The Life of the Cosmos Revised Edition

by Lee Smolin (Author)

42 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0195126648

ISBN-10: 0195126645

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Lee Smolin offers a new theory of the universe that is at once elegant, comprehensive, and radically different from anything proposed before. Smolin posits that a process of self organization like that of biological evolution shapes the universe, as it develops and eventually reproduces through black holes, each of which may result in a new big bang and a new universe. Natural selection may guide the appearance of the laws of physics, favoring those universes which best reproduce. The result would be a cosmology according to which life is a natural consequence of the fundamental principles on which the universe has been built, and a science that would give us a picture of the universe in which, as the author writes, "the occurrence of novelty, indeed the perpetual birth of novelty, can be understood."

Smolin is one of the leading cosmologists at work today, and he writes with an expertise and force of argument that will command attention throughout the world of physics. But it is the humanity and sharp clarity of his prose that offers access for the layperson to the mind bending space at the forefront of today's physics.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The argument is as mentally thrilling as shooting Niagara in a dishpan, plunging the reader into a dizzying no-man's land between physics and metaphysics."--Curt Suplee, The Washington Post

"It's great fun to see the implications of this fantastic idea laid out by so original a thinker.... Smolin makes some of the strongest arguments I've seen that understanding the universe will require a serious search for some kind of laws of complexity."--George Johnson, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Lee Smolin is Professor of Physics at the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at the Pennsylvania State University. As a theoretical physicist, he has contributed several key ideas to the search for a unification of quantum theory, cosmology, and relativity.

Product details

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Revised edition (March 4, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195126645
ISBN-13: 978-0195126648
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 1.1 x 6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 42 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #890 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Astronomy & Astrophysics
- #1047 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science > Cosmology
- #2060 in Books > Science & Math > Astronomy & Space Science > Astronomy

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Fascinating, mind-expanding cosmological ideas, but with tiring verbose style

February 5, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a book that introduces the fascinating theory of cosmological natural selection. This is a theory giving an explanation for the apparent fine-tunning of our universe, that I am surprised that it hasn't attracted as much attention as it deserved. Maybe because it is too hard to be tested by experiment or observation. For myself (who happens to be a biophycisist), it really feels right and although I do not have much knowledge of theoretical physics, my gut feeling is that it may even explain how universes might have evolved starting by no more than just Planck-scale quantum fluctuations. This is a mind-expanding, philosophical book by a great thinker that really deserves to be read. However, readers should be warned that Lee Smolin's verbose style is difficult to read with a lot of chattering, repetition, confusing sentences and lack of examples and figures. Also the letter size is too small.

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

This is the next best thing to a "Theory of Everything" - A genuine work of beauty, logic and theory.

January 11, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If I had to take just one book on a deserted island this would be it. Lee Smolin is a first-rate genius! And despite the fact that this book is over ten years old (granting that years in the science world are more akin to dog years) it has stood the test of time through its shear elegance. There are really more concepts in this book than a simple book review can do justice, but I wanted to point out with this review that what Smolin proposes in this book (cosmological natural selection) is THE most logical, graceful and sweeping "Theory of Everything" that I have ever come upon. Even Smolin's erstwhile nemesis Leonard Susskind had this to say about him: "I'm not sure why Smolin's idea didn't attract much attention. I actually think it deserved far more than it got." Please be aware that Susskind is no fan of Lee Smolin; in fact, Smolin is heavily critical of string theory (see his 2007 book The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next). I very much appreciate Smolin's insistence on falsifiability - I completely agree with him in his reasoning that any scientific proposal that seeks validity must be able to be proven empirically - otherwise, what is the point?

As I stated above, there are many concepts that Smolin works through (there is essentially no math involved) in physics, philosophy and religion. The net effect is to build a very compelling argument that the entire Universe "may" be designed for the sole purpose of propagating itself (this is also called the fecund universe theory) - all through the power of natural selection - where Information is what is being reproduced. In essence, Planck units are the galactic equivalent to DNA (Genius!). A few key terms are emergence, self-organizing non-equilibrium systems, and critical systems. Throughout the book Smolin continuously doubts the Eternal-ness, Absolute-ness, or Foundational-ness of, well, of `Everything'. Indeed, if I understand Smolin correctly, many of the things which we take for granted (space, time, mathematics, or what is generally meant by Platonic Forms) are mere illusions that are created through the process of cosmic natural selection and therefore have no meaning other than what exists in "this world" as well as what we humans ascribe to them. There is no need in talking about anything (such as a Divine Observer) that exists outside of time, or outside of this one reality because it isn't necessary, possible or falsifiable. It is a very bold conclusion which Smolin brings forth from his intellectual forebears - Leibniz, Einstein and Darwin!

In conclusion, I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in philosophy, physics or biology. Furthermore, it is fairly easy to follow, Smolin does take for granted a basic knowledge of the history of science, but this is not essential to understanding his arguments. When you read this book, you might just find yourself believing, like I do, that Smolin's book is right on time.

8 people found this helpful9 people found this helpful

September 20, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Smoling presents a "theory" about the multiverse and the origin of "our" cosmos. Having no idea what the heck is he talking about (big bang, black holes). In just 2 chapters he presents his "theory" (spoiler: is a hypothesis) and in the rest of the book just talk about basics concept with some romanticism so bad. If you want to pass a really bad time, buy it

One person found this helpful

July 31, 2008

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Lee Smolin's life of the cosmos is revolutionary. Before I read the book, I didn't particularly like the idea of relating cosmic evolution to biological evolution, but Lee Smolin makes some excellent points. Life may indeed be modeled after non-life. Compelling evidence is also presented regarding his black hole ideas, which is a great alternative to other theories in the field.

The one downside to this book is the small print & verbose vocabulary of the author. At times, you almost need a dictionary by your side, & the average word must be eight letter long. However, if you make it through this revolutionary work, you'll never look at the universe or life the same way again. Overall this book is literally a beast to read, but in the end, it is well spent money & well spent time. Far too many scientists are scared to think on their own & hence there are too many books that sound exactly the same. This simply isn't one of them.

3 people found this helpful4 people found this helpful

April 17, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

good book

One person found this helpful

Raymond L. Kaminski

Not the easiest read. You actually have to pay ...

August 15, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Not the easiest read. You actually have to pay attention and even re-read sections at times. But the overall concepts and theories are thought provoking and interesting. If your at all interested in what's going on in our universe you need to read this book!

One person found this helpful

JeanLMPouteauMD

the cosmos analyzed

May 21, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

a clear exposition of self- organizing systems throughout the cosmos.

One person found this helpful

Laurence Chalem

Not an easy read; but, a game changer

July 31, 2012

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

LIFE OF THE COSMOS brought it all together for me. The author has clearly not only reviewed most of the literature on many subjects; but, he has had time to think about it all and propose some novel ways to look at it. Though far from a Theory of Everything, he does manage to bridge life on Earth with, well, life of the cosmos. He does so by defining living systems as a self organized non-equilibrium system such that its processes are governed by a program which is stored symbolically and can reproduce itself, including the program. I still think about that years after reading the book. Highly recommended... - lc

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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