Product Description
A Brilliant Journey into the World of Beauty and Modern Cosmology "Thought-provoking . . . engaging."–New Scientist "The Accelerating Universe is not only an informative book about cosmology. It is rich storytelling and, above all, a celebration of the human mind on its quest for beauty in all things."–Alan Lightman, bestselling author of Einstein’s Dreams "Stimulating."–Nature "The reader will enter a ‘garden of delights.’"–Physics World "Far more than a puzzle for specialists, the struggle to reinterpret the cosmos raises fundamental questions about the human craving for order: Does this craving reflect deep cosmic harmonies that helped create our species? Or does it simply defy an irreducible chaos that we would rather not confront? Livio probes these questions with a daring sufficient to satisfy the hungriest curiosity."–Booklist In this entertaining and lively exploration of the universe, Hubble Space Telescope scientist Mario Livio introduces us to the "old cosmology," which culminated in the view of a perfectly balanced universe, and then presents all of the fascinating ideas being explored by cosmologists in the "new cosmology," which has been inspired by the discovery of acceleration. Providing extraordinarily clear explanations of all the key concepts and theoretical ideas, Livio is a marvelous guide through this most exciting frontier in science today.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 16 reviews)

Modeling Is Thinking by H. Arsham (Baltimore, MD United States)

5 Stars
October 02, 2004
The author, Mario Livio is head of the Science Division at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Livio is a recognized world expert on novae, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts to compact astronomical objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. In this book Livio a Hubble Space Telescope scientist introduces us to cosmology as a perfectly balanced universe that is accelerating, along with a deep understanding of key concepts and theoretical ideas. Livio guides his reader through the fundamental questions about human craving for order and then connects it to the order in the creation of universe. He also explores the implications of the universal physical laws for mankind and introduces new findings. Livio in this book embarks on discovering the new revolution under way in cosmology. In one of the most starting discoveries in cosmology in the century, astronomers last year determined that the universe is flying apart at an ever-faster rate. This 'acceleration' has smashed the popular idea of a perfectly balanced 'beautiful' universe and kicked off what Scientific American has proclaimed as a new revolution in cosmology. In his book Livio introduces new findings and explores their astonishing implications. Was Einstein's 'greatest blunder'--his idea of a cosmological constant--a brilliant insight after all? Is there a mysterious kind of energy that fills 'empty' space? Must we abandon the long cherished view of a beautiful universe? If so, the accelerating universe may prove as traumatic a finding as was the heretical notion that the Earth was not the center of the universe to Galileo's inquisitors. Livio elaborates on searching for beauty in the realm of cosmological theories. The book provides and overview of cosmology as well as an aesthetic argument. Livio is concerned with abstract beauty, stemming partly from the simplicity and symmetry of physical laws that are 'symmetrical' in that they do not change with an object's position in space and time. Livio associates such beauty with the 'Copernican principle' that humans do not occupy a privileged place in the universe (much as Copernicus discerned that Earth is not at the center of the solar system). In other words, a beautiful cosmological theory would not depend on wild coincidences or contrivances. Here, Livio enters controversial territory. There has been growing debate in recent years, even beyond the physics community, about whether some aspects of the cosmos, such as the strength of gravity, are 'fine tuned' for life, an if so what this signifies. It's sometimes held to have religious meaning, but could also mean, among other things, that there are multiple universes, or that we define life too narrowly. However, Livio's emphasis on aesthertics does little to further this debate. As he himself acknowledges toward book's end, the 'eye of the beholder' plays some role in determining what's beautiful, even in cosmology. Moreover, there's no guarantee the universe will match anyone's criterion of attractiveness. And at times, Livio's preoccupation with aesthetics seems overwrought. One unwanted finding in cosmology affects him badly: 'I had a feeling in my stomach similar to the one I had in 1975, when I heard that somebody had carried a knife into the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and managed to gouge twelve deep slashes into Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch.' This book has an interesting goal, to combine cosmology and matters more closely associated with art. Unfortunately, The Accelerating Universe is less compelling that this dual focus might suggest. This book helps the reader to think, understand, draw, and evaluate patterns of order and chaos that is a part of this universe with its physical laws.

