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The title of well-known science writer Clegg's newest is a bit of a teaser: as Clegg (A Brief History of Infinity) himself admits: "we may never have a definitive answer to the question, "What came before the Big Bang?" But there are lots of theories running around waving their hands to be noticed and get funding. Clegg devotes the first half of his book to the problems that face big bang theorists (when did the bang happen? How big was it? what caused it?). He then gives equal time to those who are looking to send that theory the way of phlogiston. Many alternative origin-of-the-universe theories postulate either that there have been cyclical universes-each ending in a Big Crunch, followed by another Big Bang, or that our universe really exists in a giant black hole,or that universes can bud off one another.Most astronomy and science fiction buffs will bl familiar with this material, but Clegg's relatively jargon-free style makes for a good introduction for general readers, even if it leaves them still wondering what did come before the big bang. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.1 Big Bang Primer 1
2 Enter the Creator 7
3 What and How Big? 20
4 How Old? 64
5 A Bang Or a Whimper? 81
6 Keeping Things Steady 116
7 Inflating the Truth 135
8 Let There Be Time 176
9 Groundhog Universe 186
10 Living in a Bubble 226
11 Welcome to the Matrix 247
12 Snapshot Universe 264
Notes 293
Index 299
Anonymous
Posted May 14, 2010
Theoretical physicist and author Brian Clegg works hard in this book to summarize current theories of the origins of our universe for the widest and most general audience possible. Clegg, who is quite skeptical and critical of the Big Bang theory,the most widely accepted current set of ideas, effectively explains the origins and rationale of that theory. Clegg also reveals and questions some of the more restrictive and limiting ways in which the academic community of theoretical physicists, and "Big Science" in general, works to close ranks around an "accepted" set of theories in ways that can close down discussion prematurely,and his book is a commendable effort to expand and keep the full scope of debate alive.
Clegg very consciously uses the most straightforward and non-technical language possible, understandable given his intended audience, and this serves the book well in the early going. In the later chapters, however, as he ranges far and wide among increasingly far-out theories (The universe as a computer program, as a hologrammic projection), even simple explanations serve to distract and confuse. The reader, in those situations, is likely to think: It seems like I should be getting this, given the matter-of-fact tone and style; why am I lost? In fact, seemingly off-hand and brief explanations of utterly foreign notions, such as those that arise from quantum theory, are far from easily followed when applied to the nature, origins and ultimate fate of the universe itself.
Perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, Clegg reveals the almost pseudo-scientific nature of the current state of theoretical physics in repeated phrases such as "In principle," which are generally followed by nearly outlandish and imcomprehensible imaginings. In principle it seems, almost anything about the universe as a whole could be true, as long as it doesn't risk making any predictions that be supported, or disproven, by any observed or observable evidence. What such suppositions about the universe are good for is a question left unanswered, presumably because theoretical physicists really like their jobs and want to keep them and be taken seriously.
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Overview
According to a recent survey, the most popular question about science from the general public was: what came before the Big Bang? We all know on some level what the Big Bang is, but we don’t know how it became the accepted theory, or how we might know what came before. In Before the Big Bang, Brian Clegg (the critically acclaimed author of Upgrade Me and The God Effect) explores the history of this remarkable concept. From the earliest creation myths, through Hershel’s realization that the Milky Way was one of many galaxies, to on-going debates about Black Holes, this is an incredible look at the origins of the universe and the many theories that led to the acceptance of the Big Bang. ...