The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

by Brian Greene

book data

1,324 ratings, 4.09 average rating, 194 reviews (more data...)

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4		45%
3		19%
2		1%
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published

February 10th 2004 by Knopf

binding

Hardcover, 576 pages

isbn

0375412883 (isbn13: 9780375412882)

description

As a boy, Brian Greene read Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus and was transformed. Camus, in Greene's paraphrase, insisted that the hero triumphs "...more

[close] As a boy, Brian Greene read Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus and was transformed. Camus, in Greene's paraphrase, insisted that the hero triumphs "by relinquishing everything beyond immediate experience." After wrestling with this idea, however, Greene rejected Camus and realized that his true idols were physicists; scientists who struggled "to assess life and to experience the universe at all possible levels, not just those that happened to be accessible to our frail human senses." His driving question in The Fabric of the Cosmos, then, is fundamental: "What is reality?" Over sixteen chapters, he traces the evolving human understanding of the substrate of the universe, from classical physics to ten-dimensional M-Theory.

Assuming an audience of non-specialists, Greene has set himself a daunting task: to explain non-intuitive, mathematical concepts like String Theory, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Inflationary Cosmology with analogies drawn from common experience. For the most part, he succeeds. His language reflects a deep passion for science and a gift for translating concepts into poetic images. When explaining, for example, the inability to see the higher dimensions inherent in string theory, Greene writes: "We don't see them because of the way we see…like an ant walking along a lily pad…we could be floating within a grand, expansive, higher-dimensional space."

For Greene, Rhodes Scholar and professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, speculative science is not always as thorough and successful. His discussion of teleportation, for example, introduces and then quickly tables a valuable philosophical probing of identity. The paradoxes of time travel, however, are treated with greater depth, and his vision of life in a three-brane universe is compelling and--to use his description for quantum reality--"weird."

In the final pages Greene turns from science fiction back to the fringes of science fact, and he returns with rigor to frame discoveries likely to be made in the coming decades. "We are, most definitely, still wandering in the jungle," he concludes. Thanks to Greene, though, some of the underbrush has been cleared. --Patrick O'Kelley

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01/30/09

Trevor rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

Read in February, 2009

Did you know that Schrödinger’s equation is a perfect anagram of “A Second Herring Quits”? And is a near perfect anagram of “Surely someone’s taking the piss”? The second anagram relies, of course (and almost entirely), on a rather judicious application of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle – but I do think that one may be more illuminating of how I’m finding some of the quantum mechanical experiments described in this book.

There is part of me that would like t...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

7 comments

12/04/07

Jen rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

recommends it for: tenacious liberal arts majors and science geeks

Hmmm...I can now talk basics about String Theory and physics at a cocktail party. Get me into anything more than general commentary, discoveries, famous names and famous theories, and I'm completely at a loss. Green is a likable and passionate author, but for readers without a physics knowledge base, his little treatise is tough going, even with all the Simpsons references. I remember the most important concepts, but the intricacies didn't stick with me. This book is best read in segments, pr...more

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1 comment

12/12/08

David rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

Read in December, 2008

This is a nice overview of modern physics, including implications of relativity (specific and general), quantum mechanics and string theory, together with a discussion of the implications for cosmology. Some of the interesting items discussed here include the notion that during the "Planck time", ie, 10^(-34) sec or so after the Big Bang, space and time had no meaning, that our 3-D universe may be only an illusion of an underlying 11-dimensional universe, and reality may be coded in a...more

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01/12/08

Larry rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

I finally finished Brian Greene's Fabric of the Cosmos and I am more confused than ever about string theory, M-theory and the nature of spacetime.
I feel as though I should read the book again. I guess at least now I am familiar enough with the concepts which confuse me to be able to sound like I know something about general relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory over beers with friends, and that's the important thing, right?
Greene uses lots of pop cultural referenced example...more

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03/13/09

Ryan Petersen rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

Reading this book, and discovering the implications of the latest physics experiments, will cast doubt on your very perception of reality. While it eventually becomes difficult to focus as the reader is swept away in the latest wild (and as yet untestable) theories about the nature of reality, those conclusions that are backed by undeniable experimental evidence are breathtaking in their own right.

For example, Einstein's theory of relativity (familiar to many but intuitive to almost ...more Reading this book, and discovering the implications of the latest physics experiments, will cast doubt on your very perception of reality. While it eventually becomes difficult to focus as the reader is swept away in the latest wild (and as yet untestable) theories about the nature of reality, those conclusions that are backed by undeniable experimental evidence are breathtaking in their own right.

For example, Einstein's theory of relativity (familiar to many but intuitive to almost no one), demonstrates unequivocally that two people can have radically different, even diametrically opposed, view points and both be 100 percent accurate. Apply that the next time you get in an argument.

