Customer Reviews

The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life?

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Scientists are becoming aware that our universe is remarkably friendly to the development of life. It is as if it was designed for life. How can this be explained? Theists will claim that it was designed for life by God. Atheists will claim otherwise. But the question is how to explain this? Davies does a great job laying out the issues that make our universe so biofriendly. He then examines eight theories that have been invoked to explain this. Many scientists are atheists and have worked hard to develop theories that could explain our fortunate circumstances. A prevailing theory is that there are an infinite number of universes, or multiverses. The conditions of most of them are hostile to life formation. Davies does a fair and even-handed examination of each of the 8 theories, from intelligent design to the multiverse theory. He presents the scientific information in a way that a layman can understand. He points out the strengths and especially the weaknesses of each theory, even his own. I believe in God, and Davies is an atheist. But his writing is very fair and very thought provoking. This is a very interesting book, regardless of the reader's beliefs.

I bought this book because I'm a big fan of Paul Davies, but I was disappointed to find out the paperback edition of 'the cosmic jackpot' (which I had read when it came out) was simply given a new title. I would read the reviews for the earlier book instead of this one, since the two are identical. All in all it's a fantastic book that discusses why life needs to be properly explained in a properly complete 'theory of everything'. At the moment of course there is not the beginning of an explanation, unless one is willing to entertain the idea of a multiverse plus anthropic selection.
In summary, see reviews of cosmic jackpot.

This is a wonderful book for those who want to share the confusion held by all honest cosmologists. I don't know why it happened, but there must have been some kind of slip at Amazon or elsewhere. "Goldilocks Enigma" was originally published in the UK. Americans have different taste in titles and the US edition was called "Cosmic Jackpot." I sympathize with any Davies fan who thought it was something new. I'm sure this wasn't a rip-off, but rather a screw-up. BTW: fans should track down Davies' Op-Ed for the New York Times a couple of years back calling for a solution to cosmology that didn't rest on either the claims of divinity or the idea that natural laws were self-generating and thus couldn't be explained. That little piece really ticked off our materialist friends - probably didn't help that Davies won the Templeton Prize either. A traitor to his class I guess.

Must Read

Davies has written a book about physics generally and cosmology in particular. To a person interested in but not formally trained in these th disciplines, it must necessarily be hard going. But anyone who can find a better up-to-date attempt at what Davies has achieved will be indeed fortunate. I am in my seventies and count myself blessed that I have survived long enough to become knowledgeable about the the universe as a whole, albeit understanding aspects of it very imperfectly.

Davies has performed an extraordinary service to those afflicted with curiosity about the topics he tries to elucidate. I am confident that there is no better work of this scope in print.

INVICTUS

Davies is a brilliant fellow and a splendid storyteller. The only flaws in this book come when he ventures into philosophical waters. In his talk of cosmic turtles, he makes the same mistake as many pure materialists in thinking of the traditional metaphysical arguments regarding God as arguments regarding a "super turtle" that would need to be explained causally in the same way as the universe. But there is no good philosopher of modal logic, whatever his or her personal believes, who thinks that's true.

Otherwise, a great read.

Folks, forget all the krap about repackaging and title changes, this book is a must for anyone who wants the real inside track of what's going on in physics. I have been absorbing many books, articles, videos etc.. but the
information is all over the place. Physics, in spite of amazing advances, is in a state of crisis (along with everything else), because of the shear number of pro and con "arguments" from equally brilliant researchers. Davies does a remarkable job of sorting and clearly explaining the collage of modern theories. Of considerable significance is his overview of particle physics, tracing the zoo of "fundamental" particles and how it all fits together -leading to The Standard Model - awesome! Well done Mr. Davies... If anyone has a real interest in getting the facts on cutting edge science, get this book... this is what you have needed for a long time!

Author Paul Davies is well known for explaining the abstruse theories of modern physics so lucidly that just about anyone can understand what those theories intend to describe. And in «The Goldilocks Enigma» Davies succeeds in doing just that in relation to one of the fundamental questions raised by contemporary science: Why is the universe so ideally suited for engendering and harboring life?

Of course, there is only one place (as of this writing) in the entire universe where we know for certain that life arose: our home planet Earth. The rest of creation appears to be pretty much a lifeless desert. So the claim that the universe is "just right" for life may not, at first glance, seem all that fitting. In «Goldilocks» Davies spells out why indeed it is a most apposite characterization, desertic appearances notwithstanding. Along the way, the reader is treated to a grand overview of the main themes of modern physics as well as those of cosmology.

The book's usually well-rounded explanations become somewhat strained when examining the figure of God in the discussion about intelligent design. Contemporary theology and philosophy of religion have developed thorough arguments concerning the role of Providence in the natural world, arguments which are absent in this text. Still, the author himself provides the best remedy: "You can't use science to disprove the existence of a super-natural God." When cognitively bounded beings discuss science, many observers would say, God is best left outside the sphere of inquiry.

This book is allm that I thought it might be. Many questions regarding the 'Creation' process are raised; some of the have answerws, others do not.The discussion is thoughtful and thought provoking.
I wouled reccomend this book to anyone seeking further teological insightsinto the exitence of God and the way in which he created our[and probably many other] world compatible with life!

Dr. Davies makes the various scientific fields such as particle physics and biology combined with philosophy very fun to read. Great book!

This is a very readable book about the Antropic Principle and all the associated issues: multiverses, the watchmaker argument, whether this then points to the excistance of a god or not. It is no easy stuff, but I have been reading it along the pool recently.