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persephonedreaming 's review for:
A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
by Lawrence M. Krauss
A friend recently warned me about the evils of reading about modern physics, at least reading about it from modern physicists. Devoutly religious, my friend is unable to reconcile his religion with theoretical physics, so instead he has concluded that scientists are using shoddy methods to test their theories. The book that had triggered this general ire against physics? A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss. Intrigued by what might have spooked him, I decided to read it. I am generally of the opinion that knowledge is power and unwilling to accept that something is shoddy just because one person argues it is so, I approached this book with a fair amount of curiosity. I finished it in less than 24 hours. Like A Brief History of Time, the point of this book seems to be to give the public the knowledge necessary to be able to understand the scientific foundation behind the idea of something coming from nothing. This book will not make you an expert, but it will awaken you to the realm of theoretical physics from which this theory arose and some of the implications.
Krauss presents two important ideas that many people do not seem to understand about science.
1. Preliminary data can be wrong and early publications on an incomplete data set might be sensational, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
2. To assume the answer before you ask the question is a dead end.
Krauss does take a few stabs at the idea of a creator as an a priori necessity for existence, and I can see why this could be problematic for believers in the divine. If you are truly interested in understanding this point in theoretical physics about something coming from nothing; however, the author is an expert and does a good job explaining the frameworks from which this theory arose and the evidence that supports it.
My one complaint is the lack of a bibliography, though there are many direct references to other writings in the text. If you want to, it is not too difficult to find many of those writings, and Krauss’ Scientific American articles tend to be followed by suggestions of readings to help the reader explore ideas further.
This book can have a bit of a learning curve, if you are not familiar with the terms associated with theoretical physics. The author makes a concerted effort to explain the difference between what physicists mean when they talk about nothing and philosophical ideas about nothing, but if you have no idea what terms like “order of magnitude,” “relativity,” or “multiverse” mean, you may need to look some things up while you read. Ultimately, this book will take you on a journey to the beginning and potentially the end of our universe. Along the way, you will learn about a flat universe, general relativity, and even a bit about black holes. If you approach this with a sense of adventure, you should learn something that might be paradigm shifting.
Krauss presents two important ideas that many people do not seem to understand about science.
1. Preliminary data can be wrong and early publications on an incomplete data set might be sensational, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
2. To assume the answer before you ask the question is a dead end.
Krauss does take a few stabs at the idea of a creator as an a priori necessity for existence, and I can see why this could be problematic for believers in the divine. If you are truly interested in understanding this point in theoretical physics about something coming from nothing; however, the author is an expert and does a good job explaining the frameworks from which this theory arose and the evidence that supports it.
My one complaint is the lack of a bibliography, though there are many direct references to other writings in the text. If you want to, it is not too difficult to find many of those writings, and Krauss’ Scientific American articles tend to be followed by suggestions of readings to help the reader explore ideas further.
This book can have a bit of a learning curve, if you are not familiar with the terms associated with theoretical physics. The author makes a concerted effort to explain the difference between what physicists mean when they talk about nothing and philosophical ideas about nothing, but if you have no idea what terms like “order of magnitude,” “relativity,” or “multiverse” mean, you may need to look some things up while you read. Ultimately, this book will take you on a journey to the beginning and potentially the end of our universe. Along the way, you will learn about a flat universe, general relativity, and even a bit about black holes. If you approach this with a sense of adventure, you should learn something that might be paradigm shifting.