Our Cosmic Habitat

by Martin Rees (Author)

15 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0691089263

ISBN-10: 0691089264

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Our universe seems strangely ''biophilic,'' or hospitable to life. Is this happenstance, providence, or coincidence? According to cosmologist Martin Rees, the answer depends on the answer to another question, the one posed by Einstein's famous remark: ''What interests me most is whether God could have made the world differently.'' This highly engaging book explores the fascinating consequences of the answer being ''yes.'' Rees explores the notion that our universe is just a part of a vast ''multiverse,'' or ensemble of universes, in which most of the other universes are lifeless. What we call the laws of nature would then be no more than local bylaws, imposed in the aftermath of our own Big Bang. In this scenario, our cosmic habitat would be a special, possibly unique universe where the prevailing laws of physics allowed life to emerge.

Rees begins by exploring the nature of our solar system and examining a range of related issues such as whether our universe is or isn't infinite. He asks, for example: How likely is life? How credible is the Big Bang theory? Rees then peers into the long-range cosmic future before tracing the causal chain backward to the beginning. He concludes by trying to untangle the paradoxical notion that our entire universe, stretching 10 billion light-years in all directions, emerged from an infinitesimal speck.

As Rees argues, we may already have intimations of other universes. But the fate of the multiverse concept depends on the still-unknown bedrock nature of space and time on scales a trillion trillion times smaller than atoms, in the realm governed by the quantum physics of gravity. Expanding our comprehension of the cosmos, Our Cosmic Habitat will be read and enjoyed by all those--scientists and nonscientists alike--who are as fascinated by the universe we inhabit as is the author himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Is it possible that the ancient, indifferent universe surrounding us is instead a "biophilic" cosmos, to use Rees' coinage? Certainly the cosmologists' calculations indicate that startlingly fine balances were imprinted on the universe in the first infinitesimal moments following the big bang. It is a wonder that any matter exists at all: there was, Rees relates, a one-part-per-billion preponderance of matter over antimatter, and without that equation in place, no vista of stars and galaxies could have formed. Alter other cosmic parameters, like the expansion rate, and the likelihood of life disappears altogether. In the crowded field of popular writing about the universe, Rees is genuinely in the forefront--an accomplished scientist with the superior writing skills that enable him to connect with nonspecialists and are also evident in his previous book, Before the Beginning (1997). He exudes the instinctual curiosity we all possess when looking upward, and he focuses that wonderment on the narrow range of cosmological numbers that allow us to ruminate about it all. A wonderfully appealing presentation. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Winner of the 2001 Peter Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize"

"Winner of the 2002 New York Book Show Award"

"[This book] has an informal style and breadth of coverage that make it a joy to read. . . . Rees's explanations are exactly right."---William G. Unruh, Science

"Rees provides a nice summary of how we got here, how the universe began and how it might end. . . . Lay readers will appreciate Rees' clear, uncomplicated prose, even when dealing with tough stuff that leaves most physicists tongue-tied. Most welcome of all, he explains how scientists know what they claim to know."---K.C. Cole, Los Angeles Times

"Ample in scope, this explicit, confident, helpful, modest and good-humored book arises from a recent lecture series spanning astrophysics and cosmology. Using not one full-fledged equation only fresh diagrams and clear, personal prose--Rees, a masterful theorist, brings readers a sheaf of insights." (American Scientist)

"[An] awe-inspiring survey. . . . Rees is not only a world-class cosmologist but one of our best living science writers."---John Cornwell, Sunday Times

"Probably the clearest and most easily understandable account of our Universe available."---Ian Morison, New Scientist

"Our very own Astronomer Royal blasts off into space, in velvety, friendly prose. His musings on the possibilities of alien life and of time travel, the necessity to colonise space, and a vision of the far future make for a pleasingly concise and always intriguing tour d'horizon."---Steven Poole, The Guardian

"In the crowded field of popular writing about the universe, Rees is genuinely in the forefront--an accomplished scientist with the superior writing skills. . . . He exudes the instinctual curiosity we all possess when looking upward, and he focuses that wonderment on the narrow range of cosmological numbers that allow us to ruminate about it all. A wonderfully appealing presentation." (Booklist)

"There is a lot of stuff in the universe--the estimated number of stars is 10 followed by 22 zeros. But as to whether there are other planets with life like Earth's, Rees says the chance of two similar ecologies is less than the chance of two randomly typing monkeys producing the same Shakespearean play."---George F. Will, The Washington Post

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Product details

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0691089264
ISBN-13: 978-0691089263
Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,124,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4592 in Astronomy (Books)
- #1881 in Astronomy & Astrophysics
- #2028 in Cosmology (Books)

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Regnal the Caretaker

Compact book, fast reading

February 1, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is the first book by Martin Rees I have read, and I like it.
He created very brief (about 200 pages only) but surprisingly complete picture of modern cosmology and scientific fields related to it.
After reading Alan Guth, Donald Goldsmith, Stephen Hawking and Igor Novikov, this book greatly summarizes and helps to put everything together: properties of our Universe, current conclusions from observations, microphysics dilemmas, speculations about time and multiverses and possible barriers further research may encounter.
Introducing Q number, Martin Rees explains cosmic texture.
Presenting simple equation for gravitational attraction he makes easy to understand negative energy of vacuum (this unfortunately in Notes, at the end of the book; should be introduced within the main text in my opinion).
I was shocked learning that our empty space could be vulnerable to a catastrophic transfiguration induced artificially by high- energy particle collisions in accelerator experiments (more about it on page 120).
Content of this book is for educated and oriented readers; author does not waste time to explain basic terms of physics. One should know for example what is "bar code" in the spectra from the galaxies.
Small correction: figure 4.1 (page 52) describes numbers:0.1 , 0.2 and 0.3 as a redshift. This is not exactly.
These numbers are related to the redshift but they represent fraction of a time since a big bang.
Concluding: if you like to read about cosmology, it is not the only subject of your interest and you want fast update - get "Our Cosmic Habitat". It will save you lots of time.

