Universe in Creation: A New Understanding of the Big Bang and the Emergence of Life

by Roy R. Gould

Overview

We know the universe has a history, but does it also have a story of self-creation to tell? Yes, in Roy R. Gould’s account. He offers a compelling narrative of how the universe—with no instruction other than its own laws—evolved into billions of galaxies and gave rise to life, including humans who have been trying for millennia to comprehend it. Far from being a random accident, the universe is hard at work, extracting order from chaos.

Making use of the best current science, Gould turns what many assume to be true about the universe on its head. The cosmos expands inward, not outward. Gravity can drive things apart, not merely together. And the universe seems to defy entropy as it becomes more ordered, rather than the other way around. Strangest of all, the universe is exquisitely hospitable to life, despite its being constructed from undistinguished atoms and a few unexceptional rules of behavior. Universe in Creation explores whether the emergence of life, rather than being a mere cosmic afterthought, may be written into the most basic laws of nature.

Offering a fresh take on what brought the world—and us—into being, Gould helps us see the universe as the master of its own creation, not tethered to a singular event but burgeoning as new space and energy continuously stream into existence. It is a very old story, as yet unfinished, with plotlines that twist and churn through infinite space and time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674976078
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	05/07/2018
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	448,912
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Roy R. Gould is Principal Investigator and Education Analyst at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Where Does The Universe Come From?

1 What Is the Universe-and How Large Is It? 19

2 Galaxies Misbehave 37

3 What's the Big Idea? 43

4 Einstein, Gravity, and the Universe 51

5 The Big Bang and Beyond 70

6 Building Plans 83

Part 2 How Did Structure Arise From Chaos?

7 An Apple Pie from Scratch 95

8 Into the Abyss 105

9 Into the Cauldron 111

10 Into the Light 124

Part 3 Is Life Merely A Roll Of The Cosmic Dice?

11 The Great Inventor 143

12 Information, Please! 164

13 Is Evolution Predictable? 185

14 The Sensational Sensations 204

15 Design without a Designer? 213

16 "Who's There?" 222

Epilogue: What Is Worthy of Our Wonder? 239

Notes 247

Acknowledgments 267

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

06/11/2018
Gould, principal investigator at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, proposes a fascinating thesis about life’s emergence in this eloquent debut. He seeks to “make plausible the idea that life arises naturally from the laws of nature,” opposing the argument that life arose on Earth through random chance. In fluent prose, he covers the universe’s history from the Big Bang to life on Earth, building his case not as one would in a scientific journal, “but rather as it might be presented in a trial.” Encountering striking analogies along the way, the reader learns about convergent evolution, which “gives the appearance that life is following some kind of script,” and the Mandelbrot pattern, produced from a mathematical set of numbers, which reveals ever-increasing levels of complexity when magnified. If life isn’t accidental, Gould argues, one should expect “similar forms, functions, and behaviors keep bubbling up, irrepressibly” in the same environment, as they do. His thought-provoking closing arguments highlight three observations of life: “that it is extremely robust across billions of years, that it is extremely diverse across millions of species, and that it is ubiquitous across the planet’s many environments.” The idea that “life seems to belong here” will surely raise skeptics’ hackles, but readers will appreciate Gould’s erudition and his new way of looking at the universe. (May)

Publishers Weekly

The universe could not have dreamt up a better press agent for its story than Roy Gould. From what connects katydids and elephants, through the natural evolution of RNAs, to exoplanets and the Mandelbrot set—the author’s sense of wonder at what is around us is absolutely infectious. Gould’s explanation of how order is naturally created by using disorder at all scales is the best I have seen, making sense of purposefulness without purpose. A joyous romp through a cosmos full of wonders, and changing still!

Roald Hoffmann

In a unique take on the cosmos, Gould makes the case that the emergence of a great many things are not only pre-ordained, but predictable…An interesting read that’s equally, fundamentally sound and correct.

Ethan Siegel

There are details throughout Universe in Creation that highlight fascinating and mysterious coherences in the fabric of existence.

PopMatters

When we wonder where we came from, or ponder the meaning of our lives, our thoughts might go back to childhood. In his search for meaning, Roy Gould rewinds further to where everything began: the birth of the cosmos. He is the universe’s joyful biographer, recognizing that its story and ours are intertwined, and that one of the most extraordinary things about the universe is that it created beings that can observe and appreciate it. Universe in Creation asks whether or not the universe’s creation of stars, galaxies, living cells, and human beings reveals an unfolding plan. It is a delightful, spirited, and brilliant inquiry.

Molly Bentley

Gould writes the deepest scientific thoughts with the ease of a skilled raconteur…[His] book is filled to overflowing with fascinating, imaginative detail…It is cosmology at its most intricate and explanation at its simplest. A wonderful book.

Queensland Reviewers Collective

Exciting, original, and extremely well written, Universe in Creation offers a philosophically novel perspective on the nature of the universe.

Avi Loeb

A fascinating synthesis…Gould artfully describes various…highlights in universal history, like the formation of stars and planets. Many of these moments are majestic.

New Republic - Adam Gaffney

An engaging book that clearly explains many fundamental concepts in cosmology, astrophysics, biology and chemistry, and is a must-have for all avid popular science fans.

Astronomy Now