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Title: Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in Nature by Eric J. Chaisson ISBN: 0-674-00987-8 Publisher: Harvard University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Thought-provoking look at evolution
Comment: This is an enjoyable big-picture examination of evolution in light of thermodynamics, i.e. how can order increase despite the 2nd law of thermodynamics? You will need to recall some calculus and some basic physics in order to follow the thread of the discussion. Chaisson does an excellent job of laying out the subject, looking at the evolution of complicated structures, e.g. the universe, stars, galaxies, planets, life, brains, societies. He actually works through the numbers on several examples in order to give you a better feel for the subject of evolution, and for thermodynamics. If you have an interest in things cosmological, I strongly recommend this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Illuminating and rock-solid
Comment: Professor Chaisson has succeeded in providing a narrative of the Universe, one that is elegant and satisfying, and at the same time based on a rock-solid, quantitative approach.
This book has finally reconciled for me the vexing question of how complexity and disorder (entropy) can increase simultaneously. I knew that total entropy must increase, per the 2nd law of thermodynamics. What I did not realize is that the maximum POSSIBLE entropy of the Universe is increasing even faster, due to the expansion of the Universe. So now I have a way of visualizing the amount of complexity in the Universe - it is the difference between these two entropies.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is the clear identification of the phases of the Universe: Radiation Era->Matter Era->Life Era. The idea that we, as intelligent life, can give birth to a thriving, universal Life Era is visionary and uplifting (and part of the basis for Reason for the Common Good).
Cosmic Evolution is extremely well-researched, quantitative, and most of all, illuminating.
Rating: 3
Summary: Worth the Effort
Comment: This book was not written for the lay reader of science, such as myself. At times the writer sounds as if, chalk in hand, he is giving a lecture to astrophysics third-year students - the only thing missing is the pronunciation of the equations. Those uncomfortable with formulas will find the middle of the book slow going.
The payoff, for those who persevere, is two or three new ideas. And that's why we read books like this.
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Title: Dreams of a Final Theory : The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature by STEVEN WEINBERG ISBN: 0679744088 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: What is Life? : With Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches (Canto) by Erwin Schrodinger, Roger Penrose ISBN: 0521427088 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 31 January, 1992 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order by Steven Strogatz ISBN: 0786868449 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 05 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History (California World History Library, 2) by David Christian, William H. McNeill ISBN: 0520235002 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: The Emergence of Everything: How the World Became Complex by Harold J. Morowitz ISBN: 019513513X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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