22 people found this helpful

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Larry Kaplan

The current universe knowledge explained

January 10, 2002

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

As a non-scientist, the universe has always mystified me. This book doesn't have all the answers, but it does convey a lot of useful information in a clear and readable form. I hope the author is correct in his prediction that within the decade the space telescopes and ground accelerators may unlock even more fascinating secrets. If you have read many of the current crop of Cosmology books, nothing in here is new or surprising, but the coverage is thorough and since it is so readable I feel like I got a lot out of it. I never get tired reading of the birth and life of the universe and one day I hope to understand relativity. This book was one more baby step for me.

6 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

you your stars

September 25, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Martin Rees knows how to write for the general public, which is not an easy feat for a hard-core scientist. I just enjoyed the reading, and am looking for more Martin Rees' books.

2 people found this helpful

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Mr. Stephen J. Rodgers

Great read

August 27, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very thought provoking read. I saw Rees give a talk at the Cheltenham Science Festival and he's an engaging cosmologist. I definitely recommend this book

One person found this helpful

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Doug Frazier

Four Stars

January 1, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

C'est si bon!

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Jeff Merritt

Five Stars

August 11, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good seller; no problems.

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Chad M

The fascinating reasons why we live in a fortunate place in space and time, why the Solar System and Earth are special

August 5, 2018

Format: Paperback

With his trademark eloquence, Martin Rees again conveys the world of science to the general public in "Our Cosmic Habitat". Beginning with the observation that "The beauty and vulnerability of 'spaceship Earth' contrasts with the stark and sterile moonscape …" and how improbable circumstances in the formation of the Solar System and our planet allowed evolution and life to arise, the reader is then shown how our own existence as a civilization depends, to an incredible degree, on whether our region in space remains safe, or whether massive events occur, some of which may beyond our control (p. 21). With this awareness, Rees and his colleagues in the UK have established the Center for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER).
Returning to the science and context, both in space and time, in which we find ourselves, I have the following comments on several distinct topics:
a. whether and how geological catastrophes occur can drive evolution forward, as Arthur C. Clarke imagined, or cause lasting setbacks (p. 21-23). For example, there are some anthropologists who believe that the eruption of a mega-volcano, Mount Tambora, about 100,000 years ago, resulting in the rapid onset a colder and drier global climate, forced proto-humans to go through a time of starvation and an "evolutionary bottleneck", which is believed to have led to the survival of only the smarter humans (see NPR.org story);
b. over long time scales, there are various courses of stellar evolution, and our own Sun will eventually go to a Red Giant phase. The illustration he provides is also a matter that can be graphed on to the "Great Universal Catalogue" by Bernard Carr and Martin Rees, or a modified version of it (see "Cosmic Imagery", by John Barrow, p 514 and my review for The Nobel Laureates Smartest Targets for the World, by Bjorn Lomborg and the Copenhagen Consensus Center);
c. The complexity of the universe and its ability to support life derives in part from the hierarchical or layered nature of the universe -- that it ranges from the quantum scale, to the atomic, to the molecular, chemical, planetary, solar, galaxy, and intergalactic -- as shown in the book "In Praise of Science" by Sander Bais and, in an allegorical sense, by Sheldon Glashow "Cosmic Uroboros". As Martin Rees writes, "A vast range of scales is a prerequisite for an 'interesting' universe …" and "A universe that did not involve large numbers [ex. hundreds of billions of stars and planets] could not contain such a multilayered hierarchy of structures and would not allow time for complex evolution." (p. 48). Similarly, "The sciences are often likened to different levels of a building -- logic in the basement, then the rest of physics and chemistry, and so forth as we climb upwards" (p. 156);
d. The laws of nature may slightly change, or evolve, over the eons, as Prof. Lee Smolin has argued in "Time Reborn". Likewise, Rees writes that "Some have argued that it would actually be surprising if, in a changing universe, the physical laws were unchanging" (p. 143);
e. Limits of conventional science: even if a unified theory were discovered, the complexity and chaos that occurs, necessarily, at the quantum, chemical, biological, and social scale of life will mean that many events and scenarios remain unpredictable. If the world is not deterministic, is there free will? Freeman Dyson has written that, in some sense, atoms have free will, in the common way the term "free will" is understood. A detailed analysis of complexity, chaos, and degrees of freedom has been undertaken by the Santa Fe Institute, NM (there are excellent YouTube video presentations). Thus, while the physics of the very small (quantum) and the very large (gravity) may someday be unified or shown to have mathematical relations which aren't yet known, there will still be new frontiers for human understanding, sociology, politics, and science (ex. the role of contingency, and complex systems, p. 153). In addition, "There are general 'laws of nature' in the macroscopic domain that are just as much a challenge as anything in the microworld [quantum] and are conceptually autonomous from it …" (p. 154). This statement is very close to the one made by Robert B. Laughlin in "A Different Universe" or other books, in which he says that we will have continued challenges in understanding the macroscopic realm, in other words, the phenomena involved in chemistry and biology.;
f. On the philosophy of science, "Steven Weinberg has emphasized, some sciences can claim a distinctive status, a special 'depth'", and Martin Rees writes "We seek unified theories of the cosmos and microworld not because the rest of science [chemistry, biology, evolutionary theory, sociology, and so on] depends on them [because biology is in some sense an 'emergent' phenomenon, p. 154], but because they deal with deep aspects of reality." (p. 155). Related to this passage, Weinberg has several world-class books on the endeavor of science, and soon "Third Questions" will be released.

b.

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Our Cosmic Habitat