Customer Reviews

The Creation of the Universe

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have bought just about every worthwhile cosmology documentary out there, and this one is by far the best. For anyone interested in physics, cosmology, big bang theory, astronomy or even religion, this is a must-buy. Timothy Ferris of the university of California, Berkeley, takes you on a joyous ride acroos the intellectual spectrum of 20th century scientific thought. He shows not only what scientists believe, but also WHY they believe what they do in regards to the Big Bang theory. The work traverses the impact that such minds as Hawking, Einstein and Wheeler have had upon the present cosmological paradigm. I simply cannot praise this video enough. Also, for those that like the video even half as much as I, Timothy Ferris' book At Home In The Milky Way is highly recommended as well.

I liked this video precisely because it attempts to heal the breach between science and religion, concerning the origin of the universe. Reviewers who disliked the presentation because it is "permeated with religion" have missed the point. The producers were not pandering to any particular denomination or creed, nor were they pushing religion as such. Nor it is Creationism. The universe, to these top scientists, is billions of years old. The vast majority of the material deals with secular science: atomic particles, distant galaxies, forms of energy, high-power telescopes, particle accelerators, astronomical timelines, etc. Much of it was filmed on location at such non-religious places as the Mt. Palomar telescope and the CERN particle accelerator.

But, at the same time, the producers are not hiding the fact that some basic concepts expressed in many ancient philosophies turn out to be correct when viewed through the equations of modern physics. Personally, I liked these religious-cultural parallels. I fail to understand why some critics think it's OK to give the "logical" Greeks credit for the idea of invisible atoms, but not to give credit to the "religious" Jews for the idea that a singularity was at the beginning of the universe. Whether you call it "Let There Be Light" or the Big Bang, the concept is pretty much the same. My personal opinion is that the mystics and philosophers intuited these cosmic events, but did not yet have the math to express them. Now the physicists do.

Ditto for the modern theory of "Shattered Symmetry," which I had never heard until I viewed this film. Essentially, the theory says that a perfectly symetrical universe is a static universe, because it cannot grow or change. "Shattering" that symmetry was an essential step in the formation of the universe as we know it. That one hit me like a lightning bolt, because the same idea was expressed by the Jewish mystics many centuries ago. It's known as the "Shattering of the Vessels" in kabbalah. (No, the video did not mention kabbalah, but for me, the similarity was so obvious, it was utterly awe-inspiring. I literally turned off the VCR to think about it for a while.)

On the technical end, the film is very well done, using easily grasped analogies and excellent computer simulations to get across some very complex concepts. Yes, it's somewhat "dated," in that it was produced in the mid-80s. (For example, Stephen Hawking speaks rather tediously through an interpreter, instead of using a voice synthesizer as in later years.) Still, it's a good intro to basic atomic physics. Not being a physicist myself, I had to watch twice to fully "get" some of the ideas. It was just as good the second time through.

this is a landmark program and though it is somewhat out of date at this point (we now know that the universe is accellerating in it's expansion, which defeats many ideas offered by Ferris) it is none the less an outstanding presentation of basic cosmology that almost any layman could understand and enjoy. The exquisite brian eno soundtrack is only one of many high points. Read Hawking. Read Ferris. See this video. Go to bed feeling so small in the scheme of the universe that you'll want to read more to feel more important !!!! :-)

This is easily one of the best science docs ever produced. If you are interested in the physics of subatomic particle theory tied together with cosmology, its history of discovery, what is known vs what challenges remain to be discovered... then this is for you. Mr Ferris gives an excellent presentation.

For 1985, I'm sure this documentary was pretty well done. However, now that I'm reviewing this in 2008, I kind of expect a little more from documentaries. I know that sounds somewhat unfair, but bear with me and let me explain. I really love Cosmology; I find it to be an utterly fascinating subject. I've read books by some of the people interviewed on here, namely Stephen Hawking. However, I can't help but find this to be a fairly dry documentary. It doesn't feel like it's geared towards the general public, but more for people at the college level in some field of science. This was done both in a good and bad way in my opinion.

First off it was really cool to visit many locations and science facilities as we journey with Timothy Ferris around the world. He takes us inside particle accelerators and to different observatories to help us see what scientists are working on in these fields at that time. This is a great documentary from a historical perspective and it's very timeless in that nature. I thought seeing Ferris sit down at some of those ancient computers was quite humorous. I do think the information held within was interesting, but there's just something about the way it's presented that was a bit too dry. This would be an alright form if the documentary was shorter, but then you'd be hard pressed to fit all of the information in there!

Some sections of this are also overly technical. It says it's something for the "whole family", but unless your whole family understands a little bit about particle physics you might find this a little tough to follow. When he goes over the strong and weak nuclear forces and how Z or X particles relate, it gets kind of convoluted. I realize that this is pretty much the most basic explanation you'll get for anything on particles or quantum physics, but still it's kind of tough to follow and then retain that for the full story on the creation of the universe. And this is coming from someone who gets the general concept behind how particle physics works. I'm not saying you need a PhD to really understand this documentary, but I think things are explained a little TOO fast, so if you're looking for a basic overview for a high school class or anything on that level you really should rethink that. Or at the very least view this well beforehand and even then I would only recommend showing this to Advanced Placement students outside of the college venue. If you want something a little more basic that gives a great general overview then I highly recommend "Hyperspace". This is great introductory material and it has stunning graphics to accompany all the explanations. You don't get to see the real scientific facilities, but students will walk away being mystified by scientific concepts. "The Creation of the Universe" is great for students who want to see the actual facilities and see how things are actually being done in reality. "Hyperspace" is great if you want to teach concepts and want to wow the viewer, but again, it's very basic.

