question of what started it all was never answered to my satisfaction.
Excellent Read.......2007-03-22
Anyone with a slight interest in cosmology will find this a wonderful reading experience. With my programming background I found the chapter on The Software of Everything particularly inviting but it is written for readers with no programming experience. Obviously Mr. Gardner has close contact with some very intelligent people at prestigious universities and he develops their complex ideas and efforts into something the everyday reader can appreciate and enjoy. He has spent a great deal of effort making cosmology a very interesting subject. I personally believe the concept of Biocosm will shortly be proven to be on the right track.
Life, the Universe and Everything.......2007-03-03
This book takes you through the thinking of the foremost scientists about the universe and the development of intelligence. The theory of the universe growing in intelligence, backed by the numerous quotes and examples, is apt to rock the common paradigm for all time. The author in his book "Biocosm" lays a firm foundation for his argument and in this book explores the idea further. As proposed in his books "the purpose of the universe" is startling. Two things, in particular, I liked about this book: The summation of the current thinking in Cosmology and the mind-blowing conclusion of the purpose and origin of the universe. The author is very brave to tackle these subjects and he does so masterfully
Amazon.com
Christopher Alexander, the humble messiah of good architectural design, invites readers to get comfortable with their inner judgments in The Nature of Order: The Phenomenon of Life. Best known as principal author of A Pattern Language, Alexander has designed and built countless projects worldwide, all the while thinking deeply about the nature of his work. Frustrated with the 20th century's reluctance to acknowledge human commonality and reliance on Cartesian mechanism, he urges us to rethink our understanding of space itself. With an architect's precision and clarity, he explains his theory of life as the order inhabiting space--an order both variable in degree and apprehensible to human minds. Though the scientifically minded will resist his seeming subjectivity, it will be hard for any to argue that his many examples of good and bad design are equivalent. Alexander's combination of powerful analysis and compelling synthesis makes The Nature of Order essential 21st-century reading. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
What is happening when a place in the world has life? And what is happening when it does not? In Book 1 of this four-volume work, Alexander describes a scientific view of the world in which all space-matter has perceptible degrees of life, and sets this understanding of living structure as an intellectual basis for a new architecture.
He identifies fifteen geometric properties which tend to accompany the presence of life in nature, and also in the buildings and cities we make. These properties are seen over and over in nature, and in cities and streets of the past, but have all but disappeared in the deadly developments and buildings of the last one hundred years.
The book shows that living structure depends on features which make a close connection with the human self, and that only living structure has the capacity to support human well-being.
The other three volumes of The Nature of Order continue this thesis with three complementary views giving a masterful prescription for the processes which allow us to generate living structure in the world. They show us what such a world must gradually come to look like, and describe the modified cosmology in which "life" as an essential quality, together with our inner connection to the world around us-towns, streets, buildings, and artifacts-are central to a proper understanding of the scientific nature of the universe.
". . . Five hundred years is a long time, and I don't expect many of the people I interview will be known in the year 2500. Christopher Alexander may be an exception."-David Creelman, author, interviewer and editor, HR Magazine, Toronto
Christopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, and after 40 years of teaching is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Customer Reviews:
Gordon L. Prescott come to life?.......2006-09-25
Read 'The Fifteen Properties' excerpted in the 'First Nomination for Book of the Century' customer review, or any other excerpt, and then consider the words of Gordon L. Prescott from 'The Fountainhead':
"The flowing life which comes from the sense of order in chaos, or, if you prefer, from unity in diversity, as well as vice-versa, which is the realization of the contradiction inherent in architecture, is here absolutely absent. I am really trying to express myself as clearly as I can, but it is impossible to present a dialectic state by covering it up with an old fig leaf of logic just for the sake of the mentally lazy layman."
I wish I could give a 'no star' review, but amazon doesn't have that option.
Some of these reviews are flawed.......2005-12-04
Anne Broadbent's review below is completely unjustified. She writes "At the beginning of the first book, Alexander shows a beautiful pagoda - but I still think I wouldn't want to have one near me, in the guise of a shopping centre, school, house, gym, restaurant, bank or whatever: I'd rather see it in its original cultural setting." Alexander agrees completely with this point. His whole theory involves local adaptation following the fundamental properties and transformations that he has outlined in these books. Nowhere does he suggest that we should use the pagoda's form in any other cultural context. If you look at some of the examples he gives from nature you will understand this. He discusses the way sand dunes form following some of the fundamental properties. Does this mean he claims we should create sand dunes in the jungle? Of course not. Examples of buildings, places, and natural phenomena, are used as a means of displaying these fundamental properties and how these properties occur universally in phenomena which the majority of humans, and all other life forms would agree contain the quality of life. Throughout the series of books, Alexander provides hundreds of examples of human creations and natural creations to support his thesis. This may or may not be news to Miss Broadbent, but this is widely acknowledged as good scientific method.
