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greeniezona 's review for:
The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew
by Alan Lightman
I have been biased towards Alan Lightman ever since the brilliantly incandescent Einstein's Dreams, so I snatched this off of the library shelf as soon as I saw it, despite the size of my stack already and the state of my to-read shelf. Of course, this is no Einstein's Dreams, but a collection of essays about the nature of the universe. Most of the theories and interpretations discussed were not new to me, so I found little about this book to be groundbreaking. But in general I enjoy Lightman's writing style, and enjoy thinking about these sorts of things, so it was a pleasant enough read.
I most enjoyed the essay "The Symmetrical Universe," which closes thusly: "Viewed in this way, it is nonsensical to ask why we find nature beautiful. Beauty and symmetry and minimum principles are not qualities we ascribe to the cosmos and then marvel at in their perfection. They are simply what is, just like the particular arrangement of atoms that make up our minds. We are not observers on the outside looking in. We are on the inside too." And also "The Disembodied Universe," which contained a lovely contextualized explanation of Foucault's pendulum, which I know I have read/learned about before, but somehow not grasped how radical and beautiful it was in its day. This last essay is also an interesting meditation on progress and technology and the ever-changing human condition.
Some small complaints, but overall a good read.
I most enjoyed the essay "The Symmetrical Universe," which closes thusly: "Viewed in this way, it is nonsensical to ask why we find nature beautiful. Beauty and symmetry and minimum principles are not qualities we ascribe to the cosmos and then marvel at in their perfection. They are simply what is, just like the particular arrangement of atoms that make up our minds. We are not observers on the outside looking in. We are on the inside too." And also "The Disembodied Universe," which contained a lovely contextualized explanation of Foucault's pendulum, which I know I have read/learned about before, but somehow not grasped how radical and beautiful it was in its day. This last essay is also an interesting meditation on progress and technology and the ever-changing human condition.
Some small complaints, but overall a good read.