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The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life?
 
 
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The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? [Paperback]

Paul Davies (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paul Davies' Cosmic Jackpot is a truly mesmerizing book, no matter which you universe you may inhabit!" --Michio Kaku, prof. of theoretical physics, author of Hyperspace and Parallel Worlds

Product Description

Cosmic Jackpot is Paul Davies’s eagerly awaited return to cosmology, the successor to his critically acclaimed bestseller The Mind of God. Here he tackles all the "big questions," including the biggest of them all: Why does the universe seem so well adapted for life?

In his characteristically clear and elegant style, Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many different aspects of the cosmos, from the properties of the humble carbon atom to the speed of light, seem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory says it’s because our universe is just one of an infinite number of universes, each one slightly different. Our universe is bio-friendly by accident -- we just happened to win the cosmic jackpot.

While this "multiverse" theory is compelling, it has bizarre implications, such as the existence of infinite copies of each of us and Matrix-like simulated universes. And it still leaves a lot unexplained. Davies believes there’s a more satisfying solution to the problem of existence: the observations we make today could help shape the nature of reality in the remote past. If this is true, then life -- and, ultimately, consciousness -- aren’t just incidental byproducts of nature, but central players in the evolution of the universe.

Whether he’s elucidating dark matter or dark energy, M-theory or the multiverse, Davies brings the leading edge of science into sharp focus, provoking us to think about the cosmos and our place within it in new and thrilling ways.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (April 29, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0547053584
  • ISBN-13: 978-0547053585
  • Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #158,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Paul Davies
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
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 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read - regardless of your beliefs, October 24, 2008
This review is from: The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? (Paperback)
Scientists are becoming aware that our universe is remarkably friendly to the development of life. It is as if it was designed for life. How can this be explained? Theists will claim that it was designed for life by God. Atheists will claim otherwise. But the question is how to explain this? Davies does a great job laying out the issues that make our universe so biofriendly. He then examines eight theories that have been invoked to explain this. Many scientists are atheists and have worked hard to develop theories that could explain our fortunate circumstances. A prevailing theory is that there are an infinite number of universes, or multiverses. The conditions of most of them are hostile to life formation. Davies does a fair and even-handed examination of each of the 8 theories, from intelligent design to the multiverse theory. He presents the scientific information in a way that a layman can understand. He points out the strengths and especially the weaknesses of each theory, even his own. I believe in God, and Davies is an atheist. But his writing is very fair and very thought provoking. This is a very interesting book, regardless of the reader's beliefs.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars same book as cosmic jackpot, March 18, 2009
By J. Jenkins (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? (Paperback)
I bought this book because I'm a big fan of Paul Davies, but I was disappointed to find out the paperback edition of 'the cosmic jackpot' (which I had read when it came out) was simply given a new title. I would read the reviews for the earlier book instead of this one, since the two are identical. All in all it's a fantastic book that discusses why life needs to be properly explained in a properly complete 'theory of everything'. At the moment of course there is not the beginning of an explanation, unless one is willing to entertain the idea of a multiverse plus anthropic selection.
In summary, see reviews of cosmic jackpot.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars English edition of "Cosmic Jackpot", July 25, 2009
By Eric Bergerud (Albany, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book for those who want to share the confusion held by all honest cosmologists. I don't know why it happened, but there must have been some kind of slip at Amazon or elsewhere. "Goldilocks Enigma" was originally published in the UK. Americans have different taste in titles and the US edition was called "Cosmic Jackpot." I sympathize with any Davies fan who thought it was something new. I'm sure this wasn't a rip-off, but rather a screw-up. BTW: fans should track down Davies' Op-Ed for the New York Times a couple of years back calling for a solution to cosmology that didn't rest on either the claims of divinity or the idea that natural laws were self-generating and thus couldn't be explained. That little piece really ticked off our materialist friends - probably didn't help that Davies won the Templeton Prize either. A traitor to his class I guess.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Pondering the question of the existence of life from a cosmic perspective
Author Paul Davies is well known for explaining the abstruse theories of modern physics so lucidly that just about anyone can understand what those theories intend to describe... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Alvin J. Martínez

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely fascinating read
Dr. Davies makes the various scientific fields such as particle physics and biology combined with philosophy very fun to read. Great book!
Published 12 months ago by Brett Hoppe

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed In My Favorite Author's Ethics
Having written many Amazon reviews in the past, I was prepared to write a five star review for the Goldilocks Enigma. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Michael Gooch

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious, but too much in one go
This type of book has been attempted before, and it seems like the results are very similar in all cases (=excessive density and a feeling of disjointedness when reading)... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Lemas Mitchell

3.0 out of 5 stars Why are books on cosmology so difficult?
Cosmology is an interesting and challenging subject. I have read books and watched shows on it however don't feel that I follow over half of what is being explained. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Steve Skye

1.0 out of 5 stars WARNING!
WARNING! This is a rip-off. It is the exact same book I previously purchased in hardback under the title of The Cosmic Jackpot. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Randolph T. McCourt

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought about fake universes
If a universe is a simulation it does not follow that it is a "fake universe", a term that is used repeatedly in the discussion of simulated universes beginning on page 183. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Phil Virgo

4.0 out of 5 stars must read
Must Read

Davies has written a book about physics generally and cosmology in particular. Read more
Published 24 months ago by invictus

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