Amazon.com
The best treatment I have yet encountered about how order emerges naturally -- and possibly even necessarily -- out of chaos. Profoundly important, and considerably more informed than better-known pop-science treatments of chaos theory. Very highly recommended.
Book Description
A major scientific revolution has begun, a new paradigm that rivals Darwin's theory in importance. At its heart is the discovery of the order that lies deep within the most complex of systems, from the origin of life, to the workings of giant corporations, to the rise and fall of great civilizations. And more than anyone else, this revolution is the work of one man, Stuart Kauffman, a MacArthur Fellow and visionary pioneer of the new science of complexity. Now, in At Home in the Universe, Kauffman brilliantly weaves together the excitement of intellectual discovery and a fertile mix of insights to give the general reader a fascinating look at this new science--and at the forces for order that lie at the edge of chaos. We all know of instances of spontaneous order in nature--an oil droplet in water forms a sphere, snowflakes have a six-fold symmetry. What we are only now discovering, Kauffman says, is that the range of spontaneous order is enormously greater than we had supposed. Indeed, self-organization is a great undiscovered principle of nature. But how does this spontaneous order arise? Kauffman contends that complexity itself triggers self-organization, or what he calls "order for free," that if enough different molecules pass a certain threshold of complexity, they begin to self-organize into a new entity--a living cell. Kauffman uses the analogy of a thousand buttons on a rug--join two buttons randomly with thread, then another two, and so on. At first, you have isolated pairs; later, small clusters; but suddenly at around the 500th repetition, a remarkable transformation occurs--much like the phase transition when water abruptly turns to ice--and the buttons link up in one giant network. Likewise, life may have originated when the mix of different molecules in the primordial soup passed a certain level of complexity and self-organized into living entities (if so, then life is not a highly improbable chance event, but almost inevitable). Kauffman uses the basic insight of "order for free" to illuminate a staggering range of phenomena. We see how a single-celled embryo can grow to a highly complex organism with over two hundred different cell types. We learn how the science of complexity extends Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection: that self-organization, selection, and chance are the engines of the biosphere. And we gain insights into biotechnology, the stunning magic of the new frontier of genetic engineering--generating trillions of novel molecules to find new drugs, vaccines, enzymes, biosensors, and more. Indeed, Kauffman shows that ecosystems, economic systems, and even cultural systems may all evolve according to similar general laws, that tissues and terra cotta evolve in similar ways. And finally, there is a profoundly spiritual element to Kauffman's thought. If, as he argues, life were bound to arise, not as an incalculably improbable accident, but as an expected fulfillment of the natural order, then we truly are at home in the universe. Kauffman's earlier volume, The Origins of Order, written for specialists, received lavish praise. Stephen Jay Gould called it "a landmark and a classic." And Nobel Laureate Philip Anderson wrote that "there are few people in this world who ever ask the right questions of science, and they are the ones who affect its future most profoundly. Stuart Kauffman is one of these." In At Home in the Universe, this visionary thinker takes you along as he explores new insights into the nature of life.
Customer Reviews:
At home in the universe, A New Proposal..........2007-04-05
In this book, Stuart Koaffman opens new doors to us. Through the theory of the chaos, proportions fractals and their networks boulinas, give an interesting speculation us on the origin of the life, the complex systems and the societies. It is hour to be on the awares and to try to focus to us in new horizons. This book took to him of the hand by these new horizons. It is hour to know our house in the universe...
Proposals to Unanswered Questions.......2006-09-16
Stuart Kaufman's At Home in the Universe is a lay redaction his scientific hypotheses from his Origins of Order, a rich, fascinating, sophisticated, and complementary set of hypotheses added to Darwin's theories of evolution. For the moment, at least, they are the promising fruit of speculative or theoretical biological hypotheses (with physics, chemistry, geology, paleontology, mathematics, game theory, and economics thrown in), but they go a long way to filling in many of the gaps that strict Darwinists seem content to ignore. And some of his hypotheses, he readily admits, are heretical.
One of the obvious problems, if not primary one, that Kaufman sets to answer, Is how can natural selection work, culling the fittest to survive, without something to act on? In other words, natural selection operates on the already existent (i.e., regressive engineering), not in the formation of the entity itself. Another problem is that 4 billion years, long as that is, is still not sufficient time for natural selection to have acted through a totally random, step-by-step process in determining today's survivors. Even 100 billion years would not be enough. Another problem is how could so many species have come into existence and failed to survive (99.9%), leaving a mere 100 million for the present, in the span of a mere 4 billion years (mathematically impossible on Darwin's theories alone).
