Customer Reviews

In Search of the Multiverse

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What an interesting book.

Let's first dispose, perhaps, of 2 small complaints, which apply to most of John Gribbin's books: John's irrepressible habit to include largely irrelevant biographical data in his texts - as in, in this book, Quote his draft thesis, typed up by his gilrlfriend Nancy Gore, whom he married the following year unquote or "he was born in Washington DC, on 11 November 1930". Frankly - who needs to know such details? Another slightly grating habit is the belaboring of extremely elementary points - such as the author's constant reminders of what "10 the power N" means - anyone who would have difficulty grasping this, even if they extraordinarily enough did not know it yet, but nevertheless read popular science books - would surely have got it the first time!

Now for the gist of the book. The book is an overview and analysis of the current state of play in our search for understanding our Universe, either as a unique Universe or as one within a Multiverse of Universes - where our Universe is one of many (a more technical, and in some ways narrower, overview of learned opinions on the subject ranging from strong acceptance to strong rejection of the concept(s) of the Multiverse is to be found in the book 'Universe or Multiverse, edited by Bernard Carr)

John Gribbin's book shines in many ways, but leaves some questions hanging and IMHO does not go far enough in certain areas. Commendably, he cites Edward Tryon's work - a work that had been rejected out of hand by many eminent Physicists, because Tryon was way ahead of his time when he first described in the late sixties our Universe as the possible result of a rogue quantum fluctuation in a pre-existing environment. The reason for the rejection was that the inflationary scenario (as put forward by Alan Guth) was not yet understood - yet, when I discussed Tryon's model with a couple of world-renowned Physicists as recently as 2005, several years after Alan Guth became famous, they still rejected Tryon's ideas out of hand.

A couple of points that are mentioned almost in passing by John Gribbin would require book-length treatment, and some meta-results seem assumed rather than proven. For instance, he commendably indicates, almost in passing, that time is quantized (an idea astonishingly still controversial in some quarters) and without further ado sets the value of the time quantum at the Planck value. There is absolutely no evidence that the time quantum indeed has that value - the Planck time solely sets an upper boundary to a range of possible time quantum values - there is anyway likely one time quantum value per Universe within the Metaverse. However, if we plug the mass of the universe, roughly 10 to the power 58 grams, into Heisenberg's equation describing a quantum fluctuation that can give rise to a Big Bang by risking to violate the duration limit of allowed existence of that fluctuation- the resulting value of the boundary time quantum is by many orders of magnitude smaller than the value of Planck time. This needs to be explored - Planck's value may also be different in different Universes. In any event, it may depend in part of our definition of a time quantum. If by this is meant the smallest observable value, then Planck time does the job, but if we define it as a minimum incompressible value with real-world, 'material' consequences - such as a fluctuation giving rise to a whole Universe under a Tryon scenario - then this needs to be further explored.

Finally- Max Tegmark is a well-known proponent of mathematics as being the ultimate reality - and although John Gribbing cites Max Tegmark's work several times, and in addition rightly says in the course of the text that 'the truth lies in the equations', he does not explore enough the explanatory and predictive power that pure mathematics lends our attempts to explain the Universe.

As for the conclusion - no spoiler here - I am a whit worried that the conclusion does not address entirely properly an issue it raises, that of backwards recurrence. Overall, a five-star effort, possibly better read in conjunction with Bernard Carr's compilatory volume, but an excellent book in its own right.

As with many of the popular cosmology books of recent years, the author begins by giving background. He recapitulates breakthroughs and major discoveries in the last few decades that bear on cosmology, to include the discovery and exploration of the cosmic microwave background.

His concept of the multiverse is not especially new, but is thoroughly and extensively analyzed. Of course, the multitude of universes discussed has a lot to do with quantum theory and the Schroedinger's Cat paradox. With every binary decision -- did the cat live or die?-- the universe splits into two futures. One writer, Bernard Haisch, estimates that the minimal number of universes produced by this continual bifurnication would amount to 10 power 100 universes at a minimum. The total number of atoms in the universe is estimated as 10 power 54. Thus, this is a lot of universes, and is a lot for the average layman to swallow.

