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98th out of 196 books
—
164 voters
The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design
In his first book ever, the father of string theory reinvents the world's concept of the known universe and man's unique place within it. Line drawings.
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
December 14th 2008
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 1st 2006)
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Nov 19, 2012
Manny
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Creationists, string theorists
I had seen many references to this controversial book - among other things, it's quoted approvingly in Dawkins's The God Delusion - but somehow I didn't get round to reading it until this week. Despite the fact that it's sloppily argued and poorly written, I'm embarrassed to say that I found it unputdownable. If you also enjoy watching smart, opinionated people shooting their mouths off in public, you may well have the same reaction.
Susskind, writing in 2005, confidently promises to explain Lif...more
Susskind, writing in 2005, confidently promises to explain Lif...more
- A review of Feyman diagrams, propagators and vertex diagrams.
- The fine structure constant (alpha = 1/137 or 0.007297351) is an important constant of nature. It represents the probability that an electron will emit a photon as it moves along its trajectory.
- Feyman developed Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) which predicts the probability of any event based upon the propagators and the vertex diagrams, and upon coupling constants such as the fine structure constant.
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) i...more
- The fine structure constant (alpha = 1/137 or 0.007297351) is an important constant of nature. It represents the probability that an electron will emit a photon as it moves along its trajectory.
- Feyman developed Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) which predicts the probability of any event based upon the propagators and the vertex diagrams, and upon coupling constants such as the fine structure constant.
- Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) i...more
This could be a useful book were it not written by a person who thinks so well of himself that he continually intrudes his unpleasant personality over the subject matter. Basically, he is telling us something that Hume told us, what, about 300 years ago, that the universe seems beautifully designed to allow life to exist (which leads some to propose the notion that it must therefore have been specifically and deliberately designed for us to live in) because we do in fact live in it. It's the onl...more
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Leonard Susskind is one of the pioneers of String Theory, possibly the only current theory linking quantum mechanics and gravity. In this regard the book is quite fascinating. Unfortunately, the illusion of intelligent design is hardly mentioned except for the author stating that it's the law of large numbers (of universes forming on the cosmic landscape) which is enough to account for our finely tuned universe supporting life. Dr. Susskind displays his disregard of theology by referring to God...more
This book is one of the best physics/cosmology books I've ever read (read 3 times in fact). The most interesting parts, for me, were related to the Anthropic Principle and the discussion of the Landscape and Multiverse theories.
As I understood it the biggest issue was with the cosmological constant he discussed. If it were exactly zero, as Einstein believed, we would live in a "flat" (read: not-curved) universe and everyone would be OK with that. But better and better measurements show that the...more
As I understood it the biggest issue was with the cosmological constant he discussed. If it were exactly zero, as Einstein believed, we would live in a "flat" (read: not-curved) universe and everyone would be OK with that. But better and better measurements show that the...more
An interesting read, with some excellent explanations of physics. My quibble is how heavily the author leans on a flavor of the Anthropic Principle which seems to put the cart before the horse. In this Panglossian paradigm, the universe has been 'fine-tuned' for our benefit. It seems to me that reverses the logical cause and effect- since we have evolved in this universe, obviously the physical constants and laws must permit our existence. We are fine-tuned to our universe, not vice versa. The a...more
Sep 08, 2010
Dan Martin
added it
Okay, it would be unfair of me to give this any sort of ranking due to the simple fact that I understood about five percent of it. W-bosons, quarks, photons, and all the other particles of the universe that I will never grasp are right up there with mathematics for me - completely over my head. That aside, the five percent I did understand was awesome. Like, for example, the idea that String Theorists are constantly looking for that one unique, elegant theorem that explains why we exist, what ar...more
This book contains interesting theories of origin concerning the universe as a whole, as well as the various quantum particles the universe is understood to be comprised of. This book gives its theories free of the God-of-the-gaps explanation that: "God made it so", which I agree is completely sensible and expected in a real science book, since science deals with matters of the physical world and only its most necessary constituents, not matters of faith or philosophy.
The book contains many prof...more
The book contains many prof...more
THE COSMIC LANDSCAPE tells the intriguing story of the gradual acceptance by physicists of the implications of certain weird aspects of quantum mechanics, implications that entail an infinite multiverse or megaverse comprising endless populations of universes of every conceivable form and variety. Here, too, is the story of the battle between the proponents of Intelligent Design, who draw on quantum mechanics to try to show that our universe is uniquely fashioned for life and intelligence, and s...more
In this book noted physicist Leonard Susskind presents an emerging paradigm of cosmology based on modern string theory. This cosmology addresses the difficult question of why our universe appears to be so specially constructed. For instance, the "cosmological constant" of the universe appears to be the sum of two terms, which cancel to 120 decimal digits, yet fail to cancel in the 120th digit! What can be the explanation for such phenomena? Susskind then discusses developments in modern string t...more
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We've got 'The Rare Earth' and now we've got 'The Rare Universe.' This book details Leonard Susskind's theory that our universe one of 2-500X (2 to the 500th power) possible universes. He goes through some of the current theories on how 'pocket universes' form and exactly what would be possible in order for those universes to support life. 'The Cosmic Landscape' is his coined term for the multiverse, or the higher-dimensional space within which our universe was created and for the 'landscape' of...more
This was a very good book. Susskind is a good story teller, able to lay on the heavy duty scientific theory, the implications for its meaning and his own biography as a physicist. I enjoyed several aspects of the book, particularly the argument that we live in one of several universes, that the universe that we live in follows only one of an infinite number of possible laws, and the anthropic principle which evaluates the conditions for life on a planet, solar system or universe. Very good stuff...more
How do you explain theoretical physics with no equations? lots of metaphors. Susskind runs the gamut on theoretical physics in the early 21st century. A whole new ballgame sine the 50's. Our scope of the cosmos has just widened to unprecedented proportions. Anything is possible, even *GASP* God!!