The central theme of Kaufman's work is Self-organized Criticality, a scientific twist on the notion of irreducible complexity (from the Discovery Institute's lexicon, no less), where a minimal degree of inherent complexity in a subcritical-supercritical phase transition is what spontaneously orders the animate world and generates and sustains life in accord with other, as yet, unknown, but implicit laws. From the moment that a sufficiently critical diversity of molecules reached the ideal phase transition, life itself was "spontaneously generated" as inevitable, not by accident. Once life appeared, the acts of natural selection, adaptation, coevolution, evolution of coevolution, cellular, morphological, and physiological differentiation, ontogeny, niches, populations, stable cum-chaotic dynamics, etc., could operate, but in addition to forces beyond natural selection. And while speculative, apparently many scientists share Kaufman's intuitions, inferences, and insights.
But the "other" force or forces is not mystical, much less divine, even if they may be truly awesome. Rather, it is in the nature of the universe, and more particularly in our evolving earth, that these implicit laws work in tandem with Darwin's laws. At this point, these laws are posited from the empirical knowledge we do have, but have not yet demonstrated in the scientific manner to make them even hypotheses. But Kaufman's speculative biology is not a whimsical or arbitrary metaphysics, but logical inferences based on laws and facts already in place. Having done the easy work (thinking the notions of what these other general laws of nature must be like), now science must work in earnest to confirm or reject his speculative hypotheses.
The key word and concept throughout this humorous, heady, and exacting exposition is "complexity" and within the manifold complexities of lives, environments, and mutually intersecting dynamics is a spontaneous order that arises "for free" that in turn sustains stable and steady systems just at the subcritical-supercrticial phase transition (e.g., horizon, or "edge of chaos"). Another key word and concept is "dynamic." Steady-state and homeostasis are often thought of as a static plateau, but that is mistaken, as such states are actually in a fluctuating dynamic at the phase transition between equilibrium (death) and disequilibrium (disorder). Indeed, on many different levels, living organisms are born, dwell, and die precisely at this phase transition between the subcritical (stasis, moribund) and supercritical (chaotic, disordered) states. And the key thesis is that order ("for free") is embedded in the delicate balancing act precisely at this phase transition.
Kaufman extrapolates some of these implicit biological laws and applies them to human cultural and technological advancement. The "fit" is remarkably uncanny, helping us to understand some of the dynamics of technological improvements (and diminishing returns), innovation, extinction, and spontaneity of the economy. Perhaps the most salient features are the concepts of "dynamic" and "spontaneous."
Moreover, if an analogy can be drawn from the biosphere and ecology to the social and political realms, the overwhelming preponderance of biological evidence screams complexity, diversity, and interdependence of organisms and their environments, which arise spontaneously and reciprocally to each other, in a constant dynamic that is vibrant, active, and always on the threshold of "chaos," but retains some stability through change. It is only those social and political forms that are "adaptive" that are socially and politically the "fittest," and democracy and market economies are obviously the most adaptive mechanisms to adapt to changing human needs.
Frederick Hayek addressed himself to these very issues over 50 years ago, and called the market economy and democracies "spontaneous" associations, in contradistinction to "planned" economies and governments. The former "adapt" to changing environments and circumstances, while the latter lack flexibility, and thus do not easily yield to adaptive mechanisms. "Planned" economies attempt to calculate rationally human desires, motivations, and needs in either an abstract or a priori fashion, then calculate the mode of production, the degree, and whether to accommodate, as if some "Absolute Human Mind" could anticipate all contingencies and changes by a simple mathematical formula. The problem is that bureaucrats are notoriously theory-laden and too calculating to include, much less advance, diversity (think Medicare Part D for "planned" absurdity). In practice, socialisms impede innovation and stifle ingenuity. With no means of adaptation, there is no "fittest," much less any mechanism to adapt to the actual dynamics of the world.
Communism's planned economy is an extreme case of an irrational calculus asserting what the government will allow, applying the lowest-common denominator as a criterion of sufficiency. We all know of the U.S.S.R.'s food lines, limited products, forced housing, inferior merchandise, and minimal labor investment. But even weaker forms of the rational calculus, such as socialism, does not do much better. At least their democracies allow policies to change, even if it becomes years for government to adapt to the new exigencies. Even the most socialized societies have "capitalist" outlets, to provide some barometer of social wants and meeting them. Social insurance makes sense on many fronts, but social or state "planning" of economics has rotted state and worker. Kaufman's biological analogies explain why.
