Customer Reviews

Equations of eternity: Speculations on consciousness, meaning, and the mathematical rules that orchestrate the cosmos

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

 

 

The other reviews of this book don't do it justice. As I'm not planning on spending a long time with this one, mine won't either. But, I'll tell you that this is one of the most memorable and profoundly interesting books that I've read in recent years.

While I'd have to call "Soul Search" my favorite of his books, this book was one that I actually bought up discounted copies of & sent to a number of my friends as gifts. (The friends I sent it to were not scientists or researchers, they were musicians and a health-care worker.) That wasn't something I'd really ever done before (or since).

What made this book so meaningful to me was it's humble-toned explanation of many scientific developments of our time and their implications to us. After writing (with engaging, pleasant, and clear language) about these things, Darling incorporates them into his "speculations" on how our world-society may develop as a collective. Don't get me wrong...there's nothing preachy here. Darling doesn't try to tell you that anything "must be" a particular way. He just offers many well-considered ideas based on an obviously-strong knowledge of his subject.

Ultimately, what Darling did was write a book that is well worth your investments. I'm randomly writing this review (while looking for new works by this author) after not having opened my copy of this book in probably three years. That's how strong an impact it made on me.

While searching for the right words to describe what this book is actually "about" it appeared to me in the subtitle of the book itself - "Speculations on consciousness, meaning, and the mathematical rules that orchestrate the cosmos." Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. The truth is, the book is all over the place - not necessarily in a bad way - but so much so that it's difficult to sum up it's contents with a few simple words. It's anthropology, metaphysics, quantum physics, computer science, teleology, futurism...you name it, it's probably making an appearance in David Darling's "Equations of Eternity."

The first quarter of the book addresses the evolution of human consciousness (thus the anthropology), discussing our near evolutionary ancestors and the development of the forebrain. From there he takes a turn into what to me was the most laborious section of the book, the metaphysical section. Here he just gets a little too "if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" for my taste. Except he takes it a step further and seems to ask "if nobody is there to see it, does the tree even exist at all?" Just when I was about at my metaphysical breaking point, he quickly changes gears into the realm of quantum physics and starts giving the science behind what he is saying (Schrodinger's cat, etc.). It's during this part of the book that the lay reader may get a little lost in the science (I did once or twice) but by and large the book is extremely readable.

Suddenly Darling turns to the world of computer science and how computers might one-day work...random, I was thinking. But I began to see how he was assembling all of the information he laid out in his book and used it to coalesce into his final couple chapters, his "grand theory" of the evolution of consciousness, where he foresees all of humanity - no, all of the universe - existing as one single, massive collective consciousness millions of years from now.

At times the book bordered on a new age philosophy, but he usually avoids this by quickly backing up his claims with scientific research. Whether or not you ultimately buy his theories, the book is well worth the read and he doesn't make too many intellectual leaps, if you carefully follow his arguments. When he does present something that sounds outlandish, he is quick to point out that the standard "accepted" solution of the same problem is often just as outlandish - it's just that we're accustomed to it.

It's a fun book that will really get you thinking, and it's easy to get through with a few night's investment. Well worth picking up - it could be the kind of book that changes your life (as it apparently was to some other reviewers, and I can see how this is possible) but for me it was just an enjoyable foray into some realms of science that are currently almost 100% speculative. But as Darling proves in this book, speculating can be very entertaining.

"In giving birth to us, the universe has performed its most astonishing creative act. Out of a hot, dense melee [chaos] of subatomic particles--which is all that once existed--it has fashioned intelligence and consciousness." David Darling, Equations of Eternity



Two Bowls of Cosmic Porridge?
I don't know, wrote Dennis Overbye in the NY Times, if David Darling and John Gribbin are drinking buddies in some Cambridge pub, since for him, "Equations of Eternity" and "In the Beginning" by the British astrophysicists and popular writers may have hatched by few drinks, on the same night! Gribbin's Search of Schrodinger's Cat and Darling's Deep Time, proved that both have an admirable broad spectrum of speculative deductions, which the eloquent writer finds incompatible with astrophysicists, their own scientific domain. Even if they recount the same stories or agree on many scientific concepts, like with Fred Hoyle, eminent fellow astronomer, does not mean they have conceptual telepathy, but stands in support of Darling's thesis of 'participation in communal consciousness' (pp. 164) Overbye concludes that, "on the quest for meaning, metaphor and courage [both] are staunch allies."

Darling's Speculative Thought:
Darling's main themes of the book are assembled in three groups of essays on Man, Brain and nervous system, his ascent to a handy man, the parting of ways of his right and left brains, and their intuitive functioning, displaying religious models from Taoism to Zen and Buddhism. Such review, though brief, provokes interest in Eastern tradition to Holistic view of man's in the universe. The 'Code within' starts his second discourse on Mathematics, the core script that transformed matter into reality. While using a language of archaic philosophic concepts, starting with Pythagorean overstretching of primitive Greek philosophy, the author proceeds on parallel lines to modern Scientific philosophy of Eddington, introducing quantum physics and cosmic coincidences that lead to the Anthropic Principle. His fine deductions echoes, seventh century Alexandrian philosopher, Philoponus defense of creation ex Nihilo, a metaphysical scheme of Whitehead's accidental universe posed in 'Process and Reality'.

