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rodhilton 's review for:
A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
by Lawrence M. Krauss
The question is one of the oldest ones humanity has: why is anything here? Why is there something rather than nothing? For many years, we thought we got here by an act of creation, but scientists discovered we evolved over millions of years from simple-celled organisms. Then the question was, how did the simple organisms come to exist? For years, the answer to that was God, but once again the scientific method gave us the real answer of abiogenesis, showing how organic life arose from inorganic matter. But then the question became, how did the inorganic matter get here? Once again, the gaps were filled, and cosmologists showed us that the matter was, once upon a time, all within a hot and extremely dense point that expanded out. But with the big bang gaining acceptance among the mainstream, the question became "well how did all of that matter get into that state? Why is there anything at all, rather than just nothing?"
Physics professor Lawrence Krauss sets out to explain the answer to this question as well. He explains the foundations of cosmological research, detailing in layman's terms exactly how theoretical physicists and cosmologists even go about answering these kinds of questions in the first place He goes onto discuss a great deal of his own research in the area, as well as the generally-accepted prevailing views within the scientific community.
I'm not going to lie and say I understood everything in this book. This is pretty heavy and complex stuff and, though Krauss does a great job of boiling things down for mainstream readers, quite a bit went over my head. In terms of readability, Krauss's book is a bit tougher to digest than a book by Dawkins or Feynman, but easier to digest than one by Hawking. It could just be that the subject of the book is inherently more complex, but I definitely need to go back and re-read it at some point.
The book is well-written and fascinating, covering a subject that I've rarely seen covered elsewhere. Krauss's passion for this subject comes across easily, really driving readers to continue the book. I definitely recommend reading it, but prepare to read it twice.
Physics professor Lawrence Krauss sets out to explain the answer to this question as well. He explains the foundations of cosmological research, detailing in layman's terms exactly how theoretical physicists and cosmologists even go about answering these kinds of questions in the first place He goes onto discuss a great deal of his own research in the area, as well as the generally-accepted prevailing views within the scientific community.
I'm not going to lie and say I understood everything in this book. This is pretty heavy and complex stuff and, though Krauss does a great job of boiling things down for mainstream readers, quite a bit went over my head. In terms of readability, Krauss's book is a bit tougher to digest than a book by Dawkins or Feynman, but easier to digest than one by Hawking. It could just be that the subject of the book is inherently more complex, but I definitely need to go back and re-read it at some point.
The book is well-written and fascinating, covering a subject that I've rarely seen covered elsewhere. Krauss's passion for this subject comes across easily, really driving readers to continue the book. I definitely recommend reading it, but prepare to read it twice.