Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
So while I could just barely grasp the scientific posits Krauss shared, I am thinking others may not expect a heavy side of science when looking for an atheist read. Krauss actually does a very good job sharing these scientific discoveries and theories in a way pretty easily understood by the lay reader. From focusing on Einstein's Theory of Relativity, to some of his own discoveries, it was an enjoyable read. While this probably gives me no new ammo for my arguments with Christians, most would be well over their heads, it did do much to further entrench my beliefs.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13419080
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13419080
I listened to this book and, in hindsight, that may not have been the best idea as I am not an auditory learner. Additionally, since most of my listening time is spent in transit, I can easily get distracted if the material requires a good deal of concentration. "A Universe from Nothing" requires the reader's full attention - at least, any reader who comes in without some basic knowledge of cosmology (i.e. me). Eventually I gave in and got the e-book version of this as well so that I could read and listen at the same time, and this dramatically improved my understanding of the material.
"A Universe from Nothing" is an expansion of a YouTube talk that Lawrence Krauss gave for the Richard Dawkins Foundation that ended up going viral. Whereas that talk lasted for about an hour in length, the audio of "A Universe from Nothing" lasts five and a half hours. As a result, I would encourage the layman (again, that'd be me) to start out with the YouTube lecture as it succinctly sums up the argument Krauss makes here (and has visual cues to boot!) "A Universe from Nothing" is best grasped by those who have some understanding of cosmology and want to delve deeper into the topic.
The topic, while hard to grasp, is nevertheless a fascinating one. I won't attempt to summarize the book's contents here because I would prove woefully inadequate at doing so. Needless to say, Krauss answers that question often posed by theists to atheists, "why is there something rather than nothing?" In short, because there has to be. The state of nothingness is so unstable as to basically make "somethingness" a foregone conclusion. Now imagine that concept explained in detail over 200 pages.
Krauss is such a brainiac and so passionate about his subject that he has the tendency to sometimes forget that his readership just isn't as smart as he is. As as result, he'll start talking about things like String Theory, Dark Matter, and God Particles, while providing little to no initial explanation of what those things are - assuming that his readers already have some basic understanding of these concepts. Sadly, I did not, and Google proved a very useful - and necessary - companion piece for Krauss's book.
Krauss does wax poetic and beautifully about certain concepts, like the knowledge that all human beings are the result of atoms that were cast out by exploding stars, or supernovas. So it is, he says, that the atoms that make up your right hand are very likely to have been from a different star than those making up your left. "We are all stardust," he writes, later adding that we ought to "forget Jesus" as it was the "stars that died for us".
Here we come to a common criticism of Krauss that is the same we find in other scientific works or works about biology that come from atheists like Richard Dawkins. That is the belief, firmly held to by theists, that science and religion aren't incompatible. Indeed, many of the negative reviews of this book are from religious readers upset that Krauss throws the occasional jibe at religion. To which I say, OF COURSE science and religion are incompatible! How is a person supposed to believe both in the Big Bang and Natural Selection and that Jesus had to come to earth to die for our sins? The very idea is laughable. The idea of some kind of eternal state - either Heaven or Hell - where human beings go after they die? Clearly contradictory to everything we know about the universe and that Krauss writes about here.
It is always necessary to refute this kind of religious nonsense because in addition to being simply wrong, it's dangerous. It's dangerous in a world where funding for scientific and medical research (e.g. Stem Cell research) is denied because those with the power to grant this funding are themselves brainwashed by religious dogma.
If for no other reason, "A Universe from Nothing" is essential reading for its ability to further expose the nonsense that is religious belief and shine a light on the wonder that is the universe.
"A Universe from Nothing" is an expansion of a YouTube talk that Lawrence Krauss gave for the Richard Dawkins Foundation that ended up going viral. Whereas that talk lasted for about an hour in length, the audio of "A Universe from Nothing" lasts five and a half hours. As a result, I would encourage the layman (again, that'd be me) to start out with the YouTube lecture as it succinctly sums up the argument Krauss makes here (and has visual cues to boot!) "A Universe from Nothing" is best grasped by those who have some understanding of cosmology and want to delve deeper into the topic.
The topic, while hard to grasp, is nevertheless a fascinating one. I won't attempt to summarize the book's contents here because I would prove woefully inadequate at doing so. Needless to say, Krauss answers that question often posed by theists to atheists, "why is there something rather than nothing?" In short, because there has to be. The state of nothingness is so unstable as to basically make "somethingness" a foregone conclusion. Now imagine that concept explained in detail over 200 pages.
