The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang [Paperback]

Marcelo Gleiser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

In this provocative work, a brilliant young physicist argues that science and religion, far from warring disciplines, may both offer valid, even complimentary, explanations for the origins of the universe.

Marcelo Gleiser begins by providing a broad, highly accessible outline of philosophical and scientific ideas about the universe through the last twenty-five centuries, from the ancient universal creation myths to contemporary theories on an ever-expanding universe. He also explores the lives and work of history's greatest scientists, including Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and Stephen Hawking. By exploring how scientists have unlocked the secrets of gravity, electromagnetism, time, and space, Gleiser offers fresh perspective on the debate between science and faith.

Marcelo Gleiser writes as a scientist who believes in more than just one approach to life's most enduring questions and views science as an endless process of discovery of the world both around us, and within.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

An attempt to bridge the gap between spiritual and scientific inquiries into the nature and origins of the universe, from a physics professor at Dartmouth. Actually, Gleiser believes that the studies of cosmologists such as himself are spiritual; it's just that scientists seek to prove their intuitions, rather than to rely on faith. He finds the notion that scientists are cold and objective, rather than passionate, to be ludicrous and even offensive, and his accounts of the work of Einstein, Copernicus, and Newton wonderfully personalize the essentially spiritual quests these men made on their paths to discoveries with reproducible results. Einstein spoke of a ``cosmic religious feeling,'' for instance. To go back a long way indeed, the Pythagoreans were a monastic order of sorts, their mathematical discoveries a way of proving order in the universe and, to their minds, a divine intelligence. Sometimes, Gleiser is hard pressed to find much spirituality at work--in the endeavors of Niels Bohr, for instance. Nonetheless, the spirituality that is evident in the groundbreaking work of many great scientists is convincingly illuminated by Gleiser in this rather unique overview. He begins with a survey of various creation myths, from Hopi to Zoroastrian to Christian, and shows their links to the early astronomy of the Babylonians and Greeks. He devotes a great deal of attention to the Greeks, then moves on to the ideas of the ``pious heretic,'' Galileo; the origins and intent of Newton's laws of motion; the discovery of the laws of thermodynamics; and the turbulent discoveries of the modern age, beginning with Einstein and progressing through quantum physics and on to the ramifications of the uncertainty principle. Even if one cares little for Gleiser's spiritual asides, this is an exceptionally clear summary of 2,500 years of science and a fascinating account of the ways in which it often does intersect with spiritual beliefs. (30 b&w drawings, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Sweeping through twenty-five centuries, Gleiser examines how mankind's discovery of the connections between mythology, philosophy, and science brought about new cosmological insights."--Natural History --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Plume (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452276063
• ISBN-13: 978-0452276062
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,856,780 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Marcelo Gleiser is the Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College. He is the author of over 80 scientific papers and three popular science books in English. (In his native Brazil--he proudly grew up at the shores of fabulous Copacabana beach--where he sometimes is compared to Carl Sagan, he has published 10 books, including a historical novel based on Johannes Kepler's life.) He is fascinated with questions of origins: of the universe, of matter, and of life-- the main topics of his research.

When he is not teaching, doing research, or writing, he loves exploring the still pristine streams of Vermont and New Hampshire with his fly rod in search of wild trout. No, he doesn't ever kill a fish, although sometimes the fish, or their pursuit, come close to killing him. He is also an avid long-distance runner (watch out Murakami!) and yogi.