Good general summary but problematic premise

2 Stars
February 13, 2002
This book furnishes an excellent overview of the observational finds of the past few years that have so shaken up the astronomical community with their implications. As the title indicates, Livio's book examines the discovery that the universal expansion is apparently accelerating rather than slowing down, as previously believed, due to some mysterious driving force. Livio is on the front lines, as one might say, as scientific director of the Hubble Space Telescope project, and he presents an insider's view of things.Livio unfortunately dallies with something that he calls the cosmological aesthetic principle-- his term-- as a new framework in which to provide and organise cosmological theories. One of the central criteria is the theory's aesthetic appeal, something related to it's symmetry, copernican nature (i.e. not singling out any particular epoch or place as being special), and its overall simplicity. Livio does present some reasonable arguments. But overall his suggestion here is of dubious merit in large part because, as is apparent throughout the book, there is too much emphasising what is desired to be seen, rather than what actually is seen. There is inherently a prior presumption about how the universe should be and should behave-- a product of a particular theoretical tradition-- when the recent findings in this and other respects suggest many surprises up ahead, even at the fundamentals. The author also seems a bit too sure of himself in regard to the recent theoretical models and ideas as well as the observations themselves. The recent findings and the constantly changing nature of science itself would argue for more care in such interpretations. So the book is worth a read as a general summary, but has problems in its basic ideas.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... by Pat (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

1 Stars
December 22, 2001
Mario Livio, the scientific chief of the Hubble Space Telescope project, has written a book with a lot of potential. Considering the implications of recent discoveries that distant galaxies are farther away (and thus receding faster) than expected, with the concomitant suggestion of accelerating cosmic expansion, Livio ponders what this means for cosmological models. He concerns himself here with the junction of scientific theories and aesthetic concerns, the beauty and elegance that seem to have characterized some of the best theories (e.g. Newton's mechanics, Einsteinian general relativity). He suggests that 3 key criteria be used to evaluate the quality of a new cosmological theory-- symmetry, simplicity, and the Copernican principle (the "principle of mediocrity" or, generally, the idea that earth is nothing special in the universe).Livio's book fails, unfortunately, for several reasons.(1) One problem is technical: For all the emphasis that Livio puts on beauty and the relation of excellent scientific theories to great art, his book has oddly omitted the occasional figure with an example of such great art-- paintings, sculptures, illustrations, something that a reader can relate his ideas to.(2) Livio is clearly enthusiastic about his field and his work with the Hubble Space Telescope, and this is a good thing overall. But he becomes too enamored with the recent discoveries and does not properly think through what they are implying. Rather than humbly admitting what astrophysicists and cosmologists constantly repeat in the journals-- the fact that we simply don't know what the current observations truly mean, and what is impelling them-- Livio overreaches here. We don't know the source of the "cosmological constant" that seems to be doing the accelerating, nor exactly how it manifests (or how it did so in the past). Yet Livio claims that it basically maps out the trend of cosmological progression, then proceeds in all kinds of unfounded detail about what it means. This comes out when Livio suggests that the future is now better known than the cosmic past-- an obviously ludicrous conclusion, since not just cosmological theories but fundamental ways of regarding the cosmos and basic assumptions change, and (especially recently) with rapidity. Moreover, no matter what process is discerned, it is simply not possible to say more than the vaguest thing about what it means overall since, in general, our understanding of the universe and spacetime is developing yet still nascent in so many ways. Most puzzlingly, Livio proceeds from this shaky basis to map out a picture of the cosmos which he claims to be beautiful, but is simplistic and downright dull. Which leads to the third problem:(3) In choosing his criteria for evaluating theory, Livio introduces a regrettable bias. Desires for symmetry and simplicity have been present since Galileo's time. But Livio seems almost obsessed with the Copernican principle. I myself share his predilection for the principle, and would hope that theorists would tend to formulate cosmological models without having to invoke anything special about earth or what has happened here. But we cannot assume up front that this is going to be the case; the evidence has to decide that, not a personal preference. When Livio cites the Copernican principle it seems to be in response to the so-called anthropic principles, the "strong anthropic principle" suggesting some kind of life-promoting design in the cosmos and the "weak anthropic principle" stating the obvious-- life is here on earth, and there must be something about the physical constants and forces that is conducive to it. Livio is justifiably hesitant with regard to the strong version, but is in danger of neglecting the obvious fact of the weak version. Earth, in some sense, might seem "messy" and "incongruent" with regard to the criteria that Livio sets up, but the planet may indeed turn out to be special, especially when the enigma of earth's biology is considered. We should not assume that up front, but nor should we rule it out; cosmological theories have to be open to different possibilities. As one reviewer below pointed out, Aristotle's musical spheres picture was very beautiful, but it turned out to be flat wrong. Accurate theories in cosmology may turn out not to have simplicity to be comprehensive, and the Copernican principle may not be appropriate, at least in certain respects; we have to be open to that possibility, which suggests that Livio's Cosmological Aesthetic Principle might be a questionable set of criteria.

