Cosmic jackpot why our universe is just right for life
Physicist Paul Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many basic features of the physical universe--from the speed of light to the most humble carbon atom--seem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory says it's because our universe is just one of an infi...
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Boston :
Houghton Mifflin,
2007.
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| Summary: | Physicist Paul Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many basic features of the physical universe--from the speed of light to the most humble carbon atom--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, from infinite copies of each of us to Matrix-like simulated universes. Davies believes there's a more satisfying solution to the question 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 formation of the universe.--From publisher description. |
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| Physical Description: | xiv, 315 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [293]-295) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0618592261 9780618592265 |
| Author Notes: | He was Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at Macquarie University, Sydney and has held previous academic appointments at the Universities of Cambridge, London, Newcastle upon Tyne and Adelaide. Most of his research has been in the area of quantum field theory in curved spacetime. Davies has also has written many books for the general reader in the fascinating fields of cosmology and physics. He is the author of over twenty-five books, including The Mind of God, Other Worlds, God and the New Physics, The Edge of Infinity, The Cosmic Blueprint, Are We Alone?, The Fifth Miracle, The Last Three Minutes, About Time, and How to Build a Time Machine. His awards include an Advance Australia Award for outstanding contributions to science, two Eureka Prizes, the 2001 Kelvin Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics, and the 2002 Faraday Prize by The Royal Society for Progress in religion. He also received the Templeton Prize for his contributions to the deeper implications of science. In April 1999 the asteroid 1992 OG was officially named (6870) Pauldavies in his honour. (Bowker Author Biography) |
