» The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply the best.
Comment: I have read many general treatments of quantum theory and cosmology (including books by Einstein, Feynman, Hawking and many others, including previous books by Brian Greene) and in my opinion this is the best of the lot. Other books (especially those by Hawking) tell you what the current ideas are concerning quantum theory and cosmology, but Greene tells you why scientists believe the things that they do. Other books just state things like the inflationary model of cosmology, but Greene shows that it was not created out of thin air, but was a consequence of the general theory of relativity. He shows where string theory comes from and much, much, more. Furthermore, he does this in a general, non-mathematical, manner, mostly with simple, but powerful, analogies. While the treatment is very down to earth it uncovers the deepest meaning of things. Greene anticipates the reader's questions (at least mine) and addresses them in a very clear manner. He explains the conundrum of the EPR thought experiment and why the experimental data, contrary to Einstein's expectations, show that the universe is non-local. He discusses how the idea of symmetry has allowed cosmologists to speculate about the shape of the universe, even though they cannot see all of it. He shows why many scientists think that the Universe is made up from 10 spatial dimensions, not just three. He does these things by showing how quantum mechanics, general relativity and experimental data have led to these understandings. He clearly explains why a black hole has the maximum entropy for a given volume and why the entropy is actually a function of the surface area of the black hole. Many books make it seem that scientists just think up complex ideas from thin air, but Greene shows the train of ideas and data that have led to things like quantum theory, special and general relativity, the big bang theory, inflationary cosmology, string theory and much more, and he does this without using a single equation. (There are notes at the end of the book, which do contain some math and are more addressed to specialists than general readers, but these can be skipped.)

Previous reviewers have discussed the content of this book in some detail, so rather than just adding more to this, let me address some of the criticisms contained in some of the few negative reviews, which are:
1. This book duplicates the material in Greene's previous book, "The Elegant Universe". -- While it is true that many of the same topics are covered in both books, the focus of the books is quite different. The Elegant Universe is about quantum theory and string theory, whereas this book is more focused of cosmology. While quantum theory and string theory are covered in the "Fabric of the Cosmos", the treatment is much more general, and I feel much more accessible. While it was more general I felt that Greene did a much better job of focusing on the important concepts, rather than on specifics. In fact, the major criticism that I had concerning "Elegant" (see my review) was that the latter sections on string theory read more like a complex discussion of topology. I found the discussion in "Fabric" to be much clearer because it focused on the important concepts and sidestepped some of the topological complexities. The same is true for all of the topics that are covered.
2. The book was too long. - "The Fabric of the Cosmos" contains a little fewer than 500 pages of text (with an additional 70 pages or so of notes and an index). I did not feel that this was too much material. It was this long because Greene was intent on explaining very complex ideas in a simplified manner, and without the shorthand of mathematics this required extra effort and extra pages.
3. The analogies were too quaint. - Instead of using Bill and Bob, Greene uses the characters from the Simpsons and the X-files. This may be a problem in 40 years when these cultural references make much less sense, but I see little difference in explaining special relativity in terms of Lisa and Bart's relative view of the speed of light versus that of Bill and Bob. Greene is striving for clarity and I think that he achieves this to a greater degree than any other book that I have read.

I recommend this book to advanced high school students, college physics majors (and philosophy majors) and to anyone who wants to get an idea of why Physicists believe many very strange things. I also recommend this to physics graduate students who want a better idea of the underlying ideas of the equations that they are studying. (I found that this book contained perhaps the best discussions of Newton's bucket and the contrasting interpretations of this by Newton, Mach and Einstein, Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, quantum theory (especially the measurement problem), EPR, Bell's Theorem, quantum reality, black hole entropy, and many other topics.)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book
Comment: I'm a college student and I've only taken 2 physics courses. So my knowledge of physics is limited. However, this book has been so incredibly insightful and it still surprises me how clearly everything was explained.

Great Book. A definite read for anyone interested in learning more about quantum mechanics (like me), superstring theory and more

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent explanation of space/time
Comment: This is an excellent book on contemporary physics. It is written for a popular audience, but even with that, it is a dense book. However Greene does an excellent job of making the material easier to approach. He uses some pop culture references such as the Simpsons to illustrate and explain the concepts involved in the physics he's discussing. What I enjoyed most, however, is the evident enthusiasm in Greene's work. His enthusiasm consistently made the book more enjoyable and the concepts easier to understand.

I highly recommend picking this book if you want to learn more about physics, or if you're interested in how science can inform your spiritual practices. I found it useful in helping me understanding some of the finer details involved in quantum mechanics and how time and space work from a physics perspective.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A very good popularization
Comment: This book is a refreshing change.
The seems to be an honest effort in this book to teach the science in a way that can be understood and with no talking down the nose.
I particularly liked the idea of frozen time:
one thing that seems basic to modern theory is that what is a sphere
on our space-time is a state of frozen higher dimensions.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simple explanations for profoundly complex topics
Comment: Anyone who has completed advanced level courses in physics in high school and with a penchant for physics, will find this book a great read. This book clearly and in simple terms explains some very complicated theories and discoveries in modern day physics. Overall, a strong recommendation to read this book.

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