This is the guy that disproved Stephen Hawkins' theory of black holes. He went to write about it and wrote this book instead. Why? Because after a hundred years of sucking Newton's throbbing laws and lic...more
This is the guy that disproved Stephen Hawkins' theory of black holes. He went to write about it and wrote this book instead. Why? Because after a hundred years of sucking Newton's throbbing laws and lic...more
String theory has a multitude of solutions resulting in many possible universes each with its version of physics - the "cosmic landscape" is the solution space of all possible universes. Some are friendly to life and many others that do not. What is special about our universe? A potential answer relies on the anthropic principle that has gone out of fashion a few hundred years ago. Susskind and others incl Weinberg have embraced this - meaning our universe is one of many. From a layman's perspec...more
This book is a wonderful review of 20th and 21st century physics. Susskind does an amazing job of explaining things so that a layman such as myself can understand them, or at least get a better sense of what truly understanding them would mean. Although I know that I will forget many of the finer points in short order, I at least feel that I now have a better grasp of many of the major advances in physics from the last century.
Susskind spends a great deal of time and energy in this book defendin...more
Susskind spends a great deal of time and energy in this book defendin...more
This book completely blew my mind. For just a minute, I felt like I had a glimpse of the huge strangeness of the universe, and even a modicum of understanding of the secrets of physics (quantum and astro). I forgot all the technical stuff as soon as I finished the book, but the concepts were unforgettable. One of my favorites.
Wasn't great but wasn't bad. Everything in the book was put into good wording for breakdowns and it's obvious that he's not blowing smoke. There were 2 weak points. One is that the chapters tend to ramble and become incredibly dry. He usually brings up something simply to tell you that it's in another chapter. My main problem was that it never actually goes into the concept of string theory and intelligent design. I can see how a physicist would think he addressed the topic but it's really strin...more
This is the best intro to string theory I've read so far. Not as detailed as Lisa Randall's "Warped Passages", but I think that it is an easier read for people who don't have a deep background in physics. I could have done without the Anthropic Principle musing, but that's just a quibble.
I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by the author on campus. Being interested in String Theory (if not quite up on all the nuances of the field) this was an interesting adjunct.
Best book on cosmology/string theory I have read so far. Quite excellent for the beginner just starting to learn about complex physics and what it can tell us about the world around us.
Cutting-edge physics combined with well-reasoned arguments against Intelligent Design. I'm a sucker for both topics, so of course I rate this "amazing".
String theory is pretty much dead, which makes Susskind an even bigger embarrassment to the field of Physics than he already was.
Aug 27, 2007
Abbey
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love physics without any formal education on the subject
My favourite science book of all time. Definitely knocks Warped Passages out of the water when it comes to how well written it is and how well explained the topics are! I gotta say, Leonard Susskind is my idol and I hope to work in the string theory field of physics one day so I may be bias, but the way he explains the rolled up dimensions is phenomenal! No equations! Except one minor one somewhere... but it was fairly simple. If you're curious about modern science and advanced physics but don't...more
A marvelous book full of information about cosmology and particle physics that I never would have known otherwise
Great book, presents some pretty abstruse ideas about how the universe(s?) works in a way accessible to non-physicists.
Such a great book. It gave me another perspective, entirely different in philosophical terms than the one of Hawking. Like the joke:
Laplace about God - "I don’t need this hypothesis." Lord is behind him and taps him on the shoulder, Laplace turns back and says - "Oh, hello!"
Laplace about God - "I don’t need this hypothesis." Lord is behind him and taps him on the shoulder, Laplace turns back and says - "Oh, hello!"
Fairly a lucid read for a layperson like me. Feynman diagrams might become my next wallpaper pattern.
Very good but at sometimes dense book. Book attempts to reconcile seemingly serendipitous physical constants against an argument for Intelligent Design by showing how an anthropomorphic viewpoint can be used to discover more of how how physical universe can be explained. It inverts the logic of a universe built for us to one of understanding this universe because we are here.
Four years of physics curriculum, and I understand more about it after two chapters of this book. Nobody actually takes the time to sit down and explain everything to you. They just throw out equations and words and concepts and bark at you to move it! Susskind actually tells you how it all fits together.
Oh yeah, and then there's all those other universes.
Oh yeah, and then there's all those other universes.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum Chronodynamics and other silly things | 1 | 12 | Aug 03, 2008 07:50pm |
Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics at Stanford University. His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an associate member of the faculty of Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Phys...more
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Nov 25, 2012 06:47am
Nov 25, 2012 07:31am