Postscript: Kaufman's book is a provocative, challenging, and fascinating (sometime heady) read. Even if all of his hypotheses in the abstract are found to be untrue, at least he captures the reader's imagination, and asks the questions that most of us non-dogmatic Darwinians have raised for some time. In a time when the "easy" and "orthodox" are all too convenient for slipping under the rug, Kaufman's questions (and suggested answers) go the the very nexus of the difficulties. His suggested answers are at once perhaps too simple, on the other hand, perhaps too complex. What is refreshing, above all, is that he's not afraid to ask, and even less fearful of suggesting solutions. Thank gawd for the Sante Fe Institute, where brave and curious minds still ask questions.
Fascinating Science Applicable to Evolution and Business.......2006-05-17
Stuart brings the science of complexity and complex adaptive systems to a broad range of topics from evolution to business to learning curves. The book is masterly written to allow you to skim over the formulas without lossing the excitement or to dig into the technology to understand its broad application.
A fascinating look at self-organization.......2005-01-18
We see a great deal of order in living systems. Where does this order come from? Is it entirely from natural selection? The author says no. He explains that much of the order we see in the world is spontaneous, such as in the symmetry of snowflakes, and that much of the order needed for the origination of life and in living organisms is of this spontaneous nature.
Kauffman is making a non-trivial point here, as the extent to which spontaneous order is more important than selected order is not entirely obvious. While a snowflake is indeed an example of a system that is highly ordered as it gets synthesized, that's not true of, say, a solar system, in which short-lived bodies quickly depart the scene in favor of long-lived ones. It's clearly significant that disordered entities tend to be shorter-lived and unable to replicate.
The author then addresses theories of the origin of life. Could it have started with RNA? After all, replicating RNA could then produce the needed proteins. Kauffman says no. The amino acid chains one would need would be too long to replicate accurately enough (the "error catastrophe"). I tend to agree. Besides, RNA is awfully fragile (DNA is not fragile). And once one hypothesizes that RNA has a template to keep it safe, one's theory is that templates came first.
Of course, the "error catastrophe" is devastating if the minimum complexity of a living cell is rather large. Kauffman argues that this minimum complexity is indeed large, and that it is no accident that there are hundreds of genes in pleuromona, perhaps the simplest free-living (non-virus) organism.
Spontaneous order also refutes the argument of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe that life could not have arisen on Earth because the chance of creating the 2000 functioning enzymes would be too small: 1 in 10 to the 40,000. Well, given that life does exist here, the Hoyle argument is almost certainly wrong anyway (with a chance that small, the odds would be overwhelmingly small for life to arise anywhere, ever, so the chance that the argument is wrong must be huge, since a correct argument might then give a much higher probability for life to appear).
The author then asks how we get the large polymers we need. After all, life is basically autocatalysis (that's what I was taught in the 1960s, and that's what Kauffman says as well). How does this big autocatalytic set get into gear? The author makes an analogy to putting connectors between random pairs of entities. At first the length of a connected chain will be small. But once the number of connections is about half the number of entities, the longest chain quickly becomes almost as large as the number of entities. That raises the question of how all these entities can interact, but Kaufmann says that having reactions on a substrate, effectively reducing the region to two dimensions, helps. So does having less water around.
We then get to the question of homeostasis. That requires plenty of order. Is there a way to get that order "for free?" The author says there is, and here is where he makes his most dramatic point. He points out that a network with 100,000 entities (call them "light bulbs") with two states each, has 10 to the 30,000 possible states. One might expect such a network to cycle through the square root of the number of states, or 10 to the 15,000. But it actually tends to cycle through the square root of the number of binary variables, which is only the square root of 100,000 or about 317. That is a huge amount of "order for free!" And it argues strongly for life's origination to be unsurprising. As Kauffman puts it, this changes life on Earth from being "We, the improbable," to "We the expected."
There's plenty more in this fine book. The author discusses order in ontogeny. And he has a chapter on the relationship between the diversity of species in an ecosystem and the diversity of organic molecules added from outside. And there's also plenty of material on "fitness landscapes."
