Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature (Paperback)

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• This item: Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature by Eric J. Chaisson
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Review
Chaisson conducts an intriguing tour over vast realms of time and space. A lucid and sprightly guide, he brings forth original and provocative observations, while gathering a host of wonders in his cosmic embrace.
--Dudley Herschbach, 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (20011101)

Using the leitmotif of rising complexity and order, Eric Chaisson delivers the epic of creation as understood by modern science, from microsecond zero to the origin of life on Earth. His command of the subject and clarity of exposition are admirable.
--E.O. Wilson (20011109)

Eric Chaisson has written a definitive synthesis of what he calls a golden age of astrophysics and biochemistry. Cosmic Evolution presents a dramatic new world view for the twenty-first century, which provides a potential guide for understanding the nature of all material things. Every scientist, indeed anyone interested in humanity's future, should read this masterly and unique book.
--Brian Fagan, University of California, Santa Barbara

Eric Chaisson has thought deeply about the growth of complexity in the universe, as life and intelligence appear to have emerged from chaos. An astronomer whose lucid lectures draw a wide audience, Chaisson here tackles the issue head on, with conclusions that are as fascinating as life itself.
--George Field, Harvard University

A superb synthesis. Chaisson convincingly shows that free energy processing rates spurred the growth of complexity in the cosmos. Highly recommended.
--Hubert Reeves, Astrophysicist, C.N.R.S. France

This century ushers in a new unified view of Nature. We can see that the mechanisms of the stars and the structure of bacteria are governed by the same fundamental processes. We can detect the link between the hottest fusion reactions in gamma bursters and the essential metabolic reactions which give rise to and sustain life. Eric Chaisson has long been one of our most passionate and articulate informants about this emerging conception of the cosmos. Cosmic Evolution tells this new story in language anyone can understand.
--Gerald Soffen, Senior Astrobiologist, NASA

A fascinatingly synthetic book that unifies evolution from the Big Bang through biology and human culture. Chaisson is at once quantitative and poetic, grounding his work in physics while celebrating intelligence as 'the animated conduit through which the Universe comes to know itself.' Cosmic Evolution shows us a universe teeming with the complex products of evolution, including ourselves.
--Richard Wolfson, Professor of Physics, Middlebury College

Chaisson is an astrophysicist at Tufts University, who has written many popular books on science. His newest offering is concerned with 'time's arrow,' a curve of rising cosmic complexity beginning with the big bang...Chaisson argues that rising complexity can be explained (or at least roughly described) by the laws of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, without any need to postulate new kinds of science or mysticism. He shows that in an expanding universe, local pockets of order will naturally arise even as the overall disorder (entropy) of the universe increases...What is most original about Chaisson's argument is his proposal of a quantitative way to measure complexity, and to plot the course of cosmic evolution using this measure.
--Chet Raymo (Boston Globe )

Cosmic Evolution is an illuminating book, and one that should appeal to both scientists and general readers. Seeing how the expansion of the Universe spawned all the living complexity around and within us creates a fuller appreciation of the entwined laws and flaws of Nature...This is a book that will encourage a greater energy flow between astrophysics and bioscience.
--John D. Barrow (New Scientist )

Chaisson's project--the search for unifying patterns of change across the largest temporal and spatial scales--is a worthy one...[His] theory has the ring of rightness.
--Daniel W. McShea (American Scientist )

Chaisson's book provides exciting new testimony to the increasing power of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to change how we see ourselves and the world.
--Lynn Marguilis (Times Higher Education Supplement )

Chaisson argues that rising complexity can be explained... by the laws of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, without any need to postulate new kinds of science or mysticism ... What is most original about Chaisson's argument is his proposal of a quantitative way to measure complexity, and to plot the course of cosmic evolution using this measure?
--Chet Raymo (Boston Globe )

An illuminating book, and one that should appeal to both scientists and general readers ... This is a book that will encourage a greater energy flow between astrophysics and bioscience.
--John D. Barrow (New Scientist )

Chaisson's project--the search for unifying patterns of change across the largest temporal and spatial scales--is a worthy one... [His] theory has the ring of rightness?
--Daniel W. McShea (American Scientist )

Chaisson's book provides exciting new testimony to the increasing power of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to change how we see ourselves and the world?
--Lynn Margulis (Times Higher Education Supplement )