Mind to Participation Cosmology:
Dr. Darling would put the mind, life's core, at the center of the cosmic view, for him the mind is the cosmos, quoting Eddington, "Mind is the first and most direct thing in our experience. All else is remote inference -- inference either intuitive or deliberate." Tracing its development from strands of biological messages to the multi layered modern brain with its holistic right side and complementing analytical left, suggests that this most significant discovery proposes applications to the ultimate nature of the quantum world, in analogy with mind and reality. Such bold interpretations, to describe how nature acts on minute scales, embedded in the uncertainty principle on subatomic particles, may be confusing or disturbing to readers. But Darling gives a logical and eloquent explanation of the quantum sorcery and reflects on its metaphysical insinuations, "genesis at work, here and now: the making of the real from the unreal, the breathing of fire into the equations that underpin the world." Complimenting John Wheeler, the pioneer physicist who named black holes, he proposes that the quantum principle, in which we are all engaged in making the universe real is a prescription for a sort of participation cosmology.

Darling's latest work is masterfully crafted piece that will intrigue the scholar and novice alike. He is able to address complex topics by carefully compiling basic building blocks of common knowledge, forcing the reader to draw his own conclusions. I recommend this text for all serious students of life.

Equations of Eternity - Speculations on Consciousness, Meaning, and the Mathematical Rules That Orchestrate the Cosmos is less about science, and more about speculation. Although Equations of Eternity was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, it is somewhat uneven and not entirely successful. Speculations are not always clearly identified; too often there exists an unclear, fuzzy boundary separating where scientific consensus ends and personal speculation begins.

Furthermore, although the author, David Darling, is not alone in speculating on the interaction between the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory and human consciousness, he rarely references other works. His discussion of whether mathematics involves discovery or invention is not new. I was disappointed that there was no bibliography, no sources, other than an occasional reference in the text.

Darling's arguments place considerable value on the various anthropic principles (especially John Wheeler's Participatory Anthropic Principle and Martin Gardner's extension, the Final Anthropic Principle), and yet, he devoted relatively little space to their discussion (and much less to opposing viewpoints). Darling should have focused more attention here.

In general, the earlier sections were quite good, especially the discussions on the evolutionary development of intelligence, the survival value of self-awareness, and the immense significance of art and symbolic representation in human development. I like his mantra: Self-awareness in humans equates to self-awareness by the universe ... as we humans are clearly components of the universe.

The last few chapters covered more familiar ground - futuristic projections regarding space travel, galactic migration by humans, existence of other intelligent life, the evolution of computers and artificial intelligence - and were more conventional in their outlook.

Although you may not ultimately agree with Darling that "we should begin to treat very much more seriously the possibility of a link between mind and cosmology", his speculations are indeed interesting.

While this is certainly not the best book on any of the many sundry topics it discusses, it gives the reader an overall impression on theories, problems, and conjectures in the world of physics, metaphysics, philosophy, and the like. I personally did not find it "mind-expanding", but it was very informing. I'd wager that the average reader would find this book intriguing, though the veteran philosopher might not be as impressed with it. I enjoyed the book. Darling did tend to lean toward subtle mysticism, which was at most a trifle irritating, but he did quite well to include the pros and cons of not only his perspective but also those of many other viewpoints. Overall, this book is worth the read.

I'd say this book was very good until about the last third. It went from explaining various theories on conciousness, the history and future of the universe, and delved deeper into some things I had never given too much thought to.

My only problem with the book being the last third was that it seemed to change drastically in it's message. It went from scientific theories, explanations, and history, to the writers personal predictions to about a million possibilities of what may lie in the future as far as technology and the evolution of the human mind. I didn't buy the book to read what the author's personal opinions are; I could easily write a book saying things like "In 400 years people will be watching holographic tv and flying around by their own mind-power." Granted, it wasn't quite that bad, but you can see where I'm going with it.

Don't get me wrong, the first 2/3 of the book were interesting, good, and well written. It was interesting reading about space travel and the possibilities of using black holes and their counterparts as a method of travel.

In closing, my only gripe is about the last portions of the book and the overwhelming randomness of the writters personal theories and out-of-left-field shots in the dark as to what he thinks the world may be like in the future.

Having re-read a David Darling book ('Soul Search')I had the "Did I miss something the first time?" experience. This guy is onto something I said and so googled for signs of any more of his stuff. Two more books presented themselves - 'Equations of Eternity' and 'Zen Physics'. 'Equations' proved to be a great read that takes you bit by bit along a journey of human development without having leaps of faith/belief or wild mental gymnastics (he is an astronomer and physicist by training). And, lo and behold! you arrive at our present human condition but without the baggage we normally cart along for these journeys. Read it slowly and carefully and you cannot help but see human development and sense of self in a totally different light. Highly recommended.Equations of Eternity: Speculations on Consciousness, Meaning, and the Mathematical Rules That Orchestrate the Cosmos

This book can be condensed to one sentence: as it is within, so it is without. That is one of the principles in the Hermetic, written by Thoth, long before any of the eggheads in our modern scientific community were hatched.

Who would have thought that Spiritual Laws, thousands of years old and present in most Eastern philosophies, would be proven scientifically by quantum mechanics! It's very refreshing to see members of the scientific community embracing this change of paradigm - that we create our own reality, whatever reality is. I admit that i don't know.

Thanks David Darling. It's not easy being a physicist when your belief system is not in line with conventional wisdom.