Furthermore, all "moments" in time--past, present and future--coexist simultaneously. To demonstrate this, Greene shows that in your current list of what exists right "now" in the world, imagine that there is an object (Greene uses Chewie, the wookie from Star Wars) in a distance galaxy, billions of light years away. As long as that object remains at rest relative to you, you are both co-existing at the exact same moment in time. But should that object move toward you at a mere 6 miles per hour, its list of what exists "right now" over here on planet Earth would actually be pushed back 150 years. Accelerate in the opposite direction and the presidential election of 2150 would have already been determined in his list of what exists right now, today. Of course, it would still take billions of years to transmit this information to him through the universe, but we are still left with the realization that all moments in time exist simultaneously.

This notion makes me realize just how pertinent the "great quote" picked up from Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha earlier this year: "The river is everywhere at once, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall and at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at once, and that there is only the present time for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future....And when I had learned it, I looked at my life, and it also was a river, and the boy Siddhartha was only separated from the man Siddhartha by a shadow, not by something real." Perhaps there is more to this than even Hesse could have realized.

There is nothing terribly new in the portion on special/general relativity. Einstein's theories and acknowledgment (at least amongst physicists) of these implications have been around for almost 100 years. More spectacular is Greene's account of recent experiments in quantum mechanics that demonstrate a.) particles do not occupy a single place in space, but in fact are everywhere at the same time; b.) future events can impact the past; c.) our universe is non-local--particles can be instantaneously connected across vast distances in time and space.

The book concludes with an overview of string and M-theory, which if confirmed would show that there are more dimensions than the three plus time we are accustomed to. According to M-Theory, only gravity can pass between the dimensions, as the other forces/particles are restricted to the realm we can perceive. It is hoped that huge new linear accelerators (atom smashers) may confirm one or more of these theories--or (more likely) open up entirely new avenues of thought about the nature of reality.

As shown, the book presents some of the most intellectually stimulating material imaginable, but does so in an easy to read manner that the average person with an interest in science, religion and reality in general will find manageable. Green does Einstein justice by making the information "as simple as possible, but no simpler."(less)

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08/06/07

Joe rated it:

bookshelves: physics

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2008

You probably know more about physics than you think.

See, right there, when your brain registered the p-word, a black hole of anxiety opened up in the pit of your stomach from which nothing can escape. Your underarms began to radiate heat as your mind conjured memories of stuffy high school laboratories. And as your eyes scanned ahead for those dreaded half-English, half-Greek words followed by an equal sign, the probability of you reading on fast approached zero.

But ther...more

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12/26/08

Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

This is a great book that does an excellent job of explaining some of the toughest ideas in modern physics. My only criticism is that Greene can't figure out who his audience is: there's an odd mix of esoterica and the mundane. Most of the esoteric stuff is banished to the footnotes, which are well worth reading--and I suppose I should be happy that it's there at all, since most books on modern science are written with Hawking's Editor's Law in mind: with each equation, your audience shrinks b...more

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01/14/08

Art rated it:

(review of isbn 0375727205)

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Art by: Katharine

God, where should I start. I was first turned on to this book by Kat. Her brain is much more powerful than mine, so I am now reading it again to try and get my thoughts around a little more of it. It is an excellent book; however, I just lack the background knowledge to fully understand a lot of it. Perhaps I should say, to understand it at any applicable level. I can understand most of the concepts and ideas, I just cannot envision many of them. Still, the little I have been able to absorb h...more

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02/13/09

Bettie (Goodreads Reader!) rated it:

(review of isbn 0736697500)

bookshelves: fraudio, sciences

Read in February, 2009

Unabridged mp3 read. Narrated by Michael Pritchard.

I am on the last hour of this and I can say that it's been enjoyable, what with pop-culture examples and smirky asides. The more one visits material the more the ideas stick and as I am a very weak version of velcro, repetition is welcome. When I was a trainer the benchmark was given that you had to incorporate an essential point six times to make sure the meaning was driven home ... so let me say that I now understand the principle ...more

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04/03/09

Michael added it (review of isbn 0965900584)

Read in April, 2009

If there is one subject I struggle with, it's the hard sciences. But Brian Greene's book is written exactly for people like me who probably haven't picked up a science book since high school and are mathmatically handicapped. And given the importance of the research going on, the discoveries so far, and the possibilities that are coming soon that may change our world in some really significant ways, it is also an important book.
In a nutshell, Greene delivers what we know and ...more

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06/10/09

Eric rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

Read in June, 2009

After slowly progressing through An Elegant Universe, in which Greene described string theory to a mass audience, The Fabric of the Cosmos seems much more basic in comparison. But this is sensible considering that the primary focus of Cosmos covers the slightly less complicated topic of the nature of empty space. And compared wrapping one's head around the totality of string theory, this does pass for light reading. Greene covers most of the noteworthy accomplishments in defining empty space, ...more

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02/05/09

Bookmarks Magazine added it

If the idea that time may travel in more than one direction hurts your brain, there's hope for you yet. Greene, author of The Elegant Universe and professor at Columbia University, designed this dazzling overview of physical reality for general readers (and kindly gives ample notice when he's about to delve into physics-speak). Using humorous examples from everyday life, from Larry King and Homer Simpson to earthworms, Greene animates thorny questions of space, time, and reality. Although he str

...more

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08/23/07

Gina marked it as to-read (review of isbn 0965900584)

bookshelves: to-read

Read in December, 2007

recommends it for: anyone interested in quantum physics

I've barely made a dent in this book. The introduction is dry because the author has to give you the tools you need to understand what he explores in this book. I can't wait to get into the meat and potatoes of this book. I've always felt that time was not this finite linear concept but more like an onion with many layers.

