The Elegant Universe

by Brian Greene

There is an old proverb about three blind men and an elephant. The first blind man grabs hold of the elephant's ivory tusk and describes the smooth, hard surface that he feels. The second blind man grabs hold of one of the elephant's legs. He describes the tough, muscular girth that he feels. The third blind man grabs hold of the elephant's tail and describes the slender and sinewy appendage that he feels. Since their mutual descriptions are so different, and since none of the men can see the others, each thinks that he has grabbed hold of a different animal.

In concrete terms, in every cubic meter of the universe—including the one you now occupy—there are, on average, about 400 million photons that collectively compose the vast cosmic sea of microwave radiation, an echo of creation. A percentage of the "snow" you see on your television screen when you disconnect the cable feed and tune to a station that has ceased its scheduled broadcasts is due to this dim aftermath of the big bang.

One overarching lesson we have learned during the past hundred years is that the known laws of physics are associated with principles of symmetry.

But this certainly feels like progress, especially when the symmetry in question is one that seems eminently natural. For example, why should one observer's frame of reference be treated differently from another's?

We are all, each in our own way, seekers of the truth and we each long for an answer to why we are here. As we collectively scale the mountain of explanation, each generation stands firmly on the shoulders of the previous, bravely reaching for the peak. Whether any of our descendants will ever take in the view from the summit and gaze out on the vast and elegant universe with a perspective of infinite clarity, we cannot predict. But as each generation climbs a little higher, we realize Jacob Bronowski's pronouncement that "in every age there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world."9 And as our generation marvels at our new view of the universe—our new way of asserting the world's coherence—we are fulfilling our part, contributing our rung to the human ladder reaching for the stars.