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| View Larger Image | Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes
by Alex Vilenkin
| | List Price: | $24.00 |  | | 2 New starting at: | $15.17 | | 4 Used starting at: | $12.98 | | | | | Sales Rank: | 779784 | | Studio: | Hill and Wang | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 248 | | Publication Date: | June 27, 2006 | | Publisher: | Hill and Wang |
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 26 reviews)
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Direct From the Theorists Mouth 
This is an excellent guide to inflation theory, and the doors that it opens up- Multiverse etc. After all if you can't trust Vilenkin, Guth or Linde to to tell you about their theory, who can you trust? What is most important about this theory is that it vindicates Christianity - indirectly of course.
May 31, 2008 | |
Modern Cosmology
An excellent introduction to modern cosmology both from the phenomenological and theoretical perspectives. The clarity of presentation and absence of math makes the book comprehensible to anybody interested in the subject.
April 06, 2008 | |
Okay, fairly interesting and easy to read 
I didn't find this book at all difficult to read, even though my physics and math background is fairly rusty. The author clearly explains many concepts in theoretical physics/cosmology that eventually leads him to what I was looking for, a discussion of the multiverse. However, the discussion is at the end of the book and is rather flimsy. The book is more about how theoreticians got there. It's also heavily stacked in the memoir category, with sections of a "who I met" or "where I was" variety. Cute, but not necessary -- probably included in order to make the book seem more for the masses than for scientists or science fans.
March 13, 2008 | |
An exciting, accessible guide.
Among his peers Alex Vilenkin is one of the most imaginative of cosmologists, offering ideas relating to the possibilities of multiple universes. MANY WORLDS IN ONE explains to lay readers these potentials, offering insights into physics advancements and developments and the possible coexistence of other universes. Collections appealing to lay readers in physics and astronomy will find it an exciting, accessible guide.
February 06, 2008 | |
A Good Book About An Odd Idea
The other day when I had nothing to do I was browsing YouTube and caught a bit with Bill O'Reilly, whom I detest, and the actor (sic) Kirk Cameron, who needs to get a life, discussing religion/evolution/creationism. It wasn't all that interesting except O'Reilly; in his normal self-aggrandizing manner said he had `disproven' The Big Bang Theory. He then related a truly sophomoric idea that The Big Bang Theory was wrong because `It had to have a cause' or something like that. I did a bit of Googling and found that a few other people had noted O'Reilly's obvious lack of understanding even the basics of what The Big Bang Theory is all about. O'Reilly's comment is of a class of arguments about cosmic origins that go back to William Paley's `Natural Theology' in the early 1800s: Complexity implies design which implies a Designer. This simplistic view is best rebutted by an equally infantile question, "Does God have a Mommy?" if God/Designer exists in time and space, where did `he' come from (I'm uncertain why God/Designer always seems to be of the male gender)?
I am a scientist, but not a physicist, and for the past couple of years I have been trying to teach myself the Standard Model of particle physics and how it relates to the modern interpretations of Cosmology. I lack the math to understand the really technical aspects of the attempts to merge gravity into the Standard Model and so I've mostly been reading popular works. "Many Worlds In One: The Search for Other Universes" has gone to the top of my list. While I still don't completely buy String Theory, which is at least part of Dr. Velinkin's approach, this book summarizes current thinking about the various interpretations and implications of the Inflationary Model (aka `Big Bang') in an easily understood but not simplistic manner.
Velinkin wisely doesn't get himself involved in the `debate' with people like O'Reilly (See? I did have a point in mentioning Big Bill), but he does show that even theologians recognized the circular issue of `What Comes First?' The book is short and, while it takes some effort, only as technical as necessary to cover the topic. Velinkin also discusses at length the so-called `Anthropic Principle' in both the weak (almost trivial) and the strong (almost Creationist) versions and shows that, surprisingly, it can be used to make interesting predictions about the Universe.
In the end Velinkin concludes that our Universe is one of many, but it is the only one we can observe; this is the connection to the Anthropic Principle. Creationists and the Intelligent (sic) Design folks have jumped on that as `proof' of God/Designer, but Velinkin also shows why that is a naïve misunderstanding of basic physics.
I remain unconvinced about String Theory and the `Many Worlds' interpretation of current cosmological work. However this book has helped me understand what the cosmologists are actually saying. Bill O'Reilly's failure to understand (or even listen) is due to his personal incredulity, his sloth, and I suspect his low intelligence. This book may or may not convince you about multiple Universes out there, but it will educate you about the theories. I highly recommend it.
January 13, 2008 | |
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