One question that arises in this book is statistical: how long does a species tend to last? That has implications for the question of how long humans will last. It may not be that long. But that doesn't bother me, as long as we're replaced with something better. After all, I'm for progress!
Fantastic and enlightening.......2004-03-21
This particular book is a fantastic revelation and study of the boundary between order and chaos as it applies to the evolution of life, culture, technology and anything else in the universe. Its goal is to seek a universal law regarding the emergence of order in what we've traditionally considered unordered or random sets of fundamental stuff. For example, one of the observations that it makes is that evolution as Darwin revealed it is by itself not a sufficient explanation (scientifically) for why and how creatures like us could be here at all. In other words, natural selection is not sufficient to accomplish what life has accomplished in this world of ours. It needed the help of a very important other "force"... the life force, I might call it, and to which I've alluded many times in many forms through my writings. It's that special something about the nature of the universe that brings about the cooperation of systems, the autocatalytic closure which makes "hanging together" and "existing" some sort of "goal" deeply encoded in the nature of it all. You might be able to see how I might identify these ideas very closely with that term "lifetoward". What goal-oriented force brought life to be and continues to make life strive for ever more order and complexity? This book answers I think very well with: it's not a force, per se, but rather a fundamental aspect of the basic nature of the universe. To quote the book, "We the expected." We as living beings belong here and are an integral part of an incredibly awe inspiring process of creation of meaning and order in a world aching to give birth to it. The book closes with a nice summary, which much like a message I had posted to the lifetoward@yahoogroups.com list some time ago, extols the development of a new and enlightened faith, based on a realization of the wonder of the way the universe deeply is and how we are in it.
In terms of the meaning and importance of this book, I would recommend it to everyone. However, I will warn you that it may be a significant challenge to read. It calls on a deeply considered understanding of a variety of disciplines, including most notably evolutionary biology, organic chemistry, mathematics, anthropology, and economics. It proceeds with an assumption that the reader has realized or can quickly recognize the common ground between these different areas of study. It uses a lot of mathematical models and visualizations of 2, 3 and hyperdimensional spaces to discuss the nature of this common law and its emergence in the world around us.
Book Description
"Secrets of the Universe" ranges from an autobiographical tour-de-force that describes a childhood spent with an alcoholic father to 'Looking at Women,' a reflection on male yearning and confusion, to a look at the place-or absence-of nature in recent American fiction.
Customer Reviews:
A pleasure for any serious reader.......2002-01-08
I admit that this book was assigned to me in a college writing class. However, once I drunk in the words of these essays, I was challenged by Sanders to create essays of my own. The essays move outward, moving from himself and the family that is part of his life to the world that is a part of. Not only does it challenge any writer to reach the honesty that Sanders does, but this book also draws the every day Jane or Jon Doe to think about their own life and to be honest about it. A definate keeper!
Book Description
Following on from the great success of Great Houses of England and Wales (Rizzoli), this concise edition of the original work brings together a selection of the finest houses into a completely redesigned, handy format that will enable it to be used as an affordable companion for those wishing to visit these magnificent houses.
As with the larger volume, the book is filled with charming anecdotes that describe the history of each house, both its architecture and its families, giving a real sense of the life it embodies. These are matched by stunning photographs that illustrate all aspects of the houses. They include some of the most splendid examples of English art and architecture, from awe-inspiring medieval stone to the beauties of the English Renaissance, the classical grandeur of the eighteenth century and the highest excesses of Victorian taste. The book concludes with a list of contact details and opening times for the houses that will assist those wishing to visit them.
Customer Reviews:
Great Houses - So Grand.......2007-05-09
I enjoyed the overview that this book provides. I am facsinated with the world that existed for the wealthy members of society at the time when these houses were built and then refurbished. It was an easy read - I would be interested in seeing the extended version.
Amazon.com
Don't let the large size and lush graphics fool you--One Universe is no coffee-table book. This grand tour explores the staggering vastness of space and the incomprehensibly tiny pieces that fit together to make our bodies, our planet, comets, and cosmic rays. Astrophysicists Neil de Grasse Tyson and Charles Liu of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and science journalist Robert Irion have teamed up to put a planetarium in a book, and while you'll have to provide your own choral background music, the images are sharp and beautiful and the accompanying text is clear and engaging. The authors clearly love their subject and their work and even the most casual reader will find the book as inescapable as a black hole.