So Chaisson defines life as an "open, coherent, space- time structure maintained far from thermodynamic equilibrium by a flow of energy through it."…Chaisson's approach leaves one wondering, perhaps absurdly…In this creative, thought-provoking book, Chaisson shows how difficult even the most basic scientific question can turn out to be.
--Charles Seife (Wilson Quarterly )

Surveys the grand scenario of cosmic evolution by examining natural changes among radiation, matter, and life within the context of big-bang cosmology. Using non- equilibrium thermodynamics and a suite of interdisciplinary arguments, the author follows the changes in energy within numerous well-known structures, including galaxies, stars, planets, and life. (The Astronomical Society of the Pacific )

[Chaisson's] discourse covers a wide range, from the physics of the early Universe to the origin and nature of life, touching on issues such as the 'anthropic principle' in cosmology, the thermodynamics of non-equilibrium systems, Darwinian views on the evolution of life seen in the context of present-day molecular biology, and issues of cultural development. Thus, he takes seriously the modern biological synthesis and also places it in its proper physical and cosmological context, emphasizing interesting causal links.
--George Ellis (Nature )

Review
Chaisson conducts an intriguing tour over vast realms of time and space. A lucid and sprightly guide, he brings forth original and provocative observations, while gathering a host of wonders in his cosmic embrace.
--Dudley Herschbach, 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (20011101) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence:
Although modern cosmology-Nature on the grandest scale-implies that matter only later emerged from the radiation of the early Universe, it is pedagogically useful to quantify first the role of matter and thereafter the primacy of radiation. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
free energy rate density, energy rate densities, many varied changes, cosmic evolution, intergalactic matter, age controversy, rising complexity, spacetime structure, specific metabolic rates, microscopic states, cosmic expansion, cosmic conditions, cosmic background radiation Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Radiation Era, Matter Era, Life Era, Milky Way New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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4 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking look at evolution, April 17, 2003 By  Carey Allen (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews This review is from: Cosmic Evolution : The Rise of Complexity in Nature (Hardcover) This is an enjoyable big-picture examination of evolution in light of thermodynamics, i.e. how can order increase despite the 2nd law of thermodynamics? You will need to recall some calculus and some basic physics in order to follow the thread of the discussion. Chaisson does an excellent job of laying out the subject, looking at the evolution of complicated structures, e.g. the universe, stars, galaxies, planets, life, brains, societies. He actually works through the numbers on several examples in order to give you a better feel for the subject of evolution, and for thermodynamics. If you have an interest in things cosmological, I strongly recommend this book. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating and rock-solid, November 16, 2002 By  reader220 - See all my reviews This review is from: Cosmic Evolution : The Rise of Complexity in Nature (Hardcover) Professor Chaisson has succeeded in providing a narrative of the Universe, one that is elegant and satisfying, and at the same time based on a rock-solid, quantitative approach. This book has finally reconciled for me the vexing question of how complexity and disorder (entropy) can increase simultaneously. I knew that total entropy must increase, per the 2nd law of thermodynamics. What I did not realize is that the maximum POSSIBLE entropy of the Universe is increasing even faster, due to the expansion of the Universe. So now I have a way of visualizing the amount of complexity in the Universe - it is the difference between these two entropies. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the clear identification of the phases of the Universe: Radiation Era->Matter Era->Life Era. The idea that we, as intelligent life, can give birth to a thriving, universal Life Era is visionary and uplifting (and part of the basis for Reason for the Common Good). Cosmic Evolution is extremely well-researched, quantitative, and most of all, illuminating. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   6 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Effort, September 23, 2002 By  John F. Valo "johnvalo" (Lakeville, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Cosmic Evolution : The Rise of Complexity in Nature (Hardcover) This book was not written for the lay reader of science, such as myself. At times the writer sounds as if, chalk in hand, he is giving a lecture to astrophysics third-year students - the only thing missing is the pronunciation of the equations. Those uncomfortable with formulas will find the middle of the book slow going. The payoff, for those who persevere, is two or three new ideas. And that's why we read books like this. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Chaisson Informs Us That 'Vitalism Has No Scientific Merit:' I quote: "life likely differs from the rest of clumped matter only in degree, not in kind. We admit no vitalism, no special life force that would set animate beings manifestly... Read more Published 18 months ago by Robert J. Cullen Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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