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11/03/07

Jay rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

recommends it for: semi-nerds

If there's any accessibility to be found in modern theoretical physics, this is the old college try. Well written, involving, and leads to reckless amounts of navel gazing.

Perfect for procrastinating because you feel smarter when you've finished a chunk, which feels more important than the dishes, the laundry, etc.

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03/05/09

Thomma rated it:

(review of isbn 0141011114)

Read in June, 2006

This book is about theoretical physics, relativity, superstrings, and the space-time loaf. Well, there isn't actually a space-time "loaf": rather, it's a highly effective metaphor -- a thought experiment -- that Brian Greene uses to get across the idea that in the mathematics of advanced physics, space-time isn't just an ephemeral construct but an actual something which has reality and which can be shown, mathematically, to possess that reality.

Greene goes on to show how, b...more

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01/27/09

Greg rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Difficult. Slow-going. Have to digest in parts. Ultimately accessible, however. I have to confess that I'd never understood some of the most basic and exciting ideas of modern physics until this book...e.g., the relationship between time and speed; general / special relativity. Now at least I've got the basics. The best part of the book, though, goes well beyond the basics to vivid explorations of the most profoundly weird - and exciting - ideas about the essential nature of the universe....more

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10/03/08

Nicholas rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

bookshelves: physics

Read in July, 2007

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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08/27/08

Noah M. rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

Read in October, 2008

I tried to read "Hyperspace" by Michio Kaku a few years back and gave it up about half way through. Not because it was too complex. It was just that the way he explained string theory made it sound like a complete load of shit. Every step of the way he prefaced things by saying, "This can't be tested and perhaps never will be." So I got the distinct impression that smart people were just coming up with crazy theories that bear no relationship to the physical universe.
...more

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08/22/08

Bruce rated it:

Read in June, 2008

Greene, professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, and a superstring theorist explains the stuff of reality. By skillful use of diagrams and analogies he succeeds even for non-mathematicians like me. He also goes on to explain of what the world might be made. In other words, what science knows by experimental proof and what has yet to be proved by experiment. And most puzzling is the experimental fact that the rules of movement for the big things in the universe, people, planet...more

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08/22/08

Simon Cleveland rated it:

(review of isbn 0965900584)

bookshelves: all-time-favorite

Read in March, 2006

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality' by Brian Greene should be assigned as a requirement reading for every high-school graduate in the nation and this isn't a joke. Sure, there are some hard to comprehend concepts, such as the Calaby-Yau shapes, Higgs field and String Theory, but this shouldn't turn down any life loving enthusiasts who are in search of understanding of the universe's nature. Aren't we all part of this phenomenon, and if so, why not try to understand...more The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality' by Brian Greene should be assigned as a requirement reading for every high-school graduate in the nation and this isn't a joke. Sure, there are some hard to comprehend concepts, such as the Calaby-Yau shapes, Higgs field and String Theory, but this shouldn't turn down any life loving enthusiasts who are in search of understanding of the universe's nature. Aren't we all part of this phenomenon, and if so, why not try to understand it better?

Conceptually the material is presented with smoothness of language, intelligent humor and enough engaging examples to make even those not familiar with physics fall in love with the scientific data.
I'd like to commend Mr. Greene for a job well done (in my book you Sir get an A).

But what's the book all about? It's about the fundamental aspects of life - those tiny little particles of matter that we can't see, but that comprise our essence. And not really. It's about the essence of these particles, about the one component of all that matters, of the string that vibrates in its own way to shape the particles that shape us. And that's not exactly true. It's about the nature of the string, about its frame of mind, about its existence in its own universe, obeying its own physical laws. Ah, yes, now I'm getting somewhere. It's about the possibility of the seemingly impossible fact that not all of what we see is what we think it is. Yes, it's about the force, no, the meaning of everything. Well, perhaps I overshot it a bit. The book does not give an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" but it comes awfully close and the reader is left with awe and encouraged to uncover this meaning for himself. Think about it, if the universe has a beginning, if it's obeying the laws of thermodynamics, if entropy is what it really is, then in this linear progression of time, in this unequivocal connection between space and time and gravity and electromagnetic forces lies the answer to the meaning of our existence. And what is it? The author leaves it up to us to make this determination. Trust me on this, put this book at the top of your reading list. (less)

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