The one other problem with this documentary is the interview sequence. I can't express enough how much respect I have for Hawking, his research, and his discoveries! But he's given a lot more talking time than he should in this documentary. I realize the disease he has is a tragedy, but this is prior to when he had a computer that could talk for him. In this documentary he has a student that can understand him translate for him. Unfortunately this goes back and forth like any interpretation method, so Hawking speaks, the audience doesn't understand a word of it then the translator speaks. However, this is not a good method to convey that brilliant man's ideas. He doesn't speak in full sentences, so it's not like a normal linguistics interpretation and the sentence structure sometimes feels like it's lost, especially when the translator has to have him repeat once in a while. Its one thing to show it once, but this happens a couple times on this documentary. He's a brilliant mind, and he should get credit for his research, but if you're trying to convey those ideas to an audience, I felt they were simply lost in translation. It felt more like they had him on there for the sake of filming him. However, this documentary seems to be heavily based on the reality of the situation science is in and we get that feeling with other interviews, like with Wheeler and Hawking. I just felt at the end of the interviews with Hawking that they were more of a detriment than a help.

At the end Ferris goes over some religious analogies and talks about historical scientists that were all religious. He relates the worldview of monotheism to the scientific concept of a grand unified theory. I'm sure Ferris is very sincere in his presentation of this, but I felt like he was playing too much to apologetics at this point. Granted the creation concept is a hot topic in any religious belief, but it just felt so out of place at the end. I realize many Christian viewers will enjoy this, since he does play a focus on that, but he does point out that science is rather impartial and it doesn't matter if you're agnostic, atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, or whatever to do good science. But I just didn't fully get where he was going with this section of the argument. It just felt like it was a time filler to play apologetics for whatever religion doesn't fit into the scientific view of the Big Bang.

Overall this is incredibly well researched. It gives you a lot of information about what scientists have worked on, but mainly sticks with things that are between Einstein and the 1980's. So don't expect a major history lesson, though there is a little bit of historical reference thrown in for good measure, such as Galileo inventing the telescope and going on location to see where it was used by him. I don't think this documentary will interest many people unless you really have an interest in particle physics. They spend a huge amount of time on that, the first few seconds of the big bang and what particles were doing then. It's filled with cheesy 1980's computer graphics, but you should expect that. So remember, if you want to wow students and have something basic, go for "Hyperspace" and if you want something more intermediate that focuses on realistic scientific research get "The Creation of the Universe".

3.5 out of 5

Although a bit dated, this program still relatively accurate in its scientific content. It was also fascinating to listen and watch some of our most legendary, and knowledgeable, scientists opine on their experiences and philosophies. I am waiting for Ferris to make an updated sequel on this subject.

This is an incredible DVD. Everyone should see it. It will make you change the way you think. There is so much to learn about our universe and it puts a great perspective on your way you see things. It made me only want to learn more and appreciate the great minds we once had and the great minds that are presently in our world.

The physics is certainly very good but this seventeen year old production is very dated. It contains some very eminent physicists which are worth hearing but you hear what they thought almost two decades ago. It is tinged with religion and I wonder about the background of the people behind this production. Lots of organ music and religious symbolism. Sorry I bought it.

This is one of the better shows on science ever made. It's clear and easy to understand. Dr. Tim Ferris did a masterful job. He is, in my mind, as good as Dr. Carl Sagan ever was at bringing science to the layman. With Dr. Ferris however, you get the science without the ego and leftist idiology that was often seen in Dr. Sagan's work(NOT to impune the work of the late, great Carl Sagan, I just didn't much care for his politics). I highly recommend this excellent video to layman and science buff alike

It's interesting that a program which originally aired in 1985 should still hold up as well as this one does...

But it's true because this program takes you on a breath taking voyage of the then known frontiers of physics (which remain largely the same today).

For my money, it gives the viewer the best video comparative description and comparison of the supposed four fundamental forces of nature being:

Electromagnetism which functions at both the subatomic and macroscopic levels;

The strong nuclear force which binds gluons together making the nucleus of atoms remarkably durable structures;

The weak nuclear force which governs subatomic decay (and significantly plays an important role in defining the arrow of time...a point to which I will shortly return); and finally

Gravity which functions greater at greater mass levels.

Together these four paradoxically similar and different forces serve to define the actions of ordinary matter.

As mentioned this DVD was originally aired back in 1985 but if you read event recent popular selections on physics (like for example the 2010 User's Guide to the Universe) you will find that it still reflects a very current understanding of physics. The progam also demonstrates a remarkable prescience by discussing the string theory movement which was then in its infancy.

For skeptics of string theory, there is great comfort in the offerings of physics icons like John Wheeler whose then existent ideas of simple unifying idea for creation were then particularly in vogue (as they perhaps should still be).

Other than Wheeler, you get to see cool stuff like the particle accelerators at CERN and Fermilab. These visions were particularly sad to watch knowing that back in 1985 Congress was just eight years away from deep sixing forever our own Supercolliding Superconductor which could have put paid to many of theories we still speculate on today.

And sadly, owing to time constrictions there were some issues this program couldn't touch on like the arrow of time. (Here's where I return as promised to this issue: the weak nuclear force is the one force which shows a prejudice for time directionality because K particle breakdowns operate to favor entropy over time as opposed to the reverse.)

For those choosing to start a self schooling physics I would highly recommend this DVD both for it's accessible graphics and comprehnsible diaglogue by the surprisingly telegenic Timothy Ferris.

Highly recommended!