Another process that creates myriad universes has to do with M theory, or brane theory -- an offshoot of superstring theory. We again get almost bewildering numbers. Moreover, John Gribbin begins using the word "infinite." There may be infinite universes. The universe may extend spatially to infinity. To be sure, no one knows the spatial extent of the present universe, since our observations are limited by the speed of light amplified by the expansion of space since the Big Bang -- an radius of about 20 billion light years from the observer. I would imagine the answer to the universe's extension would be -- "we don't know, but it is really really big." I myself would hesitate to jump to use the word "infinite." I am a bit troubled by Mr. Gribbin's utter confidence that his speculations are defensible. He is certainly self-assured -- irritatingly so at times.

Superstring theory and M theory have their detractors, including the eminent Dr. Lee Smolin and others. One perennial problem with variants of string and brane theory is that they do not seem suceptible to demonstration or proof. It's just possible that the researches using the Large Hadron Collider may offer indications as to whether string theory reflects reality, as opposed to being just an amazing mathematical construct. For example, if supersymmetry could be demonstrated. I suppose time will tell.

One problem with the multiverse concept, as I see it, is that each "budded off" universe is unreachable from any other. Even if we do have infinite co-existent universes, we cannot observe or identify any but our own. Again, this seems to make a demonstration of the multiverse concept impossible.

As an interested reader who enjoyed the book, I would see it as a very intriguing series of speculations. It certainly expands the possibilities of our cosmos and stretches the imagination. Infinite space and infinite time somehow do not seem terribly scientific to me -- isn't a major problem with the so-called "Theory of Everything" the emergence of infinities, which thereby make the math a kind of muddle? Perhaps other reviewers with more of a background in physics can make more of this than I.

Has John Gribbin found God? His latest mind-blowing description of cutting edge physics and quantum weirdness starts out conventionally enough (if any of this stuff can be thought of as being conventional) but ends up concluding that our universe is an artifact created by intelligent beings in another universe. The way he explains it, it all seems quite logical, even if along the way he espouses the "block universe" idea (which Einstein favoured) which says that all times are as real as all space, so that "tomorrow" and "yesterday" always exist, in the same way that New York exists even when you are not in New York. The difference is that according to Gribbin ALL possible tomorrows and yesterdays exist in the Multiverse!
Explaining all this involves quantum physics, thermodynamics, and string theory. But in Gribbin's skillful hands the process is quite painless and straightforward. If you liked his tale of Schrodinger's Cat, this is definitely for you.

I had just finished reading Gribbons' "In Search of Shrodinger's Cat" when I bought this book. Really I like "In Search of the Multiverse" but often I found myself overwhelmed and even running around in circles in my mind. To a large degree this is simply the nature of the subject, and not Gribbons' fault, but still I feel that he missed the mark in some spots where he needed to be more clear. In any event I recommend the book, but it is not for the faint at heart. It is not mathematically complex and there are no equations (and fortunately not an overindulgence of history) but if you take this stuff seriously, the theories are not something to fully digest in a single reading. I will have to go over this book a few times to get it. I certainly recommend the book but caution all that it should not be thought of as a nice warm light read over a hot chocolate while your absent-mindedly day-dreaming about infinite universes. You will, or I had to at least, really focus to get your value out of this book.

I read the Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies and loved it. The topic is fascinating, and by definition it's absolutely massive (because it covers every possible universe that exists) so you need to have a good thread holding together the explanation. I felt Gribben had many strands that were never quite wound together. It's still a fascinating read, but it was a bit too disjointed for my liking, I much preferred the Goldilocks Enigma. Also, I feel a few diagrams would have helped immensely in certain sections.

