The Matter Myth: Dramatic Discoveries That Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality [Paperback]

Paul Davies (Author), John Gribbin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0671728415 | ISBN-13: 978-0671728410

Two highly acclaimed science writers--authors (separately) of God and the New Physics and In Search of Shrodinger's Cat--explain the latest breakthroughs in scientific thought, revolutionizing our concept of the universe and our place within it. Line drawings throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Recent breakthroughs in physics are causing a revolution in how scientists view the universe, according to Davies ( The Cosmic Blueprint ) and Gribbin ( In Search of the Big Bang ). The authors survey the discoveries that have caused this shift from the traditional mechanistic worldview (which sees the universe as "a gigantic purposeless machine") to a less rigidly determined one that includes chaos, black holes, antimatter and even the possibility of multiple universes. They explore how it would feel to be swallowed by a black hole (one would be stretched and squeezed before being crushed into nonexistence) and why going through a wormhole, a kind of space tunnel, would allow one to travel backward in time. The authors explain why cosmic strings (which may stretch across the universe and outweigh galaxies) could fit into a single atom and how space can be curved. This accessible work also examines fundamental questions such as how the universe's "big bang" origin probably sealed its fate (it will end in a reverse process known as the "big crunch") and whether time is real or simply an illusion.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Wormholes, cosmic strings, quarks, relativity, quantum mechanics--Davis and Gribbin explain all the basic elements of the universe in a comprehensive summary of modern physics written on the layperson's level. Beginning with Isaac Newton's conception of the universe as a great cosmic clock, they follow the growth of materialistic determinism, where all events were assumed to result from absolutely determinable interactions of inert particles. This idea of matter turned out to be a myth, shattered early in this century by the uncertainties of relativity and quantum physics. The authors unseat materialism from its exalted position and along the way discuss chaos, the origin of the universe, multidimensional spacetime, evolution, the Gaia hypothesis, and extraterrestrial life. Very readable, with mathematics kept to a minimum. An essential volume for anyone wanting to understand today's physics. Recommended for all libraries.
-Doug Kranch, Ambassador Coll. Lib., Big Sandy, Tex.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671728415
• ISBN-13: 978-0671728410
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,704,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Davies is an internationally acclaimed physicist, cosmologist, and astrobiologist at Arizona State University, where he runs the pioneering Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He also chairs the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Post-Detection Taskgroup, so that if SETI succeeds in finding intelligent life, he will be among the first to know. The asteroid 1992OG was officially renamed Pauldavies in his honor. In addition to his many scientific awards, Davies is the recipient of the 1995 Templeton Prize--the world's largest annual prize--for his work on science and religion. He is the author of more than twenty books, including The Mind of God, About Time, How to Build a Time Machine, and The Goldilocks Enigma. He lives in Tempe, Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very lucid approach to a difficult subject., March 30, 2001

By 

Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Matter Myth: Dramatic Discoveries That Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality (Paperback)

I'm not a math-physics type person really. More of a math-physics wanna-be! Because I have more of a verbal/visual than a math mind, I avail myself of every opportunity to read books on quantum and relativity physics that are written for that type of reader. Two of my on-line friends, Steve and Roger, both recommended Paul Davis' books, and I found Matter Myth an extraordinary example of the genre.

Davis and his coauthor, John Gribbin, begin their book with a discussion of Newtonian physics and the 17th Century concept of a "clockwork universe." In this approach to the physical world, every event in the universe might conceivably be predicted given a thorough knowledge of initial conditions. The success with which Newtonian physics described the behavior of the macroscopic world gave rise to a philosophy of materialism that gripped the thinking of succeeding centuries. Davis and Gribbin see the rise of relativity and quantum physics, with the concepts of chaos, uncertainty and virtual particles, as an antidote for the stultifying effects of grim determinism. The attempts to make the two theories compliment one another and the efforts to unify the four primary forces in nature (strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravity) in an all encompassing theory are viewed as setting the stage for a universe where free will in fact has some place.

The book also discusses the string theory and small particle physics, both of which help cosmologists gain some insight into the beginning of the universe, its likely history, and its ultimate end. It also discusses some of the theories regarding parallel universes and anti-universes. The authors also discuss time and its nature, but the interested reader might prefer Davis' book About Time, which goes into the subject in greater depth.

Although The Matter Myth is listed as a religious apologia, in fact there is very little about religion or god in the book. The discussion of multiple words in association with the uncertainty principle and the famous Shrodinger's Cat thought experiment certainly leaves it open to assume the need for an ultimate "observer," but the authors themselves seem to adhere to the scientific position that such an observer is non-testable and therefore outside the realm of scientific investigation. They certainly do not espouse any particular religious outlook.

This is an altogether engrossing volume for anyone interested in the subject. It's very readable; enough so that even someone with very little knowledge of the topic would be able to understand the clearly written descriptions of the scientific concepts. At least three people at work, two nurses and a nursing assistant, after a casual perusal of the contents asked to read the book when I've finished it.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Update needed!, May 16, 2008

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Anton Smit (Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Matter Myth: Dramatic Discoveries that Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality (Paperback)

I agree with the majority of reviewers that this is an excellent book, making some very difficult concepts understandable to the layman. The book was published in 1992, and I bought the October 2007 edition. It is a pity that so much data in the book are outdated: Dark matter is hardly mentioned, and there is no reference to dark energy; the age of the universe is given as 'about 15 billion years', and I quote from page 174: 'The expansion rate (of the universe) is inexorably slowing.' Unfortunately, outdated concepts like these undermine the credibility of the book on the whole. I hope the authors review the book soon.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring the Postmechanistic Paradigm, February 22, 2000

By 

Cynthia Sue Larson "www.realityshifters.com" (San Francisco bay area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Matter Myth: Dramatic Discoveries That Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality (Paperback)

Davies and Gribbin succeed in clarifying some of the most intriguing questions known to mankind, such as "How did spacetime come into existence?", "How can matter appear out of nowhere?", "Does the future already exist?", and "How does spacetime curve?" They delve into fascinating reasons why your `now' and my `now' are not necessarily the same thing, and many other exciting implications for our everyday lives from quantum physics. What I love most about THE MATTER MYTH is the way it helps free our thinking from the mechanical, machine-mindedness which has for so long dominated western thinking... as its authors eloquently assert that materialism is dead. The post-mechanistic paradigm is here.