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The Life of the Cosmos
 
 

The Life of the Cosmos (Paperback)

by Lee Smolin (Author) "Science is, above everything else, a search for an understanding of our relationship with the rest of the universe ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: OUP USA; New edition edition (27 May 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0195126645
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195126648
  • Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 324,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Science fans, hold on to your hats! Lee Smolin, a professor at the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at Pennsylvania State University, is about to take you on the ride of your life. Imagine, if you will, the theory of evolution applied to physics. What if our universe is so ideally adapted to life because it developed that way? What if ours is just one among many thousands of universes, all engaged in a cosmic survival-of-the-fittest struggle? These are just two of the wildly original theories Smolin posits in The Life of the Cosmos, in which Alice in Wonderland meets quantum physics. According to Smolin, the majority of today's physicists still regard physical laws as immutable, mathematical and eternally true--to them, the universe is an intricate mechanism, a cosmic clock. But what if the laws of physics aren't really "laws" at all, but rather an evolving, developing process of natural selection that began even before the Big Bang?

From Smolin's initial theory, it's a short step to black holes, alternate universes, string theory, gauge symmetry and knots--all complicated abstractions that Smolin describes and explains in a remarkably comprehensible way. Even if you don't agree with Smolin's science, his book makes for great mind-bending reading and more than a little food for thought. If nothing else, The Life of the Cosmos proves once and for all that there really is intelligent life on this planet. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"The argument is as mentally thrilling as shooting Niagara in a dishpan, plunging the reader into a dizzying no-man's land between physics and metaphysics."--Curt Suplee, The Washington Post
"It's great fun to see the implications of this fantastic idea laid out by so original a thinker.... Smolin makes some of the strongest arguments I've seen that understanding the universe will require a serious search for some kind of laws of complexity."--George Johnson, The New York Times Book Review


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Science is, above everything else, a search for an understanding of our relationship with the rest of the universe. Read the first page
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4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Darwin and Leibniz may have lessons for physicists, 3 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Life of the Cosmos (Paperback)
Although both physicists and philosophers may find it hard to agree with Lee Smolin's ideas, neither group could deny that his views are thought provoking. The book provides a refreshing insight into ideas about the structure of space-time and a possible explanation of why the physical constants have the values they have. If you have a taste for cosmological speculation but find daffy science popularisations with "god" in the title more irritating than illuminating, then this book is for you. Smolin writes with clarity and manages to engage the reader with the wonder at the heart of physics without the use of laboured attempts at poetry. A "real" physicist who can write is a rare treat. If you have enjoyed the work of David Deutsch or Julian Barbour, try this. If you haven't, try them next.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An extremely interesting book, a must for dreamers., 18 Mar 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Life of the Cosmos (Paperback)
A well written book for anyone who is interested in the Physics of the universe, but doesn't nessesserily have an acute knowledge of Mathematics. Smolin ventures into dimentions and elementary particles with a highly detailed analysis of the smallest things in the universe but sometimes lacks a wide overview. A great book even for beginners. All you need to be interested in this book is some knowledge of Physics and an active imagination.
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1 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars again it's one deduction too far, 13 Nov 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Life of the Cosmos (Paperback)
It's a super book but it seems that the thought process goes to far. If we and the universe continuously evolve to explain the improbability of our being here and we avoid inventing god, we only invent an unprovable theory as a substitute.

However I need to know why these other universes on the other side of black hole compare with ours. There is only so much energy around so each must be pretty limited and since they drain this one, I'm surprised we are still here.

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