See supernovae, eclipses, and the end of the universe in all its quiet glory--but just as your eyes are drawn to the pretty pictures, your mind will seek out the explanations and elaborations accompanying them. Tyson is well known as the director of the Hayden Planetarium and has a brilliant knack for exciting people about astronomy without condescending or diluting; in fact, his respect for the public's intelligence is one of the best features of One Universe. Whether you want to get the latest on time and space, inspire students, or (dare we say it) show off your coffee table, this is well worth checking out. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
Physically and intellectually, the celestial bodies that move about the universe seem unreachable to us from our Earth-bound vantage. But recent discoveries in astronomy and physics reveal that the principles that govern our everyday life and the workings of the cosmos are one and the same.
In ONE UNIVERSE: At Home in the Cosmos, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, Charles Liu, an astrophysicist at the Museum, and Robert Irion, a contributing editor and correspondent to Astronomy and Science, make it clear that what happens in our kitchens and backyards are simply variations on cosmic processes.
In straightforward language and everyday analogies, the authors take us on a journey through the universe, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, stopping along the way to explain these grand and simple connections. We come to see that the force of gravity that finally lands a home-run ball in the bleachers keeps the moon in orbit. Or that the crystal in the window that breaks light into sparkling colors is just another version of the crystal scientists use to understand light from galaxies billions of miles from Earth.
Three basic concepts--motion, matter, and energy--lie at the heart of our understanding of the universe. With these three principles in mind, we can expand our knowledge of the universe because we can see how the physics of our world mirror the same physics of our universe. No wall separates the Earth from the rest of the universe. To illustrate the elegance of this concept, ONE UNIVERSE draws on a glorious album of space photographs, some seen here for the first time, and diagrams and illustrations drawn especially for the book. The book is being published in conjunction with the opening of the new $200 million Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. The centerpiece of the Rose Center is the new Hayden Planetarium, the first 21st-century planetarium.
This 224-page book includes an illustrated timeline of the major advances in astronomy and astrophysics, a glossary, 400 illustrations, full color throughout, and an index.
Customer Reviews:
Informative Book.......2007-03-23
This book is not for amature astronomers. The explainations require some previous knowledge. The information is very acurate and in depth. The pictures are wonderful.
Our Universe-At Home in the Cosmos by Tyson, Liu, Irion et........2003-08-23
This work would make a wonderful gift for a student in
grammar school or early high school. It has a thorough
explanation of the color band, motion and energy.
Major Newtonian laws are explained and demonstrated. The author
demonstrates comparative orbital forms; such as, the arch,
ellipse, parabola and hyperbola. He explains how changes
in matter are a function of temperature, pressure and density
factors. The work concludes with some important theories of
an expansive universe. The book is challenging-intellectually.
The science is firmly grounded in classic theories of
Sir Isaac Newton and a host of other important mathematicians
and physicists.
A non-mathematical introduction to the Universe.......2002-11-20
Now that science fact has become stranger than science fiction, it's good to have a book that explains the physical universe in clear prose and pictures. The authors' stated intention is to make readers feel "at home in the Cosmos," although many of the astronomical photographs might leave us a bit in awe of the place where we live. In fact, I'm surprised that the authors didn't use more images from the Hubble space telescope. Perhaps it is because their stated intention is to explain, not simply astound. Conceptual drawings such as "How protons decay" are also found in abundance.
Tyson, Liu, and Irion introduce readers to 'the' golden age of astronomy (Right here. Right now) and explain the principles that govern our everyday lives, as well as the workings of the cosmos. That's quite a lot to accomplish in a book that is also a visual feast (400 full-color illustrations). However, the authors are well-suited to tackle the job. Neil de Grasse Tyson is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. Charles Liu is an astrophysicist at the Museum. Robert Irion is a free-lance journalist, and a contributing editor and correspondent to Astronomy and Science.
Using everyday analogies (as opposed to mathematical formulae), the authors take us on a journey through our universe, from the infinitesimal to the infinite. Here is an example illustrating Newton's second law of motion:
"Imagine standing behind two people wearing roller skates. One is a 90-pound ballerina, and the other is a sumo wrestler who weighs five times as much. If you push on each person with equal force (and tact), you will accelerate the ballerina five times more quickly. That ratio holds true in space as well."
"One Universe" includes an illustrated timeline of the major advances in astronomy and physics, from Democritus to Hale-Bopp.