Dissapointing.......2005-11-17
I very much enjoyed 'Pattern Language' and had great hopes for this series, however, after finishing book one, I am not sure I will invest in further volumes. I give the author credit for the time and effort spent in trying to develop his 'unified field theory' of good design, but unlike some of the common sense examples in Pattern language, this book moves to a level of metaphysical abstraction that seems to stretch the ideas past their breaking point. Not-Separateness? The Void? Though he makes a valiant effort, I just couldn't shake the fact that I was reading an after-the-fact justification of the authors pre-conceived tastes. Which essentially boil down to: old = good, new = bad.
Most off-putting also, were the scrawled, barely legible sketches that were meant to illustrate some of the principles. They are so poorly rendered as to be distracting and not very helpful to boot. I would expect more graphic sense from someone purporting to explain the universal secrets of good design. I really wanted to love this book, but I find it simply frustrating.
The actual physical book is not up to the ideals of the content.......2005-08-02
I haven't finshed reading the content of this book - this is more a comment on the delivery medium...
The 'hardcover' book more closely resembles a cardboard cover book. Mine is easily bent and permanently warped in multiple dimensions - makng it much more like your typical large paperback book than a $75 hardback book. It seems harder and harder for publishers to strike that balance between quantity and quality of pictorial content on the one hand, and quality and flashiness of the cover on the other.
This book changed the way I look at everything..........2005-07-10
As a total amateur, I have no design training. I am fascinated by architecture and design, but really only "know what I like". I read "A Pattern Language" when working on object oriented computer systems and find it fascinating - I still re-read it. So, when I saw this book, I was hoping that it would be interesting.
It is way beyond interesting. It completely changed the way I look at the world. It deserves to be read carefully, slowly, savored. Alexander makes his work accessible to both architects and lay people alike.
Bravo.
Even with two kids in college, I am going to spring for book 2. Higher praise could not be given.
Amazon.com
At first glance, The Power of Kabbalah seems like an overly simplistic spiritual instruction manual. The language and anecdotes are rabbi-style cozy and the format is exceptionally approachable: one-to-two-page essays. But read a few pages and you're hooked into an experience that immediately promises enlightenment (and eventually delivers it). Although the Kabbalah has its roots in Jewish mysticism, this non-dogmatic manual is applicable to all spiritual seekers. Like Wayne Dyer's bestselling book The Power of Intention, this is actually a book about manifesting the life you want through understanding the laws of spiritual energy and attraction. "To fulfill its giving nature, the infinite force of Energy created a receiver—-in Kabbalah it's called a Vessel," author Yehuda Berg explains. You guessed it, all of us earth souls represent the Vessel, and our spiritual task is to stop resisting the giving nature of Energy and let our Vessels fill up and runneth over.. This is an obvious choice for students of Jewish mysticism, but it's an equally appropriate book for anyone looking for ancient traditions to support contemporary spiritual discussions about the laws of attraction. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
Shrouded in secrecy and centuries ahead of its time, the insights and revelations of Kabbalah and its teachings were denied to all but a chosen few. Branded as mysticism, fanaticism, and heresy, every sort of taboo was attached to the teachings in an effort to keep them secret.
Through it all, Kabbalah was and continues to be the original technology of life - the science of the soul, the chemistry of fulfillment, the physics of spiritual transformation. Power of Kabbalah is nothing less than a user's manual for the universe we live in: a practical, powerful set of principles and instructions for getting from where you are right now to where you truly want to be - emotionally, spiritually, financially, creatively, and in all aspects of your life in the real world.
The Power of Kabbalah brings the reader this wisdom in a way no other Kabbalah book is able to. In a uniquely practical, easily accessible, and insightful manner, it reveals not only what life is about, but the actions you can take right now to create the life you want and deserve. For the first time, the secret teachings of the ancient Kabbalists are brought to bear on the real-world issues that you face every day - in your career, with friends and family, and in your innermost personal thoughts.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book!!!.......2006-08-02
This is a very interesting book. I actually like the first version a little more. The updated book now being sold is slightly different, but the underlying message is still the same.
