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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
universe— from the speed of light to the most humble carbon
atom—seem tailor-made to produce life. A radical new theory
says it’s 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 there’s 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 aren’t
just incidental byproducts of nature, but central players in
the formation of the universe.
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