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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining and over the top, September 17, 2002
This is an interesting book of cosmological speculation aimed at the general reader. What science writer Marcus Chown does especially well is to excite our imagination about what might be possible in light of what we now know or think we know. This is not, however a book to give comfort to mainstream physicists. Chown's emphasis is on minority report notions including parallel universes, invisible universes, time travel, universes created by super-intelligent beings, extra dimensions, and the like. His technique is to introduce the ideas of maverick scientists (e.g., Max Tegmark, Edward Harrison, David Stevenson, etc.) and, where possible, meld them with the ideas of more established scientists. He avoids (I think) the impossible while concentrating on the exciting. Since most of the ideas presented in this book are of the "not likely to be proven any time soon" variety, I would like to give them a kind of aesthetic grade just for fun and as a way to show you what the book is about. First, the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, an idea championed by physicist David Deutsch in his book, The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes-and Its Implications (1997). Grade: A+. This is a beautiful notion that expands the mind wonderfully. A entire new universe with every tick of the quantum! Mind-boggling in the extreme, yet eye-opening in the sense that by contemplating such an amazement, we might have a better idea of the thought of infinity. (Personally, though, I prefer in everyday life, the Copenhagen interpretation.) Second, the idea of parallel universes (a possibility that can be independent of the many worlds interpretation of QM). Grade: A-. Too easy by itself to imagine. But what gives it elegance is the underlying question that it begs: what is the nature of reality? "Where" do these parallel universes reside? Is "where" really a meaningful concept? Do we have any idea of what "where" really means? Third, time travel backwards based on an imploding universe headed for crunch time. Grade: C. My problem is the "so what" nature of this idea. Clearly it is not supposed that broken cups and scrambled eggs will go a-mending and unscrambling as time moves backwards as in a movie run in reverse. Fourth, time travel based on worm holes, etc. Grade C+. I like the idea that somewhere else (as we emerge from the worm hole) is also some other time, but I just don't see in my wildest imaginings how we might control our destination, either in terms of where or when. Fifth, time travel that avoids the grandfather paradox by having the changes take effect in parallel universes. Grade: A. This really is a nice answer to both the paradoxes and the salient question that Stephen Hawking asked, "Where are the tourists?" (from the future). Incidentally, time travel into the future is no problem logically in this world. It just takes time. (Ha!) It is time travel to the past that leads to all the logical and conceptional problems. Sixth: Invisible universes. Grade: D-. If they can in some way affect our visible universe, make that a C. Invisible universes that we cannot become aware of in any way are effectively speaking not much different than parallel universes. Seventh: the idea that black holes "explode" or bud out into a new universe elsewhere. Grade: A. Although this is about as close to an untestable idea as one can imagine, it has a beautiful symmetry to it that is infectious. Our universe itself could be the result of such a budding out. Eighth: the idea that universes propagate by given birth to new universes, either through black holes or some other manner. Grade: B. What I like about this idea is the suggestion of infinity, one universe leads to another to another, etc., etc., truly mind-exploding! What I don't like is the somewhat biological taint. Testability? (Grin.) Ninth: the idea that there are dark planets in interstellar space teeming with life. Grade: A+. Eminently reasonable. I predict this idea will become a common assumption in a few years. The impetus for this idea is the fairly recent realization here on earth of just how common life is, underground, at the bottom of deep ocean trenches, that does not rely on photosynthesis. This is also an idea that could conceivably, even in my lifetime, find some empirical support. Tenth: panspermia (from Chandra Wickramasinghe and Fred Hoyle), or the idea that the origin of life is extraterrestrial. Grade: A. This is also eminently reasonable and likely to be given some support before too long (if it is true). This really is the most likely idea in the book. Eleven: alien garbage, or the notion that artifacts from ET's are littering up interstellar space and some of those artifacts have hit the earth and are under our feet. Grade C-. I have several problems with this, mainly that I think the amount of debris is a huge overestimate, primarily because I don't think the superior technicians envisioned would be as careless as radio astronomer Alexey Arkhipov seems to think. I could go on but better you should read Chown's book and do your own grading. Bottom line: this is an entertaining excursion up to and over the edge of the known.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastically fun book, February 15, 2003
Wow, a fantastically fun book. I'm not sure that I agree with all of the theories it contains-I'm not sure the author even does-but they're certainly astounding and the thought processes that went into creating them is truly awe-inspiring. Some of them are not new to me. What is new, however, is the approachable style of the composition. Although formerly a radio astronomer at Cal Tech, at present Marcus Chown is primarily a professional science journalist. His approach to the topic of modern physics and its newer concepts is one of a writer and broadcaster. As he discusses each topic, he quotes the primary researchers in the field like a writer for Discover magazine would, asking pertinent questions and where necessary, explaining the answers. Through these dialogues with renowned scientists, he allows the reader to become more familiar with the personalities of the individuals at the leading edge of theoretical physics as well as with their ideas. He functions as a very knowledgeable and lucid interface between the professional scientist and the curious lay person. Each chapter is primarily dedicated to a specific concept having to do with "reality" and with the nature of the universe. Each chapter reads like a well written novel in that the last paragraph serves as a hook to draw the reader on to the next amazing concept in the succeeding chapter. I found that I couldn't just set aside the book. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and loved every minute of it. For those with an interest in but less of a background in physics, there is a fairly detailed glossary in the back of the book which should help with terms, although most are adequately explained in the body of the text. I think that most individuals can understand the concepts as they are explained. It might be a nice place for the junior high student with a strong interest in a science career to become familiar with physics and physicists. For those who find their appetites wetted for "more,"the bibliography at the back of the book is probably not a very helpful source. Most of the listings are either journal articles that might not be approachable for the average student of the topic or science fiction. Certainly the latter are very good, should one wish to take ones science in a more narrative form. This cast of writers is stellar-no pun intended-and includes Asimov, Clarke, Gunn, Heinlein, and Hoyle, among others. For those who prefer expository style, I'd suggest they check "Just Six Numbers" by Sir Martin Rees, Michio Kaku's "Hyperspace," "Matter Myth" by Gribbin and Davies, and "About Time" by P. C. W. Davies. Each of the latter texts deals more thoroughly with topics addressed in Chown's book by individual chapters.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outlines the possible developments of 21st-century science, June 9, 2002
"Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice.--Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). Any technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.--Arthur C. Clarke. In The Universe Next Door, Marcus Chown, Cosmology Consultant for the weekly science magazine New Scientist and author of Afterglow of Creation: From the Fireball to the Discovery of Cosmic Ripples and The Magic Furnace: The Search for the Origin of Atoms, has published his third volume of popularized science. His latest work has three parts: "The Nature of Reality," "The Nature of the Universe," and "Life and the Universe." The author lives in the United Kingdom. In The Universe Next Door, Chown provides a lucid survey of dozens of bizarre theories propounded by scientists who have hyperactive imaginations. Cicero (107-43 B.C.) once remarked, "There is nothing so ridiculous but some philosopher has said it." Nowadays one could say, "There is nothing so ridiculous but some scientist has said it." For example, consider this overview of the book's 12 chapters: o "Unbreak My Heart." Contrary to all expectations, there may exist regions in our universe where time runs backward. o "I'm Gonna Live Forever." Evidence is growing that there are an infinite number of realities stacked together like the pages of a never-ending book. o "Dividing the Indivisible." A claim that the basic building blocks of matter can be split could have profound implications for the nature of ultimate reality. o "All the World's a Time Machine." The two great theories of twentieth-century physics might at last be united--if atoms contain time machines. o "Tales from the Fifth Dimension." Not only are extra dimensions a real possibility, they could reveal themselves in the next few years. o "The Holes in the Sky." Is most of the mass of the universe in the form of refrigerator-sized black holes? o "Looking-Glass Universe." Our universe could contain invisible galaxies, stars, and planets--even invisible ETs. o "The Universe Next Door." Brace yourself, the universe is about to get bigger than you ever imagined. o "Was the Universe Created by Angels?" The discovery that it might be possible to make a universe in the laboratory could have profound implications for the origin of our own universe. o "The Worlds between the Stars." Billions upon billions of habitable planets could be hiding in the cold, dark abyss of interstellar space." o "The Life Plague." Was life on Earth seeded from the depths of space? o "Alien Garbage." The aliens might not have got to Earth yet, but their garbage may have arrived ahead of them. If any or all this sounds wildly incredible, remember that today's heresy is tomorrow's orthodoxy, and yesterday's science fiction is today's applied science. As physicist Niels Bohr put it: "Your idea is crazy. The question is: is it crazy enough to be true?" "If we have learned anything from science in the twentieth century, with its warped space-time and matter popping into existence out of empty space," writes Chown, "it is that the underlying reality of the universe is nothing like the everyday reality of our senses." Providing numerous analogies to help us navigate the swirling waters of 21st-century science, Marcus Chown is a worthy successor to Carl Sagan. Writing with wit and humor, he popularizes complex theories for laypersons untutored in physics, biology, chemistry, and cosmology. Chown "simplifies" (in the best sense of the word) ideas such as the Big Bang, the Big Crunch, black holes, wormholes, time machines, quasars, quarks, quantum superposition, antimatter, decoherence, gravitational lensing, critical mass, dark matter, the anthropic principle, and the theory of everything. "To an inhabitant of 1900," writes Chown, "most of present-day technology--from televisions to mobile phones to computers--would be indistinguishable from magic." Remembering this fact, we may be able to tone down our skepticism about tomorrow's science and technology. Still, is there not some legitimate difference between science and science fiction? Does every theory, no matter how insane, deserve our attention? Is nothing in our "multiverse" impossible? And, in the final analysis, is human reason competent to comprehend "ultimate reality"? Congratulations to Mr. Chown for another stimulating and provocative work. The Universe Next Door will leave your head spinning, and make you break out in a cold sweat, but it will not bore. Highly recommended!
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