Grand Tour of the Universe.......2000-05-09
Want to know what a supernova, neutron star or black hole is, explained in everyday language? If so then this is the book you are looking for. Simply put, it's the perfect source for easy to understand explanations about all facets of astronomy and astrophysics. Find out how astronomers know the universe is expanding, how they determine how far away other galaxies are, or how a supernova happens. Learn about energy and particle physics, all explained in an intelligent yet easy to understand fashion. Learn about the different states of matter, about energy and Einsteins theory of relativity. Nicely formatted with stunning graphics, I highly recommend this book, especially to those with no background in the sciences who are looking for a simple, easy to understand yet intelligent explanation of science.
A book that should be in every home.......2000-03-03
The beauty of this book is apparent as soon as you open it. It is filled with wonderful pictures that help to explain the valuable information that is contained in this book. Neil De Grasse Tyson has taken the information that most of us find to difficult to understand and brought it to a level that makes it not only understandable, but exciting to read. The pictures give us a visual understanding of the dynamics of all the things around us. This is a book for all, young and old. I especially found it to be a great way to stimulate the minds of our youth, who seem to have lost interest in many of the sciences. This book breathes new life into a subject that affects all of us.
Book Description
Award-winning astronomy writer Terence Dickinson takes readers on a factual journey in space and time from the Earth's surface to the most remote boundaries of the universe - and beyond. This major revision of an astronomy classic features 50 new photographs and illustrations, including the latest images from the Hubble space telescope, the Galileo spacecraft and other NASA missions. Additional imagery of the universe is from recently completed giant telescopes situated at remote mountaintops in Hawaii and Chile. This edition also includes extensively updated information on Mars and Jupiter; a completely new section on comets; full coverage of the latest evidence for the existence of black holes; an expanded section on galaxies and the mysterious "dark matter"; a fully updated section on the size, age and destiny of the universe; and expanded data tables using information released in 1998 from the Hipparchos satellite, which achieved a tenfold increase in the accuracy of celestial distance determination.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Beginner's Overview of the Universe.......2007-06-11
For the layman who is often intimidated by the scope of astronomy and science in general, this book is the ideal place to get started. I've been fascinated by the universe and outer space for as long as I can remember. There is nothing that is quite as majestic and beautiful in the physical world we observe as the unimaginable grandeur of the universe.
The book starts out with a good general overview and then starts out from home (Earth) and then gradually moves out towards other objects in the Solar System, the nearby starts, our Milky Way galaxy, and ultimately out to the farthest reaches of the universe (quasars, galaxies out in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field), examining the deepest cosmological questions.
The writing is non-technical and is easy for the uninitiated to understand. There are plenty of the latest breathtaking photos from the Hubble Telescope as well as clear illustrations. I bought a copy for my mother who has never delved into astronomy and she advised me that the book has been most enjoyable and that it opened her eyes to the wonders of space that she had never known about.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in astronomy but never had the chance to really dig in for whatever reasons. I also recommend this book to the experts who want to encourage their loved ones and friends to appreciate the universe as well. It makes a great gift to high school students, parents, and friends as well. It's one of those books that people will refer to over and over again and contemplate our place in this amazing structure we know of as the universe.
Wonderful for beginners!.......2007-04-07
I have always been interested in astronomy and just recently picked it up as a hobby. Terence Dickenson does a wonderful job conveying concepts to the average person. He has made it so easy to understand and so interesting it is difficult to put the book down. The pictures are perfect for those of us with little imagination. My ten year old is even reading it with me. Excellent!
Most amazing book you'll ever read.......2007-01-30
I have never, and I mean never, had my mind blown as much as when I read (still reading, will never stop reading) this book. I can't believe the pictures in this book. You think you've seen everything insane and out of this world there is to see and then you open this up. Ever seen one galaxy side-swipe another galaxy? The images in this book will change you, you will never be the same. I feel so small yet I feel like I'm part of this insane monster of a grand scheme. The descriptions are fantastic, you need no prior astronomy/science education to totally immerse yourself in the cosmos. Starting from earth and reaching out to as far as we have gone this book reads as if you are the explorer aboard your space craft taking it all in for yourself. There isn't a dull second during this read. Every paragraph will make your mouth drop. Realize the creature around you that is your Universe.
Great book overall!.......2003-11-13
Well laid-out book with awesome pics and logical flow. Definitely a professional work. It does not get very deep in explanations but there is enough material for a novice to get started. Overall: VERY GOOD!