Krauss is such a brainiac and so passionate about his subject that he has the tendency to sometimes forget that his readership just isn't as smart as he is. As as result, he'll start talking about things like String Theory, Dark Matter, and God Particles, while providing little to no initial explanation of what those things are - assuming that his readers already have some basic understanding of these concepts. Sadly, I did not, and Google proved a very useful - and necessary - companion piece for Krauss's book.
Krauss does wax poetic and beautifully about certain concepts, like the knowledge that all human beings are the result of atoms that were cast out by exploding stars, or supernovas. So it is, he says, that the atoms that make up your right hand are very likely to have been from a different star than those making up your left. "We are all stardust," he writes, later adding that we ought to "forget Jesus" as it was the "stars that died for us".
Here we come to a common criticism of Krauss that is the same we find in other scientific works or works about biology that come from atheists like Richard Dawkins. That is the belief, firmly held to by theists, that science and religion aren't incompatible. Indeed, many of the negative reviews of this book are from religious readers upset that Krauss throws the occasional jibe at religion. To which I say, OF COURSE science and religion are incompatible! How is a person supposed to believe both in the Big Bang and Natural Selection and that Jesus had to come to earth to die for our sins? The very idea is laughable. The idea of some kind of eternal state - either Heaven or Hell - where human beings go after they die? Clearly contradictory to everything we know about the universe and that Krauss writes about here.
It is always necessary to refute this kind of religious nonsense because in addition to being simply wrong, it's dangerous. It's dangerous in a world where funding for scientific and medical research (e.g. Stem Cell research) is denied because those with the power to grant this funding are themselves brainwashed by religious dogma.
If for no other reason, "A Universe from Nothing" is essential reading for its ability to further expose the nonsense that is religious belief and shine a light on the wonder that is the universe.
The book gave a good history of advancements in quantum physics and ideas about the universe. Over the course of the book it points to the answer of the question raised by the book which is why there is always something from nothing.
In his Afterword for this book, which was originally going to be written by Christopher Hitchens before his health deteriorated, Richard Dawkins writes, "If 'On the Origin of Species' was biology's deadliest blow to supernaturalism, we may come to see 'A Universe from Nothing' as the equivalent from cosmology."
It is a high compliment, but one I couldn't disagree with. Krauss' style is dense of course, and this took seven months to read - using both my physical copy and the audiobook from the library. Many paragraphs need to be read over several times, and I am no scientist or mathematician, much less a cosmologist. Still, the concepts are made very accessible with concentration, and I know now things I didn't before - like that we've measured how far we can see into the depths of space with a balloon in Antarctica, and how light "bounces" off of black holes, and how bubbles of unstable stuff can pop out of nothing for infinitesimal fractions of a second. It was well worth the read!
It is a high compliment, but one I couldn't disagree with. Krauss' style is dense of course, and this took seven months to read - using both my physical copy and the audiobook from the library. Many paragraphs need to be read over several times, and I am no scientist or mathematician, much less a cosmologist. Still, the concepts are made very accessible with concentration, and I know now things I didn't before - like that we've measured how far we can see into the depths of space with a balloon in Antarctica, and how light "bounces" off of black holes, and how bubbles of unstable stuff can pop out of nothing for infinitesimal fractions of a second. It was well worth the read!
Good book. It hits lightly on some major topics and doesn't push the envelope too far in any direction.
Good info much of went over my head for one sitting and I'll definitely have to research much of what he said as there are not many references or citations. A good book to put in the toolbox for future reading. I believe some of the information needs to be updated from 2010.
The narration was dry and I found my mind wandering but mostly due to the material. I couldn't help but jump from the thought to thought and think of other data and/or information.
The narration was dry and I found my mind wandering but mostly due to the material. I couldn't help but jump from the thought to thought and think of other data and/or information.
Why is there something rather than nothing? Mind boggling to think about. Krauss explains current thinking about the origin and future of the universe and why it looks like it does. He makes for clear explanations, but I'm sure I couldn't explain it to anyone else without a ton of handwaving; I'm a poor vessel for all the details. Still, what he does make clear is how all the theories and research add up to a coherent, if complete, picture of the universe. Would make good re-reading.