The Life of the Cosmos by Lee Smolin (PDF)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐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

⭐). 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.

⭐Lee Smoking never fails to motivate and excite his readers. His questions are significant and his explanations are compelling and complete. Anyone interested in cosmology or the philosophy of being or time and space will be lifted up by this book and thereby have a much better view of the universe and their own place in it. Everything is relative, nothing stands alone.

⭐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.

⭐Covers some of the same material as The Goldilocks Enigma, but goes into (qualitative) depth on the concepts that underlie modern theoretical physics – such as gauge invariance and symmetry breaking. With effort, I now feel that I have some understanding of these. Goes on to propose that our exceedingly improbable universe came to be, through a process of evolution, for which he proposes a mechanism. Very thought-provoking !!

⭐This is one of those gems you find in your life. It has so much incredible information, I don’t know where to begin. I’ve read this 3x already and, still, I find this book unbelievable. Also, it’s written like no other author I’ve come across – it makes you UNDERSTAND the topic(s) by slowing you down – just to give you an example, when I read a paragraph or a page, when I look up, I feel like a different person – more rational – like I just made contact with a superior alien from outer space! – it’s VERY hard to describe. This book was on the recommendation list of an astronomy book (another good book) and I don’t think I would have come across it any other way. I feel so lucky.

⭐More importantly than any of the “natural selection through the reproduction of black holes”, Smolin takes on the topic of why and how the forces of nature (eg. gravity) and the sizes of nature (eg. infinite space compared to the miniscule electron) are the way they we find them. He searches for a ‘natural process’ that explains these facts, instead of just searching for more facts. For any one who loves to watch the Discovery channel or nature shows or read Scientific American, etc. (and yet isn’t involved in hard science) this book is PERFECT. I am a philosophy major that works in management and I loved this book. Dr Smolin’s book is challenging, gives a good mental work out, it is intensly interesting and very informative for anyone.

⭐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

⭐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!

⭐Hardback, excellent quality. Thankyou. RDR

⭐very good

⭐A brilliant book. This deserves to become a classic of science writing. Despite being close to twenty years old it still has the power to thrill you. Smolin has a unique and very deep understanding of not just his field but all of human thought. This allows him to approach cosmology from a very different point of view and to express his ideas in familiar terms. I would say this book is on par with the great books of physics alongside Penrose and Feynman. His other books are also brilliant.

⭐Clearly written and understandable by one of the cutting edge thinkers of cosmology.Bring a much needed human side to great thinking.

⭐Thanks to Dr Lee Smolin for his honest questions as physicist. One of the most basic books that exist. Phantastik.

Keywords

Free Download The Life of the Cosmos in PDF format
The Life of the Cosmos PDF Free Download
Download The Life of the Cosmos 1999 PDF Free
The Life of the Cosmos 1999 PDF Free Download
Download The Life of the Cosmos PDF
Free Download Ebook The Life of the Cosmos