A good general text for the beginning astronomer.......2000-12-01
A friend and I are taking an intro to astonomy course and this is one of the recommended texts. I can certainly see why. It's a very clearly written work with a heavy emphasis on planetary and solar astronomy and a lucid discussion of stellar objects visible with personal telescopes, subjects that the noviate astronomer is most likely to find of interest. The author also dedicates two chapters to the subject of theoretical astrophysics at the very basic level of cosmology, ie) the theory of the origin, the possible ultimate destiny of the universe, and the liklihood of the existance of coevil universes parallel to our own. Dickinson also throws his lot in with those who would believe in UFOs, to the extent that while he doesn't believe in the sightings people report--however well meaningly--he does believe that intelligent life is out there and may well already know of our existance. He gives a thorough and lucid outline of why he believes this to be the case. He also summarizes the SETI project and the ultimate change in position on this topic of high visibility astronomers like the late Carl Sagan, Iosif Shklovskii, and Ben Zuckerman. A very interesting book, and one that whets the appetite for further information.
Customer Reviews:
On why we should eat bison instead of cattle........2007-08-09
Paul really outlines in alternating chapters the demise of the heartland's habitats for birds, grasses, and grazing herbivores that once dominated the scene. He explains some of the keys in this transformation, beginning with how we farm and how we farm. Ultimately though, he offers solutions and provides some hope that habitats for prairie animals and the prairies themselves could all return if our culture chose to eat Bison meat instead of cows. I read this when it was published many years ago and haven't for one day forgotten the lessons he taught me.
On alternate chapters there is story about him returning to his roots, which is nice to space out the heaviness of the serious chapters. This part of the story I can still remember a little about, but it's not the crux of the book, just Paul's style.
Book Description
This is an endearing and magical story for children that teaches basic concepts of space and astronomy. High quality telescope, NASA, and nature photographs are artistically blended to create an exciting visual, as well as reading adventure.
Customer Reviews:
Very Well-Written Children's Book.......2007-09-12
I purchased this particular children's book based on a recommendation from the Ventura County Astronomical Website Forum. This book is such a delight to read to my baby boy. Though he doesn't fully understand the story yet (he is 11-months old), he loves looking at the pictures and listening to me read it to him. My husband and I read the book and it is a beautifully written book. Thank you to the authors for writing such a nice book.
Customer Reviews:
Time Capsule Material.......2007-04-05
I can't believe I'm the first to review this book! I just expressed financial appreciation for it from Amazon.com....and I can't say enough good things about it! The prose, the underlying sensibilities, and the spirit of Gretel Ehrlich are absolutely sublime!
This book should be included in the next major time capsule as a prime example of a human spirit who in the 20th and 21st centuries who was not obsessed with money grubbing and senseless political agendas.
Book Description
Colleague and confidant of Einstein and Bohr and pioneer of nuclear fission -- John A. Wheeler is one of our most original and profound thinkers. In engaging essays formed of reminiscence, science, and conjecture, Wheeler writes of debates and discussions with Bohr, long talks with Einstein in his study at Princeton, and the eloquence and nobility of Hermann Weyl. With simple delight in "the machinery of existence" Wheeler exudes an enthusiasm that illuminates this collection. John Wheeler is one of the 20th century's most notable nuclear physicists and relativity theorists. In addition, he has played a leading role in research on pulsars, black holes, and nuclear reactor safety. Dr. Wheeler is Jan and Roland Blumberg Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin and Joseph Henry Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton University.
Customer Reviews:
Make yourself at home.............2000-10-21
John Archibald Wheeler is one of the landmark physicists of the 20th century. He has served as mentor to Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne and Hugh Everett (among others). He made significant contributions on the production of the A-bomb in WWII and also headed up the US efforts to make the H-bomb post WWII. He is, in a word, one of the most under-rated scientists of the current epoch.
In the present book, he spends most of his pages paying homage to people who dedicated their lives to science over the centuries. Such venerable names as Nicolaus Copernicus, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Hideki Yukawa, Maria Sklodowska Curie, Hermann Weyl and others form the objects of Wheeler's praise. Much of the book is made up of snippets of terse speeches which Wheeler has made at various symposiums and celebrations during his lengthy sojourn at Princeton. For example, there is a brief poem which he wrote for Joseph Henry which is included, as well as an oration on the "colleagueship at Princeton" which he delivered in 1966.
