false 6588819 1 What is the ultimate destiny of our universe? That is the striking question addressed by James Gardner in The Intelligent Universe. <P>Traditionally, scientists (and Robert Frost) have offered two bleak answers to this profound issue: fire or ice. <P>The cosmos might end in fire—a cataclysmic Big Crunch in which galaxies, planets, and life forms are consumed in a raging inferno as the universe contracts in a kind of Big Bang in reverse. <P>Or the universe might end in ice—a ceaseless expansion of the fabric of space-time in which matter and energy are eternally diluted and cooled; stars wither and die, , and the cosmos simply fades into quiet and endless oblivion. <P>In The Intelligent Universe, James Gardner envisions a third dramatic alternative—a final state of the cosmos in which a highly evolved form of group intelligence engineers a cosmic renewal, the birth of a new universe. <P>Gardner's vision is that life and intelligence are at the very heart of the elegant machinery of the universe. It is a viewpoint that has won outspoken praise from an array of leading scientists, including Sir Martin Rees, Britain’s Astronomer Royal, and Templeton Prize winner Paul Davies. <P>The Intelligent Universe is both a look into the past and a road map for the future of the universe. It explores the mysteries of the universe and of consciousness, and provides a frank and fascinating look at where our minds are taking us. 6782360 15 2 2007 The Intelligent Universe: AI, ET, and the Emerging Mind of the Cosmos 0 0 6 0 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Mon Oct 12 16:22:04 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 16:22:04 -0700 2009 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Sun Oct 04 01:04:05 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 01:04:05 -0700 2009 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Fri Sep 18 12:18:52 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 12:18:58 -0700 2009 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Wed Aug 19 14:36:38 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 14:36:38 -0700 2009 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Wed Aug 19 11:11:30 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 11:11:30 -0700 2009 6588819 0 0 0.00 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6588819-the-intelligent-universe 0 0 false Tue Jul 07 13:06:46 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 13:06:46 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6588819