Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

by Lisa Randall

theory. Although those who simply avoid examining the evidence won’t facilitate scientific progress, strong adherents to the reigning viewpoint who raise reasonable objections elevate the standards for introducing a new idea into the scientific pantheon. Forcing those with new hypotheses—especially radical ones—to confront their opponents prevents crazy or simply wrong ideas from taking hold. Resistance encourages the proposers to up their game to show why the objections aren’t valid and to find as much support as possible for their ideas.

The meteoroid that struck in the Yucatán had a profound influence on the planet and its life. Its origin and its consequences deftly illustrate the Earth’s abiding connections to the Universe.

In some global sense, we are all descendents of Chicxulub. It’s a part of our history that we should want to understand. If true, the additional wrinkle presented in this book would mean that not only was dark matter responsible for irrevocably changing our world, but also that some of it played a crucial role in allowing for our existence. In this scenario, from the dinosaurs’ perspective, dark matter was evil after all and the name scientists gave it was apt. But from a human perspective, this newly proposed type of dark matter was the instigator of one of the central accidents that changed the course of the Earth’s development to the point where you could be sitting here reading this book.

Yet progress in science has revealed some of the remarkably intricate connections between the most fundamental matter’s physical makeup and the features of the world that we see. Particles of dark matter collapsed to form galaxies, heavy elements created inside stars have been absorbed into life, the energy released by decays of radioactive nuclei deep inside the mantle have driven the movements of the Earth’s crust that have created mountains.

The words I’m about to say might not always sound like the most practical advice. But look up. And around you. A fascinating Universe is out there for us to cultivate, cherish, and understand.