Customer Reviews

Origins of Existence: How Life Emerged in the Universe

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

 

 

I welcome this new book by professor Adams. While he draws from his previously published "The Five Ages of the Universe", cosmology material is upgraded, and at the same time, book contains refreshing chapter about origins of life (RNA, mutations, transfer from physics to biology, metabolism/replication, etc.) Are we alone in our region of observable Universe? - the author, who expands on Drake's Equation and adds speculations about digital and analog life forms, nicely analyzes this question.

Density of information compares to heavy core of a massive star. Text is packed with knowledge and requires reader to concentrate on every sentence.
Repetitions are present, but I found them helpful in memorizing what I have digested.

I appreciated a very innovative logarithmic energy scale developed to compare terrestrial events and used throughout the whole book, as well as other numerical comparisons and tables.
Generally author avoids mathematical equations. Exception can be found on page 194 (bottom) but formula is not explained.
I would consider this expression as Friedmann's Equation for Universe evolution.
Illustrations could be less artistic and more "scientific", but this is subject of individual taste.
"Origins of Existence" are in full agreement with currently published WMAP satellite findings (confirmations); therefore it is a valuable position for every cosmology enthusiast.

I teach introductory astronomy to liberal arts majors, and I
have been strongly recommending this book to students seeking a better
understanding of cosmology, planet formation, the prospects
for life elsewhere, and all the viscerally exciting topics that
I touch but do not elaborate on in class.

Indeed, Origins of Existence is a book of astounding scope. It
seeks (and succeeds) to explain on every level how things came
to be, tracing the arc of development from quantum fluctuations
in the Big Bang through the emergence of life and intelligence.
Adams proceeds with accuracy, clarity, and occasional dry humor.
Unlike many popular science books written by Big Picture
Theorists, this text is correct down to the carefully researched
detail. Adams is never out of his depth, and is equally at home
with String Theory or Evolutionary Biology. I have not seen
this scope of subject mastery in any other comparable book.

Origins of Existence is accessible to anyone with interest, but
Adams' respect for the subject matter steers him from easily
digestible generalizations, necessarily keeping the book from
being an `easy' read. Having finished it, however, I found that
the reward of a deeper grasp of this material is absolutely worth
the effort. Five stars without hesitation!

Timely and fascinating, Adams' second book examines emergence theory...sort of. Emergence theory is usually the realm of biologists--Adams is an astrophysicist. He explores the roles played by astronomical structures and physical laws in the origin of life. "Origins of Existence" is energetic and thoughtful. Its detailed and thorough explanations engage the reader: catalyzing questions, rather than offering simple answers. Final chapter is especially challenging and wonderful. I loved enough to read it twice.

Fred Adams, an astrophysicist at the University of Michigan bit off an awfully big chunk when he set out to write the Origins of Existence. "This book," he writes, "tells the story of global cosmic ecology, from the smallest asteroids to the almost unfathomable scale of the whole universe, and even beyond. It is a history of the cosmos, from before the big bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and moons. It is the story of microscopic particles organizing themselves into ever-larger molecular structures, with ever-increasing levels of complexity, and culminating in the everyday miracle that we call life. It is a scientific glimpse of the face of creation."

Factually, Adams succeeds remarkably well. In the book's 222 pages, he manages to pack a pretty thorough survey of current scientific thinking about the big bang, the genesis of our cosmos with its physical laws, particles, and structures, on through the formation of stars, planets, and life. He also touches on some of the multiverse theories which may help explain why our particular universe is so remarkably well-tuned to the eventual emergence of life, including beings like ourselves who are capable of noticing and wondering at that fine-tuning. And he projects the very long-term prospects of the universe as well.

Unfortunately, in the unfolding of all this intrinsically fascinating material, it seems to lose much of its sparkle. As I read through Adams' exposition, I came to feel that some key features were lacking--most notably mention of the people who made the discoveries or came up with the ideas he describes, and a sense of narrative, how these ideas developed over time. Scanning the book's index, I count only about 35 names (and at least half of those are actually concepts named after people, like the Hubble flow). This reflects the fact that almost all of the ideas Adams presents are described as though they popped into existence from some sort of conceptual reservoir without the intervention of human beings. And that sense of impersonal fact is matched by the near-absence of story-telling. There's very little sense of things being found out by people over time and despite difficulties. As a result, the book seems somewhat "flat." If it were a survey course on the current state of cosmology, which it well could be, I wonder how well-attended it would be.

That's not to say the book is without any saving moments. Every so often Adams comes through with a great comment, for example predicting that ". . . solar systems are crowded with astronomical petri dishes." He also works hard to put the cosmos into perspective, providing a useful scale of the energy involved in different events and offering tools for comparing the very big and very small numbers that characterize the universe. He provides one of the best explanations I've read of the multiple "rolled up" dimensions that sting theory and M-theory say co-exist with the macroscopic dimension we're able to sense. And, by coming back again and again to the many levels of "fine tuning" that have allowed our universe to last as long as it has and grow structures such as galaxies, stars and planets, and, in our neck of the woods at least, complex living organisms, Adams forces the reader to question, as have many physicists, just how that might have come about.

So, I'd suggest reading Origins of Existence if you're interested in the concepts Adams so comprehensively presents, and if you're willing to overlook the rather impersonal way in which these fascinating ideas are handled.

Robert Adler
Author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002).

I'm a cosmologist (I work on some of the issues discussed in
this book). I think it's the best thing to come along in a long,
long, time. I agree with roboadler's description of the way in which it is written, but I assume a reader is interested in learning about this stuff, not a story-time about the people in the game. There are lots of other places you can go for that.

This discusses cosmology, but with a view continually to the questions related to why we are here. I think it is wonderful.
This is the first new pop cosmology book I will have been willing
to recommend in more than five years.

Very good explanation of some complex topics. Love the progression from the furthest abstract of the universe to the specificity of life itself. Good book if you're into this sort of thing.

Much of the same unconvincing, rehashed theories.
The only saving grace was his ideas on pre big band and future of the universe.