Interspersed throughout the book are essays which Wheeler has written on quantum mechanics, black holes, cosmology & the like. These are not the easiest pieces to read; I would suggest that readers browse through some preliminary books on QM before attempting to read Wheeler ("Taking The Quantum Leap" by Fred Alan Wolf might be a good place to start). The essays are well written & Wheeler uses some helpful analogies, but the going is still pretty rough. One of Wheeler's quotes which I really like (not from this book, though) is "If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day." One is sure to find many-a-strange scientific phenomenom in this book.
This book lacks a central, cohesive theme & the order in which it was put together does not follow any specific chronology or format. However, I don't think this takes away from the book's superb picture of what one of the premiere scientists of the 20th century spends his days thinking about. There are several passages in which he compares and contrasts science with philosophy as well as with the pragmatism of everyday existence. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in John Archibald Wheeler, physics, or the scientific community of Princeton university. Make yourself at home....
Not For The General Public.......2000-10-09
John A. Wheeler is not only of the world's leading physicists but he is a great teacher. Besides writing an excellent popular introduction to Relativity theory "Gravity And Spacetime" he is co-writer of the most popular academic work on General Relativity "Gravitation" and also of a superb textbook introducing undergraduates to Special Relativity "Spacetime Physics". Both Professor's Wheeler popular works and text books are clear, user friendly expositions of Relativity Theory. So it was with great anticipation that I started Wheeler's collections of essays "At Home In The Universe".
Unfortunately many of the essays are directed at the professional scientist and are beyond the level of even the well read amateur. Reading some of Professor Wheeler's discussions of the philosophy of science is like being thrown into a discussion being conducted by people who have known each other for a very long time and have developed a special language. For instance, "With a slight rewording of Bohr's formulation, we say, `The use of certain concepts in the description of nature automatically excludes the use of other concepts, which however, in another connection are equally necessary for the description of the phenomenon.'"
There are some gems in this book, though. John A. Wheeler seems to have personally known every great scientist of the Twentieth Century: Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, Andrei Sakharov, Kurt Godel, John von Neumann, Steven Weinberg. His comments on them and their work are invaluable.
Wheeler also has some interesting comments on the risks of a nuclear energy. One does not need to accept his optimistic viewpoint in order to appreciate his insight.
"At Home In The Universe" is really two books: one for the professional scientist and another for the general public. If the volume was separated, we would have two excellent books instead of a single disappointing one.
Book Description
Great Houses of Scotland: A History and a Guide provides the historic traveler with a witty, visually spectacular guide to more than twenty-five of the greatest houses in Scotland, some of which appear here for the first time ever on public view. Writer Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd and photographer Christopher Simon Sykes, the team responsible for the popular guide Great Houses of England and Wales, return to provide this humorous, poetic view of the development of architectural style in Scotland.
From old tower houses such as Cawdor and Traquair, to the burgeoning bartizans of Glamis, this book will lead travelers to delightful historic surprises. Beloved old architectural favorites such as Blair, Hopetoun, Mellerstain, and Abbotsford are seen from the inside out, accompanied by views of spectacular Baroque examples such as Drumlanrig, or pioneering classicist edifices like Kinross. A selection of work by famed architect William Adam is included, seen in his little-known masterpieces such as Arniston, the House of Dun, and the palatial Duff House.
In the Spectator, Patrick James commended Sykes's "Well-trained eye, always scanning an unusual view or a forgotten corner," as well as Massingberd's wit and authoritative view on opulent Edwardian artifacts such as Manderston and Ardkinglas. "Another bull's eye!" wrote John McEwan in the Literary Review. "As before, it is the charm that tells, the humorous and poetic eye for idiosyncrasy which distinguishes both the writing and the photography."
Whether traveling to Scotland or traveling by armchair, aficionados of great house style will appreciate the lush, detailed photographs of each manor's interior and exterior. Informational and approachable, Great Houses of Scotland: A History and a Guide is an ideal travel companion and guide through the fascinating social, political, and architectural history that constructed the magnificent great houses of Scotland.
Books:
- Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems
- Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems
- Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings
- Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics
- Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
- Discovering the Essential Universe
- Dogs are from Neptune
- Dynamics of Comets and Asteroids and Their Role in Earth History
- Einstein: His Life and Universe
- Encyclopedia of the Solar System, Second Edition
Books Index
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Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity (Helix Books)
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order
The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution
Emergence: From Chaos to Order (Helix Books)