I read a lot of books on physics and science in general and this is one of the best I've read in a long time. Well written and readily understandable for the layman. Gribbin provides an engaging and inspiring view into the current state of cosmology.

This book was very easy to understand, even though I never took any physics classes. The book gives a solid, basic, and necessary foundation on quantum mechanics and then travels on a journey of building up theories on the Multiverse. Oh, and the chapter on quantum computing literally took my breath away. I do not believe this book was not intended to sell the reader on a single theory on what the Multiverse is (hence the title, "In search..."). There are many theories described, mostly building up more and more to describe the final theory, which the author reveals is the one he believes to be correct. I loved reading this book. Period. I wish it could have gone on for another 240 pages!

John Gribbin, an acclaimed science writer and astrophysicist, tackles a number of subjects in his new book, In Search of the Multiverse. People are often sent running for the hills when they hear terms like quantum mechanics, string theory, and not to mention the important differences between general and special relativity. The key with Gribbin is that he doesn't hold back in throwing the reader into the thick of all this scientific thought and theory and then leave them there, but acts as a life-saving guide, taking them along step by step, explaining terms and ideas in their simplest form and in a way that any reader can appreciate and understand; along with numerous examples with normal everyday settings. He also fully admits that there are areas of the above mentioned terms that no one fully understands, at least not yet. Quantum mechanics for one: the idea that every possibility in a particular situation can be achieved in an instant to the point where possibilities in other dimensions are reached. It all sounds like science fiction, and yet results have somehow been achieved. Gribbin takes you through, thoroughly, so in the end - at least for a little while - you are able to grasp what's going on. The other key to In Search of the Universe is that it's not a 600-800 page tome, but a relatively short 200 pages, with concise chapters, making it all the more easier for the reader to get through these complex subjects at a decent pace and to reread if necessary. And how many parallel universes are there out there? Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out.

Originally written on December 21, 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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This is the 2nd of Gribbin's books I have read - now looking forward to getting my hands on the rest. He is a wonderful example of the science writer who can take a massively complex field of study, make it accessible, yet not dumb it down.
That being said, this book is still heavy lifting for large chunks. Not having read much on quantum physics and especially string theory before, I found myself re-reading some chapters before being able to move on, but was rewarded for doing so.
Other reviewers say it better than I can, but I wanted to add my two cents on one important part. The final two chapters are the meat of the book, and fly by. Everything before is laying the foundation for Gribbin to lay out the latest and, for me, most surprising thinking in the field.

Unfortunately Gribbon is riding a hobby-horse with this effort and the horses name is "Multiverse". In effect, after noting early on that nobody understands quantum mechanics, he then makes the assertion that the only reasonably explanation for QM is the existence of the Multiverse, so Q.E.D., there must be a Multiverse.

There are some attempts to maintain the "this is all just a theory" mindset, but Gribbon does not try too hard and each chapter brings another dogmatic pronouncement such as this example with regards a 'bounce back' model for our Universe:

"We are left with a single big bang that just exists, bringing back with full force the puzzle of the cosmic coincidences. Whatever such an isolated bubble of spacetime might be, it is certainly not a Multiverse, and the idea is hard to take seriously at all."

There are similar pronouncements around quantum computing and the arrow of time and each of them illustrates the fundamental failure of Gribbon's effort in my mind. That is, without a clear theoretical or experimental framework that provides an understanding of QM, this is as much magic (or perhaps wishful thinking) as science.

The Multiverse **could** be 100% correct...it **could** be 100% incorrect. Gribbon assumes the former and builds his edifice. It's somewhat interesting but as shaky as the House of String Theory and it gnawed at my credibility page after page so by the time I reached the last chapter I was pretty fatigued.

Maybe one day a clever experiment will prove - or disprove - the concepts that underpin Gribbon's belief, but until then read this as a flight of fancy. And perhaps take comfort that if Gribbon is correct, a multitude of your other selves is equally taking comfort - and a multitude are not!