2008-02-03 Not 'Just right'

This book left me with mixed feelings. Maybe I can start with what I found positive about it? The early sections of the book were quite exhilarating. Paul Davies skilfully communicates some complex ideas about the origin of the universe. However by the middle of the book, he (or I?) was losing touch with the material and it seemed to become an exploration of various, highly speculative positions.

As he says at the end of the book, many scientists are going to view his stance as crypto-religious. There is probably some truth in this but, in his defence, it is worth pointing out that the early part of chapter 9 contains an excellent critique of Intelligent Design.

My concerns about the book also started at an early stage. It seemed very strange to encounter, on the third page of the preface, a reference to 'atheists' and their interest in the idea of a multiverse. Having picked up this book expecting a consideration of the science involved, I didn't really anticipate that atheism or theism would enter the picture at all. However, it does make it much easier for me to recommend that anyone interested in the fine-tuning arguments should read something by the physicist Victor Stenger who, very elegantly, disposes with the fine-tuning arguments - and without the need to posit multiverses.

Towards the end of the book Paul Davies says, 'At the end of the day, all the approaches I have discussed are likely to prove unsatisfactory. In fact, in reviewing them they all seem to me to be either ridiculous or hopelessly inadequate...' Having waded through the tour of 'fake' universes etc., I agree. Ultimately the book seemed unsatisfying and I would recommend trying 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' by Brian Greene in preference to this book.

Popular science books can open up very esoteric areas to the layperson. Paul Davies does this well. Popular science books can also be quite inspiring and leave one with a feeling for the tremendous progress which has been made in our understanding. This book did not fall into this category for me.