Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time

by Martin Gorst

The untold story of the religious figures, philosophers, astronomers, geologists, physicists, and mathematicians who, for more than four hundred years, have pursued the answer to a fundamental question at the intersection of science and religion: When did the universe begin?

The moment of the universe's conception is one of science's Holy Grails, investigated by some of the most brilliant and inquisitive minds across the ages. Few were more committed than Bishop James Ussher, who lost his sight during the fifty years it took him to compose his Annals of all known history, now famous only for one date: 4004 b.c. Ussher's date for the creation of the world was spectacularly inaccurate, but that didn't stop it from being so widely accepted that it was printed in early twentieth-century Bibles. As writer and documentary filmmaker Martin Gorst vividly illustrates in this captivating, character-driven narrative, theology let Ussher down just as it had thwarted Theophilus of Antioch and many before him. Geology was next to fail the test of time. In the eighteenth century, naturalist Comte de Buffon, working out the rate at which the earth was supposed to have cooled, came up with an age of 74,832 years, even though he suspected this was far too low. Biology then had a go in the hands of fossil hunter Johann Scheuchzer, who alleged to have found a specimen of a man drowned at the time of Noah's flood. Regrettably it was only the imprint of a large salamander.

And so science inched forward via Darwinism, thermodynamics, radioactivity, and, most recently, the astronomers at the controls of the Hubble space telescope, who put the beginning of time at 13.4 billion years ago (give or take a billion). Taking the reader into the laboratories and salons of scholars and scientists, visionaries and eccentrics, Measuring Eternity is an engagingly written account of an epic, often quixotic quest, of how individuals who dedicated their lives to solving an enduring mystery advanced our knowledge of the universe.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2001

Reviews

[Ted Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A writer and director of science documentaries, Gorst describes the efforts of theologians, philosophers, physicists, geologists, mathematicians, and astronomers to determine when the universe began. Those covered include Bishop Ussher, Descartes, Thomas Burnet, John Woodward, George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, William Thompson (Lord Kelvin), Ernest Rutherford, and others. This engaging book comprises a survey of the approaches, biases, and findings of these key researchers and the evolution of time/age theories. If there is any flaw, it is that the book does not address continental drift or 20th century earth science (for that, see Powell, 2001, Mysteries of terra firma . . .) but leaps from 19th/20th-century studies of radioactive decay directly to astronomical research. My recommendation: Buy both Gorst and Powell!

[Orin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gem. Ranging from the comic efforts of Bishop Ussher to the rollicking push to nail down the Hubble constant, this slim volume is a masterpiece of popular science writing.

[Max Folsom · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent read! Measuring Infinity traces the search for the time the Earth was created, a search that began as early as 400+ years AD, and ultimately the birth of the universe as well.

It covers the scientists we are all familiar with and those we have probably never heard of. It covers the exciting 'real' discoveries and the amusing 'mistakes'. It shows the great scientists, such as Newton and Einstein, making 'right' discoveries and their heartbreak when they were sometimes glaringly wrong.

The book shows the wide range of disciplines that were involved. The early naturalists - working to find answers through biology, fossils, geology and later the chemists and physicists.

The book is well written, telling you a tale of search, rather than being pages of data and formulas. It is a tale of people.

It's even fun. At the end of the 1600s, people were trying to explain how fossils were buried in so many layers of the earth, - if they had been deposited by the Flood. One explanation was that 'the water for the Flood came from an interior ocean hidden beneath the Earth's crust. In the normal state this was held in place by gravity, but at the time of the Flood, God had momentarily suspended the full force of gravity and the water had spilled out.' Later when God restored the gravity the fossils were sank by their density - therefore the heavier ones being lowest.

[Harm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The question 'when did the world come into being?' leads to a pleasantly written history of science.

Although I still don't understand the theory of relativity and other important findings by Newton and Hubble, among others, I now have insight into the course of geological, astronomical and physical research and understand its usefulness and implications.

But the book begins with the Irish bishop James Ussher who accurately determined the time of the creation of the earth from the Bible: at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 22, 4004 BC.

[Marvinwww · Rating 5 out of 5]

The back cover of my copy of this book includes a review from Kirkus Reviews that says:

Well written and highly entertaining.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a gift from my Dght ... it is a very good book and I recommend it. Its short and sweet, 300 pages. Apparently the beginning of time is 13.4 billion years ago. I will say that the info is not relevant. Most of us will be lucky to live 70 years. The future in the long run is uncertain as are our lives, the past in the long run is also questionable. So all we are left with is today, the present. Even now my memory begins to fail. What we can say with certainty is that time is man made. The universe does not care about time, i cant see my watch anymore so I dont wear it. There have been among us those who feel they know when the world was build ....you'll have to excuse them .... keep away from these types.

I am sending two books to my new friend in Albania .... she's about 10, speaks English very well and she is absolutely beautiful. I dont want to guess wrong, I almost sent her, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", but I went to the movie and decided this would not fly. So I am sending her Sherlock Homes, and a science book. Should Good Read want to send her books, let me know.

I am asking Amy to take me off the poetry thing .... I just dont have time to read all that mail.

Merry Christmas to All and Happy New Year!

[Stephie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a pretty good book. It is the first book I have read by Gorst. He is easy to follow and explains ideas and concepts well. I would definitely not shy away from reading other books by him. Although, the book's end product, the age of the Universe and the Earth, was known by me previously, it was described as to hold my interest to the end. What was more interesting to me was the history of different efforts to determine the age of the Earth and the Universe. The one disappointment I had with the book was its failure to address what time actually is. Good read anyway—I can definitely recommend it. For a more compelling story on the discovery of dark matter and dark energy see - The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality by Richard Panek

[Mikel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a nice history of the search for the age of the earth and of the universe. The first half of the book is western society's breaking away from the Bible and "authoritative" texts to learn the truths about the natural world and coming to seek answers in observations of the natural world itself. Then, the story of the fits and starts of the scientific enterprise is entertaining and instructive to read. In science textbooks we only ever hear about the successful theories, but the history of science contains a lot of dead ends and failed theories as well, and that is just a normal part of the process as we learn more and more about the world. While the book ends with the recent discoveries of the Hubble Space Telescope and modern cosmology, the story is ongoing.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is spectacularly written. While the information can be vast and complex, I think Gorst does a great job of still making this an "easy" read. Minus having to stop to digest or look in to some of what I'd just read, or being interrupted by my kiddos, I had a hard time putting this book down. With the bulk of the book being just under 300 pages (the remaining being reference) I think it was the perfect size and intro in to the subject of the beginning of time. It's also a remarkable commentary on the history and evolution of cultures and theories that reminds us that we've thought we had it all correct before, but we keep learning and evolving.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science as adventure and scientists as heroes--as it should be!

[Josejimeniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good history into how humans measured the age of everything. From religous doctrine, to modern science.

[Elizabeth Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting from a scientific point of view.

[David]

Delightful read presenting a synoptic history of humanity's search to understand our place in the universe through learning about time, in particular, searching for the answer to the question "When did the universe begin?" It begins with a short chapter reviewing the ancient ideas of cyclic time before moving on to Bishop Ussher's 1650 publication of "The Annals of the World", which contained the infamous October 22, 4004 BC date for the creation of the world. Gorst treats this appropriately as the very real scholarship it represented at the time. He continues through the discovery of deep geologic time, covers the discrepancies between physics and geology regarding the age of the Earth, and finally ends with cosmology and the expanding universe. He gives light biographical information about some of the major scientists who have played a role in expanding our understanding of time and how truly ancient the Earth and the universe are.