I therefore recommend this book to anyone looking for spiritual answers. You may not agree with everything in this book and that's OK. Take whatever you get from this book and simply make it yours. You don't have to become a follower of Kabbalah to put some of the ideas into practice.
Try it. You may like it!
Also recommended: "What Did Jesus Really Say, How Christianity Went Astray: [What To Say To A Born Again Christian Fundamentalist, But Never Had The Information]" by Peter Cayce
Where do I FIT IN to the SELF AWARE universe.......2006-07-06
I devoured this book in a couple of days, excellent.Very easy reading and Berg has amazingly simplified Kabbalah.
I have always believed that a good teacher can take a difficult subject and make it simple so that even a novice, like myself, could understand it and that is what Yehuda Berg has done in this work. I have always believed that this subject was "out there" and from the "dark side" so I never researched this area.
I try not to be into dualism (us agianst them) or any set religous sect were my group is IT and everyone else is wrong so I enjoy how Berg helps the readers from all walks of life and backgrounds understand that the Kabbalah is for all mankind!
I have been reading a lot of books on quantum physics and the subatomic stuff we are all made of and I have been plagued with the BIG QUESTION: Where do I FIT IN and HOW DO I APPLY THE INFO to get results in Life. Why am I HERE and WHERE AM I going!?
Well, this publication has been very helpful in assisting me in these areas and getting POSITIVE RESULTS!! I will definitely be researching more of Yehuda and Rav Berg's teachings. Highly recommended!!
The Power of Kabbalah.......2006-06-14
Kabbalah is a well of healing wisdom that runs unfathomably deep, capable of filling innumerable volumes of medical journals if all of its secrets were unraveled and translated to written word.( from the book " A Book of Healing" by Kabbalist Rav Berg). Check the website: Www. Kabbalah.com
There have been many reported incidents throughout history when collective scanning of Zohar prevented bloodshed. Historian Jay Sands points out that in Morocco circa WWII, the Nazis demanded the deportation of 250,000 Sephardic Jews. At the time, Morocco had no army to defend itself, yet the King refused the Nazis' request. And for some inexplicable reason, they simply turned around and left. To this day, scholars have no idea why these people escaped the horrors of the Holocaust, but when you ask a survivor from that period, as I have, you learn that there were five places in Casablanca that chanted Zohar 24 hours a day in relay teams. Many of the people said they didn't even know what they were chanting, but they knew there was power to it.
Together we can create the same miracle. Before you scan, take a moment to visualize the entire area filled with Light. Even if you've never been there, you can see on a globe or map where that Light needs to be. Then begin to scan The Zohar to manifest the vision.
If you have taken a class at the Centre or read a kabbalah book, you've learned that the one thing we are all after is Light. Happiness, security, balance, clarity -- these are the attributes of the Light...
...and it is Light that is so desperately needed right now in the Middle East.
Shalom!
Simplified Kabbalah.......2005-11-03
This is the best introduction to Kabbalah available. It is easy to read and understand. This is a practical guide to Kabbalah that will "kick-start" your practice. Not for the advanced reader or student. In this book, there is just enough explanation of the mystical qualities of the richness of the Hebrew languange, enough practical guide to living in a Kabbalistic way, and just enough guidance to the 72 Names of G-d. Just enough for the beginner without anything fancy. Great beginners book. Highly recommended.
The Book for YOU.......2004-07-07
I rarely come across with books (of this importance) that inspire and tricker that special emotion in me. This book did it and I am eternally Thankful for Yehuda Berg for writing this excellent introduction to Kabbalah and its secrets. Not only that, but he asks you to test these simple, yet very profound, principles and prove them to be so in your own life. Are you fed up with people telling you what to believe about your existence and power within you? I am talking about the power that is accessible to you and able to fulfill your life.
Don't just read this book and accept it from its face value. Rather, experiment with what this special book has to offer and the door to 99% of universe is opened for you. That means, you are living the teaching true. I would say to you as my friend that come out from the cemetry of dead and face the light; with this book it is possible.
You know what truly is the acid test of truth? It is that you are given the tools and can try to disprove the author. Well, he gives you the tools. Try to disprove him; and in so doing, you will be prove these eternal principles valid in your life.
Unfortunately, much of the wisdom of kabbalah has been hidden for ages. People were, until now, denied the access to this wonderful information. Now, since our society allows us greater freedom, it is possible for people like Yehuda Berg to come forward and explain the mystery.
I was a bit sceptical when buying this book -- because I have already read scores of books on the subject of mysticism. Yet this book, though elementary, has all the crucial main points that you need to know.
Highly Recommended. Good buy. Go for it.
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