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Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life
Houghton Mifflin
April 2007
On Sale: April 11, 2007
326 pages
ISBN: 0618592261
EAN: 9780618592265
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
People have long gazed in wonder at the universe and asked, Why are we here? Until recently, the answer has been the province of priests and philosophers, but now scientists are starting to weigh in with ideas that are both surprising and deeply controversial. In his new book, physicist Paul Davies shows how recent scientific discoveries point to a perplexing fact: many basic features of the physical universeβ from the speed of light to the most humble carbon atomβseem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory says itβs because our universe is just one of an infinite number of universes, each one slightly different. Our universe is bio-friendly by accident; we just happened to win the cosmic jackpot. While this multiverse theory is compelling, it has bizarre implications, from infinite copies of each of us to Matrix-like simulated universes. Davies believes thereβs a more satisfying solution to the question of existence: the observations we make today could help shape the nature of reality in the remote past. If this is true, then life and, ultimately, consciousness arenβt just incidental byproducts of nature, but central players in the formation of the universe.
 Media BuzzTalk of the Nation - June 1, 2007
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