Mallove reflects on the awesome prospect that intelligent life may play a significant role in the destiny of the universe. He speculates about well-founded cosmological theory that life may ultimately transform the universe for its own designs, just as it has already gained planet-wide control of the terrestrial biosphere. The Quickening Universe is a reflective scientific tour of the marvelously inventive cosmos that has come to life - quickened - and is now examining itself to discover meanings in its origins and destiny. This is an informed and poetic synthesis of scientific wonders that endlessly provoke our imagination: a probably infinite cosmos that emerged about 15 billion years ago from perhaps absolute nothingness; the unfathomable sense in which the laws of physics seem to "ordain" life - not a particular kind of life but organized complexity; eons of evolution that have led to beings here (and almost certainly in many other places) who can perceive beautiful laws of physics and mathematics and who have an equivalent thirst for artistic beauty; the staggering realization that the universe does not "know" its own state of being at the level of the quantum microcosm; and the supreme enigma, the grand illusion of time.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Mixing 20th-century theories in physics with philosophy, Mallove creates a cosmological view of our universe. His "quickening universe" possesses "the dual attribute of coming to life and accelerating." He conveys the duality through discussions on terra-forming, the big bang, extraterrestrial communication, and the "Gaia" hypothesis. Mallove's articulate writing, using current sources, includes his reflections on these subjects, which tie scientific discovery to the lay world. Written for nonphysicists, the work is recommended for general collections. Michael D. Cramer, Virginia Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ. Lib., Blacksburg
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A wonderful philosophical and reflective essay on the nature of the universe as informed by modern science. It is a fine example of how scientific discovery helps shape one's world view in a rational yet compassionate manner." -- Heinz Pagel, Ph.D., Physicist and Executive Director of the New York Academy of Sciences
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
We are children of the universe truly lost in space and time. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
quantum unreality, quickening universe, cosmic haystack, magic frequency, galactic civilizations, interstellar communication, cosmic evolution, anthropic principle Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Bang, Milky Way, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Frank Drake, Paul Davies, Edward Harrison, Freeman Dyson, Steven Weinberg, Lynn Margulis, Philip Morrison, John Wheeler, Masks of the Universe, Second Law of Thermodynamics, Alan Guth, Atoms of Silence, Einstein's God, Isaac Newton, The Seven Mysteries of Life, Project Ozma, Special Relativity, Stanford University, Zoo Hypothesis New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
We are children of the universe truly lost in space and time. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
quantum unreality, quickening universe, cosmic haystack, magic frequency, galactic civilizations, interstellar communication, cosmic evolution, anthropic principle Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Big Bang, Milky Way, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Frank Drake, Paul Davies, Edward Harrison, Freeman Dyson, Steven Weinberg, Lynn Margulis, Philip Morrison, John Wheeler, Masks of the Universe, Second Law of Thermodynamics, Alan Guth, Atoms of Silence, Einstein's God, Isaac Newton, The Seven Mysteries of Life, Project Ozma, Special Relativity, Stanford University, Zoo Hypothesis New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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- Masks of the Universe: Changing Ideas on the Nature of the Cosmos by Edward Harrison on 7 pages
- The Seven Mysteries of Life by Guy Murchie on 6 pages
- Perfect Symmetry by Heinz R. Pagels on 5 pages
- The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford Paperbacks) by John D. Barrow on 5 pages
- The First Three Minutes: A Modern View Of The Origin Of The Universe by Steven Weinberg on page 23, page 237, and Back Matter
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