The Real Strength of The Stuff of the Universe - Book Report/Review Example

The Stuff of the Universe: A Book Review of the Education of the Concerned Professor October 23, 2011 The Stuff of the Universe: A Book Review The Stuff of the Universe: Dark Matter, Mankind and the Coincidences of Cosmology by John R. Gribbin and Martin J. Rees delves into the fundamental reasons of the origins of the cosmos and the life on the planet earth in an engrossing and elaborate manner. The primary objective of this book appears to be to extend to the mankind an analysis and understanding of the man’s essential relationship to and place in the cosmos. In that context, the book tends to discuss not only the visible aspects of the geography of the universe like the stars and the planets, but also delves exhaustively on the elusive ingredients of the universe like the dark matter which is predominant and all pervasive. The book under consideration furnishes a lucid understanding as to whether this universe is expanding or rather contracting. The overall objective of the book appears to be to give to the readers the necessary information that will go into achieving a relative perspective of the universe and the humanity’s place in it. The essential theme of The Stuff of the Universe tends to delve on the predominant query as to what features of the universe as the humanity knows it were pivotal to the emergence of life on earth and whether it was merely a coincidence or some deeper reasons that led to such a propitious alignment of the cosmic elements and constituent. The humanity has always been curious about the fundamental questions surrounding the origins of the universe and life and this book caters to this curious and academic aspect of human interest. However, the lacuna rampant in this sphere of human interest has been that the science of cosmology has been to a great extent kept remote and away from the everyday concerns that engross the mankind. In that context, The Stuff of the Universe tends to bridge the gap between the mundane concerns of life and death engaging the humanity and how the cosmic elements tend to play a pivotal role in these concerns. In the book, Gribbin and Ress have tried to make the queries surrounding the origins of the universe an integral part of the mainstream life. They talk about varied stages of the origins of the universe as when it was just a second old, or its earlier stages. The book intends to bring the science of cosmology, out from the privileged scope of the cosmologists and astrophysicists to the realm of general public. The book comprises of three parts. The Part I, ‘Cosmic Coincidences: How special is the Universe?’ discusses the geography of the universe and two kinds of dark matter. However, in this part, the main forte of the authors lies in their ability to establish links between the cartography and constitution of the universe to the everyday human existence. For instance, it gets really enticing to learn that, “We live in a galaxy. Galaxies contain stars, and stars are made of baryons- the same sort of stuff, to a physicist, as our own bodies are made of.”1 Part II, ‘The Stuff of the Universe: The Particle Zoo’ is primarily about the essential constitution of the universe and the constituents affiliated to it. This part elaborates on the cosmic constituents and phenomenon like halo stuff, gravity’s telescopes, cosmic string, core stuff, etc. in as lucid and simple a language as could be possible for a Cosmologist to interpret the cosmic facts to a layman. Part III, ‘The Bespoke Universe: Tailor-Made for Man; or off the Peg? ‘touches on the perpetually stimulating and ever poking questions as to whether the existence of life on earth was part of a great and ever unraveling plan or merely a prosaic coincidence. The book both ponders on the individual constituents of the universe like galaxies, stars, quasars and their constitution and evolution as well as links this knowledge to the philosophical and theological queries grappling the mankind since times immemorial, in as simple and precise language as possible. If one observes the last few decades of the 20th century, one comes across strange developments taking place in the science of cosmology. In many aspects the science of cosmology appears to be overburdened by complex and esoteric theories and explanation. However, a cursory perusal of The Stuff of the Universe, point towards the simplification of these complexities by the advent of two important discoveries. One is the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation, indicating that the universe evolved from a very dense state about 10-20 billion years ago.2 Also, more recent insights into the dynamic properties of galactic clusters indicated a universal evanescence of dark matter. Gribbin and Rees exploit these insights to come out with a graspable model of the universe. Therefore, it becomes imperative to analyze the academic and possibilities extended by this book. It goes without saying that irrespective of the ardent intentions of the authors to come out as simple and concise in their approach towards astrophysics and cosmology, The Stuff of the Universe certainly does not stand to be an easy and feasible study for a person who does not have a valid background in the discipline of science. Besides, the book under consideration got first printed about 30 years ago. In the meantime the latest probes into the nature of the universe have churned out new findings that have greatly impacted the general understanding about cosmology as it exists today. So, there is no denying the fact that many aspects and facets of this books regarding the cosmological phenomenon are not in congruence with the general understanding pertaining to cosmology as it exists today. So, in an academic and pedagogical perspective the greater relevance of this book lies in its approach towards the deep seated mysteries of the universe and the way it attempts to answer these mysteries. For a teacher, it will be immensely relevant to include this book in the reading list of a student capable of real concentration and hard work and conversant with the basics of astrophysics. It goes without saying that it is imperative for the teacher to mention to the student about the outdated and irrelevant aspects of the book in the light of the more recent discoveries. This book will indeed be good influence on a student interested in getting a fundamental insight into the scientific catechism that goes into any attempt to answer the basic scientific questions facing the humanity. This book is capable of extending a good grounding into the methodology of approaching the scientific queries and how to correlate the existing information and data to answer these queries. Overall this book will certainly have a salubrious impact on the scientific aptitude of a gifted student. Besides, this book raises many important questions regarding the existence of life on earth, the possibility of life on other planets, the nature of the universe, etc. So it makes a good recommendation to any reader interested in enhancing one’s knowledge regarding the mysteries of the universe. To put it simply, the real strength of The Stuff of the Universe does not lie in the simplicity of its approach, but rather in the systematic way it tends to connect the scientific knowledge with the everyday human experiences. Bibliography Gribbin, John R & Rees, Martin J. The Stuff of the Universe: Dark Matter, Mankind and the Coincidences of Cosmology. London: Penguin Books, 1990. Read More