Not by Design: The Origin of the Universe (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In the days before city lights and air pollution obscured the view, the pageant of the heavens was the nightly experience of everyone..." (more)
Key Phrases: maximum allowable entropy, light pulse clock, weak bosons, Big Bang, Principle of Galilean Relativity, Planck Time (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book begins with a discussion of the meaning of order and examples of orderly patterns generated by chance. (Play enough poker hands, Stenger writes, and one day you will be dealt four aces.) Subsequent chapters introduce readers to the unique perspective of the universe provided by physics, with historical and philosophical material intertwined with a systematic but non-technical presentation of basic physics. This leads to a description of the basic structure of the universe and the way in which symmetries of space, time, and inner dimensions account for the "laws" obeyed by particles. The origin of the universe is then described as a chance event, with space, time, matter, and the laws of nature the result of a spontaneous process of symmetry-breaking. Focusing on the question of planned versus unplanned origin, Stenger shows that the issue is not philosophical but scientific and that order can and does happen every day - by chance.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 203 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (July 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879754516
• ISBN-13: 978-0879754518
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #187,942 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, October 19, 1998

By A Customer

This book makes a compelling case for the idea that the universe didn't come about through the handywork of some magical space pixie. The naysayers will throw about their arguments from incredulity while kicking & screaming but, in the end, even they (if anything like a rational mind still inhabits their bodies) will be forced to admit that this concept deserves serious consideration. Once, it was considered common sense that the sun moved around the Earth. "Look up at the sky and see it for yourself!", they would exclaim. But the thinking mind will take the known facts and discard the hypothesises that don't have compelling evidence to support them in favor of the ones that do. Thus far, only a superstitious mind would put the intelligent design idea into the latter category.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, May 7, 2007

By	Carl R. Hancock - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Explains clearly and sensibly the way the universe was not by design and without guidance.

10 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Garbage, October 5, 1998

By A Customer

Total garbage, not even worthy of being a door stop. Completely meaningless and a waste of money. As a evolutionist, I am so completely disappointed in this book I almost feel embarrassed. I'd suggest some class, like an old copy of the Blind Watermaker than something so foolish as this.

Garbage