Review of Time Reborn by Lee Smolin
I don't quite know what to make of this book. I am not a professional scientist; but I have a life-long interest in the sciences (I was a medical writer and/or reporter for 15 years) and learning in the fields of astronomy and cosmology (among others) and how the study of these fields might relate to our understanding of life. What drew me to this book were its high ranking on Amazon in its best seller rank, its high praise from the Amazon and editorial review section, and finally the fact that the author was touching on environmental and economic issues (I was intrigued as to how he would/could tie together a new understanding of time with these seemingly disconnected topics).
Written by theoretical physicist Lee Smolin, Time Reborn takes the reader on a journey from what is currently and generally accepted in the field (Time Is Not Real) to what Smolin proposes (Time Is Real). If you're like me, you'll need to re-wrap your head around the whole Time Is Not Real business before even trying to move on to Smolin's Time Is (Really) Real argument.
Smolin builds the current case that Time Is Not Real by explaining that it has to do with timeless natural laws, theories of relativity, mathematical equations and what they do and do not represent, and thinking from the tiniest level of known matter (quantum mechanics) to the largest level of known matter (the block universe, which is a fancy way of saying that "every moment in time is equally real and so the whole of space and time must be laid out in one unchanging spacetime block" [Pearce, 2012]). (If you're not used to it, thinking like this can stretch your mind to its limits; kind of like thinking about how matter is truly nearly all empty space, at the atomic level.) Smolin then proposes that Time Is Real, explaining that only real time can provide explanations for what he explains as evolving laws of physics.
This is an interesting ride, but along the way I realized that Smolin was cherry-picking his theories. For example, on page 236 he gives short shrift to variable speed of light theories, obviously, because they don't fit what he believes. Smolin believes the speed of light is a constant because he *must have it* be a constant to fit his thinking; not the other way around. If he were open-minded to the data, he would know that, in fact, the speed of light is variable. (It can go at what is nowadays measured at 186,000 m/s. It can be slowed; it can be stopped; and it can be re-started. Scientists have done this multiple times. Just google "speed of light is stopped." And, if the speed of light can be slowed....then logically it could also be....sped up. Which is the crux of the variable speed of light theory. Some scientists have done an enormous amount of work to determine if the speed of light was faster in the past, and what this might mean for how we think about the universe, time, and ourselves. If you're interested, google "speed of light was faster in the past" and you'll find some fascinating material. I've looked at the data. It is compelling.) So, Smolin's cherry-picking made me wonder what else he was limiting himself to believing based on his prejudices and pre-conceived notions (his constructed worldview) and then what he did to sieve his information through that to us, his readers.
Still, I liked the book. If you're a serious layman like me, don't be intimidated by the subject matter, the dizzying amount of theories discussed and explained, or the often-used professional language of the professional theoretical physicist author. Read on; plow through. Understand that it simply has to be this way. Smolin tries carefully to explain in detail why Time Is Not Real and then why Time Is Real. I admire him and his book for that and for the added understanding it's given me of the mysterious universe we inhabit.
I liked it:
3/5 Goodreads
4/5 Amazon
All my reviews are on my Amazon review page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/...
Written by theoretical physicist Lee Smolin, Time Reborn takes the reader on a journey from what is currently and generally accepted in the field (Time Is Not Real) to what Smolin proposes (Time Is Real). If you're like me, you'll need to re-wrap your head around the whole Time Is Not Real business before even trying to move on to Smolin's Time Is (Really) Real argument.
Smolin builds the current case that Time Is Not Real by explaining that it has to do with timeless natural laws, theories of relativity, mathematical equations and what they do and do not represent, and thinking from the tiniest level of known matter (quantum mechanics) to the largest level of known matter (the block universe, which is a fancy way of saying that "every moment in time is equally real and so the whole of space and time must be laid out in one unchanging spacetime block" [Pearce, 2012]). (If you're not used to it, thinking like this can stretch your mind to its limits; kind of like thinking about how matter is truly nearly all empty space, at the atomic level.) Smolin then proposes that Time Is Real, explaining that only real time can provide explanations for what he explains as evolving laws of physics.
This is an interesting ride, but along the way I realized that Smolin was cherry-picking his theories. For example, on page 236 he gives short shrift to variable speed of light theories, obviously, because they don't fit what he believes. Smolin believes the speed of light is a constant because he *must have it* be a constant to fit his thinking; not the other way around. If he were open-minded to the data, he would know that, in fact, the speed of light is variable. (It can go at what is nowadays measured at 186,000 m/s. It can be slowed; it can be stopped; and it can be re-started. Scientists have done this multiple times. Just google "speed of light is stopped." And, if the speed of light can be slowed....then logically it could also be....sped up. Which is the crux of the variable speed of light theory. Some scientists have done an enormous amount of work to determine if the speed of light was faster in the past, and what this might mean for how we think about the universe, time, and ourselves. If you're interested, google "speed of light was faster in the past" and you'll find some fascinating material. I've looked at the data. It is compelling.) So, Smolin's cherry-picking made me wonder what else he was limiting himself to believing based on his prejudices and pre-conceived notions (his constructed worldview) and then what he did to sieve his information through that to us, his readers.
Still, I liked the book. If you're a serious layman like me, don't be intimidated by the subject matter, the dizzying amount of theories discussed and explained, or the often-used professional language of the professional theoretical physicist author. Read on; plow through. Understand that it simply has to be this way. Smolin tries carefully to explain in detail why Time Is Not Real and then why Time Is Real. I admire him and his book for that and for the added understanding it's given me of the mysterious universe we inhabit.
I liked it:
3/5 Goodreads
4/5 Amazon
All my reviews are on my Amazon review page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/...
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