Customer Reviews

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation

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Having some knowledge and professional experience in the sciences, philosophy, and art, I looked forward to receiving this book. I was not disappointed. It is a sumptuous feast of design and thought. The marriage of art and science is hardly a new concept, even in gardens through the ages (Shlain's Art & Physics. Parallel visions in space, time, and light; Gamwell's Exploring the Invisible. Art, science, and the spiritual). Of interest is the garden itself and whether this book effectively presents the history, concepts, and appearance of the landscape. The garden covers an extensive plot of land, 30 acres, in Scotland. A distinguished bevy of scientists, philosophers, designers, artists, and craftsmen assisted architect Charles Jencks in successfully fulfilling his brave conceit of feting modern scientific principles at Portrack House. If mathematician and logician Lewis Carroll had lived in this century, his Alice might have explored this garden. But this is not some museum of science exhibit; it is steeped in the artistic interpretation of scientific structures and functions as well as their implications, all in large scale, in additional to more explicit scientific equations, nomenclature, and text. Fundamentally, however, it is still a formal garden, with well-trimmed foliage, grasses, and blooming plants, where one strolls and wanders, open to sensory stimuli and quiet contemplation. I find it first rate throughout. Featured are DNA helices, messenger RNA and ribosomal formation of proteins; the wave-particle behavioral duality of nuclear subunits; Waddington-like developmental landscapes suggesting black holes and waveform attractors; a water cascade over bifurcating forms after the Big Bang; and sensory representations assisted by aromatic thyme and breeze-activated chimes. The 257-page book is filled with excellent colored photographs and drawings and descriptions that summarize and indicate rather than document and pedantically instruct. Although being in the garden is the only proper way to appreciate all the work involved, this book is the next best thing and it is one to slowly savor. You should also consider the CD of Michael Gandolfi's grand symphonic impressions of this garden.

ALOT OF TIME WENT INTO THIS GARDEN BUT I THINK THEY MISSED THE BOAT