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Cosmogenesis: The Growth of Order in the Universe
Looks at the growth of chemical and structural order in the universe and discusses the origin of the universe, quantum physics, and evolution
322 pages, Hardcover
First published January 4, 1990
6 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
David Layzer
17 books2 followersDavid Raymond Layzer (December 31, 1925 – August 16, 2019) was an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, and the Donald H. Menzel Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Harvard University.
He is known for his cosmological theory of the expansion of the universe, which postulates that its order and information are increasing despite the second law of thermodynamics.
He is also known for being one of the most notable researchers who advocated for a Cold Big Bang theory.
When he proposed this theory in 1966, he suggested it would solve Olbers' paradox, which holds that the night sky on Earth should be much brighter than it actually is. He also published several articles critiquing hereditarian views on human intelligence, such as those of Richard Herrnstein and Arthur Jensen.
e became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1963, and was also a member of Divisions B and J of the International Astronomical Union.
He died in Belmont at the age of 93 in 2019.
He is known for his cosmological theory of the expansion of the universe, which postulates that its order and information are increasing despite the second law of thermodynamics.
He is also known for being one of the most notable researchers who advocated for a Cold Big Bang theory.
When he proposed this theory in 1966, he suggested it would solve Olbers' paradox, which holds that the night sky on Earth should be much brighter than it actually is. He also published several articles critiquing hereditarian views on human intelligence, such as those of Richard Herrnstein and Arthur Jensen.
e became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1963, and was also a member of Divisions B and J of the International Astronomical Union.
He died in Belmont at the age of 93 in 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 14, 2021
The Big Bang Theory series recommended me this one. The book appears the whole series and well... I just got curious. If Sheldon Cooper were a real person, he'd LOVE every word in this book.
Complexity, order and chaos, DNA, genome, galaxies, axons and the brain. There's a lot of stuff to learn.
Layzer managed to write (quite a jaw-breaker) about what it is to say "order". People say that the Universe started at a disordered state, and we still lack every single piece of evidence to explain certain aspects of the model. However, he explains that order is in every single process. For instance. What is chemical order?
What is biological order?
What is consciousness?
Every question is beautifully answered via facts and science. And by science, I really mean it. The book is dense, not to easy pieces to follow, but manages to clear doubts that people may ask every once in a while, regarding the fossil record, new chemical properties, and the structure of the brain. This is not just about astrophysics. There are explanations that we need to remember at times such as entropy, laplacian universe, Maxwell demon, Einstein's thesis, and a bunch more.
To read it, is a challenge. This one was quite the journey. Thank you David.
Complexity, order and chaos, DNA, genome, galaxies, axons and the brain. There's a lot of stuff to learn.
Layzer managed to write (quite a jaw-breaker) about what it is to say "order". People say that the Universe started at a disordered state, and we still lack every single piece of evidence to explain certain aspects of the model. However, he explains that order is in every single process. For instance. What is chemical order?
What is biological order?
What is consciousness?
Every question is beautifully answered via facts and science. And by science, I really mean it. The book is dense, not to easy pieces to follow, but manages to clear doubts that people may ask every once in a while, regarding the fossil record, new chemical properties, and the structure of the brain. This is not just about astrophysics. There are explanations that we need to remember at times such as entropy, laplacian universe, Maxwell demon, Einstein's thesis, and a bunch more.
To read it, is a challenge. This one was quite the journey. Thank you David.
March 4, 2016
What a brilliant piece of synthesis starting from thermodynamics to arrive at free will. Hold your breath because Layzer dive in details sometimes in quite different topics like quantum physics and genetics. The whole thing flashes bright light on why the universe can host creative processes such as life (complex order).
shelved
February 10, 2011An astrophysicist... "presents a unified theory of order in the universe--from permanence, stability, and orderliness of sub-atomic particles to the evolution of the human mind" ... of course I consider this interesting!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews