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Loading... A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing (original 2012; edition 2012)by Lawrence M. Krauss, Richard Dawkins (Afterword)
Work detailsA Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss (2012)
None. Meh. (  ) Felixelhombre | Mar 31, 2013 |  Laurence Krauss is a theoretical physicist doing work in cosmology and teaching at the Arizona State University. He is doing research into the nature of General Relativity, dark matter, and nuclear physics. In this book, he discusses the beginning and end of the universe, bringing to light the current theories as to why there is anything, why the physical laws are as they are, and what will come of it all. He does a good job of discussing complex physics in terms that anyone can understand. The book goes into details about how empty space has energy and its consequences, touching on string theory, extra dimensions. Dr. Krauss walks us through his argument on why nothing is unstable, so there must be something. Its enough to warp the mind! The book is entertaining and enlightening. You will walk away with a better understanding of our universe, even if it doesn't have practical applications. (  )1  Nodosaurus | Feb 22, 2013 | Book review by Mitch, posted by CA Library: "A Universe From Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss is an interesting read. The book is a mystery but gives you facts about the universe and how it was created. The book talks about Albert Einstein's gravity experiment. The story starts with Albert Einstein's gravity experiment. Then the book talks about the Big Bang and how it affects us now. The book also asks interesting questions like ""Why is there something rather than nothing?"" Another question is ""Is earth going to disappear as abruptly as it got here?"" The book doesn't fully answer the questions. You need to think about what the questions are telling you and make a prediction. I enjoyed the book but it is a little boring in some of the beginning parts. The ending about the way the earth got here is very fascinating and exciting. If you are not interested in astronomy, this is not a book for you. There is another book called The Everyday Astronomy Book that may be more interesting. Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars." (  ) calibrary1 | Dec 2, 2012 | This is a good explanation of the state of knowledge on the Big Bang and the origin of the universe. Krauss begins by defining nothing, which seems intuitively easy, but is actually a source of much dissent between scientists, philosophers, and theologians. He then takes us on a trek back through time, to discover what we know about the earliest history of the universe, and also how we learned it. This takes us back at least to Aristotle, and then brings us all the way into the contemporary physics lab, complete with relativity and string theory. The main problem with the book is that Krauss speaks in a great deal of scientific jargon which could lose the non-scientifically trained unless they're willing to put a lot of work into understanding it; and these are the people that probably need to read this book the most. He does include illustrative examples that help to clarify some of the most difficult points, but these are usually tucked in neatly after a complex explanation that will have caused many readers to give up in frustration and despair. Overall, the audience is probably a small subset of the educated readers, because of the amount of work required. That being said, Krauss makes a very good stab at answering the question why is there something rather than nothing, and in fact, concludes that something may very well be inevitable, as nothing may be unstable. In other words, the answer to why is there something rather than nothing is there has to be. Recommended for readers who are well grounded in scientific terminology and comfortable with physical science; otherwise, it might be better to look for the Cliff's Notes. ( ) quantum_flapdoodle | Jul 22, 2012 | A good overview of the current knowledge of cosmology. It sums up why something does spring up from nothing and how the universe needs no creator to exist. Since this is meant to be a book that the layman can understand, there does not seem to be any end notes or further reading list. I was a little disappointed in that as I frequently use such lists to find my next book and expand on a subject. ( ) speljamr | Jun 10, 2012 |
 Where, for starters, are the laws of quantum mechanics themselves supposed to have come from? Krauss is more or less upfront, as it turns out, about not having a clue about that. He acknowledges (albeit in a parenthesis, and just a few pages before the end of the book) that everything he has been talking about simply takes the basic principles of quantum mechanics for granted. ... And I guess it ought to be mentioned, quite apart from the question of whether anything Krauss says turns out to be true or false, that the whole business of approaching the struggle with religion as if it were a card game, or a horse race, or some kind of battle of wits, just feels all wrong — or it does, at any rate, to me. When I was growing up, where I was growing up, there was a critique of religion according to which religion was cruel, and a lie, and a mechanism of enslavement, and something full of loathing and contempt for everything essentially human. Maybe that was true and maybe it wasn’t, but it had to do with important things — it had to do, that is, with history, and with suffering, and with the hope of a better world — and it seems like a pity, and more than a pity, and worse than a pity, with all that in the back of one’s head, to think that all that gets offered to us now, by guys like these, in books like this, is the pale, small, silly, nerdy accusation that religion is, I don’t know, dumb.  A Universe From Nothing isn’t going to win any converts, nor is it particularly useful for debating with atheists, as the science sounds so fanciful. But as bizarre as the spontaneous creation and destruction of particles might seem, Krauss argues that there’s scientific proof of the phenomenon, which makes it better than any creation myth.
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