If you want to know more about Marcelo's activities please visit his official web page: www.dartmouth.edu/~mgleiser
and his blog at National Public Radio, shared with three other scientists/writers: www.npr.org/blogs/13.7

You can also follow Marcelo on twitter: http://twitter.com/MGleiser

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gleiser makes a normally dull subject dance with new life., September 12, 2000

By 

E. Chen (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang (Hardcover)

I picked up this book on a whim, seeking to learn more about creation myths and the relation between science and religion. An English major who typically favors literary fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found within its pages: a very compelling narrative about past and present views of the universe and the people who contributed to our understanding of it - all in a language that even the most physics-phobic reader can understand and appreciate. Gleiser is an eloquent and entertaining writer whose writing style does much to support his arguments that science and reason are not necessarily devoid of emotion and spirituality. His obvious enthusiasm for the knowledge he imparts is infectious and although other works may be better at explaning the mechanics of the universe (e.g. Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time), anyone who has ever suffered through the unwieldy textbook jargon of an introductory physics course can appreciate the way which he makes this book not only educational, but *readable.* By weaving together information about how the universe works and the people who made those discoveries, Gleiser's book reads less like a scientific explanation of the universe and more like a story populated with fantastic figures and propelled by amazing discoveries. An excellent, well-written book on a subject the author manages to make fascinating to even this scientifically-numb reader, I find myself intrigued by the subject and eager to learn more.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Religion and science tracking the same objectives, September 14, 2002

By 

Esther Nebenzahl - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang (Paperback)

Starting with ancient myths, going across the history of philosophical/physical science to our present day, Marcelo Gleiser demonstrates how there is a common language and purpose uniting human thought. There is no sense in maintaining a bi-polarity, a separation between spiritual and scientific inquiries. The quest for the Absolute Reality transcends the distinction between religion and science and each one serves as inspiration for the other. This becomes evident in the arena of the origins of the universe where there is a link between ancient myths and modern cosmology. Mysticism has been a source of inspiration for many scientists and the concept of a "cold, materialist" scientist is totally out of context.
Marcelo Gleiser dedicates an extensive chapter on the Greeks, continues his journey into neo-Platonism during the Middle Ages, Copernican revolution, Galileo, Newton, all the way to present optics, thermodynamics, relativity and quantum mechanics. The closer he moves into contemporary science the more technical his language becomes, but overall it is quite an accessible reading which does not require substantial background in major scientific developments.
For the author the beauty of science is that it brings us closer to nature; it would be a benefit to each and everyone if science were to be taught with a less emphasis on its cold, rational, "operative" objective. Gleiser also explains how we are slaves to our rational mechanisms (language fails to fully explain the quantum phenomena), how our finite brain attempts to reach the infinite and trascend our bipolar reality.
Marcelo Gleiser draws a parallel between myths of creation and cosmological models for the origins of the universe, classifying them into temporal myths with the corresponding theories of the Big-bang or Lemaitre primordial atom, and "atemporal" myths and the corresponding models proposed by Bondi, Gold and Hoyle, or the "Phoenix Universe." He makes use of an informal narrative, with an outspoken enthusiasm, removing the aura circumscribing physics and physicits. In the process he sacrifices technicality for the benefit of a wider scope of readers.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cosmology: The Next Generation, December 4, 2005

By 

Dr. Victor S. Alpher (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang (Hardcover)

I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Gleiser when he recently interviewed my father, Dr. Ralph A. Alpher--the last of his generation involved in the development of the Big Bang Theory--which today most Astrophysicists and Cosmologists accept as an empirically founded version of Genesis--at least the Genesis of 15 or so million years ago.

My father's dissertation advisor was a great popularizer of science and physics, the late George Gamow. As I was a youngster when Gamow was alive, I should have demanded to meet him!!! Ah, but what do children of great men really know?

Well, in the tradition of Gamow, and with great affection for his writings and admiration for Dr. Ralph A. Alpher's work, I find that Dr. Gleiser has taken up the torch of science popularizing in a major way. This book will live up to the non-technical reader's hopes!!! Gleiser has mastered his subject and presents it in a both serious and entertaining way. And today, there is so much bunk to separate from what is reasonable to believe!!!

From the earliest creation ideas to the greatest mysteries of today, you will enjoy Dr. Gleiser's work. There are other writers regarding modern cosmology for the masses (Dr. Steven Weinberg's "The First Three Minutes" and Rober Jastrow's "God and the Astronomers" come immediately to mind. However, Dr. Gleiser's scope is so much broader and majestic--you will not regret having his work in your library.