Great book for a novice by Kerry (Somerset, California United States)

5 Stars
November 08, 2001
I am only 14 and want to be an astrophysisyst and I think this was a great book to start with. The book goes into good detail on everything exept for DNA and RNA. If you can relate to art, and understand the beuty of the cosmos, you will like this book ALOT. This book went by fast for me because it has such good explanations of everything in the book and was easily understandable. If you really want to study space, this is a great book to start it with.

Livio delivers. by Fernando Garcia (Santo Domingo, D. R.)

4 Stars
March 17, 2001
Theoretical scientists are usually the engine behind new discoveries, which leaves the burden of proof to others who deal with the real world. The discoveries of 1998 have turned the situation around in cosmology for the first time in many years. Observation has shaken the foundation of theoretical physics and leapt into the lead. When this happens you have to retrench to original tenets and start building again, since your former building of thought has collapsed around you. In that, Livio's solution of defining beauty in a theory as three basic assumptions from which to build, falls exactly on the mark. I liked particularly the insights into Einstein's theories and how they actually help explain the possibility of negative gravity. I missed a good account of the supernova 1A discovery which made possible the expansion observations, but if you are an informed layperson who wants to experience the suject of expansion, this is your book. The success does not continue, however, when theology is brought in the ecuation. That subject is for other areas of human endeavor and cosmologists are as bad as any other scientist when crossing over. All in all, this is a great book and will give you a good understanding of the new cosmology.

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	Is God a Mathematician? by Mario Livio (Author) Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner once wondered about "the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" in the formulation of the laws of nature. Is God a Mathematician? investigates why mathematics is as powerful as it is. From ancient times to the present, scientists and philosophers have marveled at how such a seemingly abstract discipline could so perfectly explain the natural world. More than that -- mathematics has often made predictions, for example, about subatomic particles or cosmic...
	The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry by Mario Livio (Author) What do Bach's compositions, Rubik's Cube, the way we choose our mates, and the physics of subatomic particles have in common? All are governed by the laws of symmetry, which elegantly unify scientific and artistic principles. Yet the mathematical language of symmetry-known as group theory-did not emerge from the study of symmetry at all, but from an equation that couldn't be solved. For thousands of years mathematicians solved progressively more difficult algebraic equations, until they...
	The Golden Ratio: The Story of PHI, the World's Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio (Author) Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887...This curious mathematical relationship, widely known as "The Golden Ratio," was discovered by Euclid more than two thousand years ago because of its crucial role in the construction of the pentagram, to which magical properties had...
	An Imaginary Tale: The Story of "i" [the square root of minus one] by Paul J. Nahin (Author) Today complex numbers have such widespread practical use--from electrical engineering to aeronautics--that few people would expect the story behind their derivation to be filled with adventure and enigma. In An Imaginary Tale, Paul Nahin tells the 2000-year-old history of one of mathematics' most elusive numbers, the square root of minus one, also known as i. He recreates the baffling mathematical problems that conjured it up, and the colorful characters who tried to solve them. In...
	Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities by Ian Stewart (Author) Knowing that the most exciting math is not taught in school, Professor Ian Stewart has spent years filling his cabinet with intriguing mathematical games, puzzles, stories, and factoids intended for the adventurous mind. This book reveals the most exhilarating oddities from Professor Stewart’s legendary cabinet. Inside, you will find hidden gems of logic, geometry, and probability—like how to extract a cherry from a cocktail glass (harder than you think), a pop-up dodecahedron, and the...