Overview

Marcelo Gleiser, an award-winning physicist, author, and often called the Carl Sagan of Brazil, uses physics to make us think about who we are and what it means to be human. Now in paperback. Following in the noble footsteps of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, Marcelo Gleiser grew up believing that nature could be summed up in one elegant equation--that we simply hadn't found. But after years of working in physics, he began to see the natural world afresh and realized that it is primarily characterized by imperfections--in short, nature is beautiful and it is lopsided, and no grand intellectual edifice underlies it. He realized that human beings have a special role to play in this imperfect cosmos--not because we are created by God, but because we are rare and precious, guardians of life on earth--possibly the most advanced life in the universe. In a resounding riposte to Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe, A Tear at the Edge of Creation sets out to change the way we see ourselves in relation to our universe. Gleiser celebrates the uniqueness of our particular planet and enjoins us to recognize that as the universe's only chance for consciousness, we must be earth's stewards.

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9781439108352

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Cherish this book. With powerful clarity Gleiser argues that there is a profound link in Western science between monotheism and the scientific search for a Theory of Everything. He argues persuasively that we must give up this dream. This may augur a profound transformation in our understanding of the world. <p> --STUART KAUFFMAN, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, CANADA, AUTHOR OF REINVENTING THE SACRED

Much of the march of science, from the ancient Greek atomists up through the Renaissance and into today, can be seen as a quest for explanations of nature's mysteries that are, above all else, elegant and symmetrical. From such motivations sprang the Pythagorean music of the spheres, the Newtonian laws of motion, and modern searches for a grand unified theory of physics. But, according to Dartmouth astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser, the quest for elegance is ill-conceived and doomed to failure: The very things that make the cosmos interesting (and allow thinking creatures to evolve to contemplate it) are its multifarious asymmetries. Peppered with personal anecdotes and wisdom from one of the science's most eloquent statesmen, this sweeping exploration of the imperfections at the heart of existence culminates in a hopeful message for humanity's self-fulfilling purpose in an otherwise meaningless universe. --SEED Peppered with personal anecdotes and wisdom from one of the science's most eloquent statesmen, this sweeping exploration of the imperfections at the heart of existence culminates in a hopeful message for humanity's self-fulfilling purpose in an otherwise meaningless universe. --SEED With compelling lucidity and in an engagingly personal voice, Gleiser sets out to smash my most ardently held intuitions about the deep structure of the universe. All the more wonder then that I found his book as illuminating as it is provocative, and from start to last a pure joy to read. --REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN, AUTHOR OF 36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD: A WORK OF FICTION It's always made sense to me to live as if this planet was in fact unique--and in any event precious. This fascinating account reminds us of one key reason why we need to take really seriously the environmental predicament into which we've stumbled: we may be playing for all the marbles. --Bill McKibben author Earth: Making A Life on a Tough New Planet Marcelo Gleiser is our lucid guide to where beauty is to be found in an imperfect, unsymmetrical, accidental universe. In a masterful and brave argument he shows how grand unification, long a dream of science, will never come. For it is just a projection of our almost desperate longing for simplicity onto life's complex, chanced, rich reality. --Roald Hoffman, Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus at Cornell University, Nobel Laureate Cherish this book. With powerful clarity Gleiser argues that there is a profound link in Western science between monotheism and the scientific search for a Theory of Everything. He argues persuasively that we must give up this dream. This may augur a profound transformation in our understanding of the world. --STUART KAUFFMAN, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, CANADA, AUTHOR OF REINVENTING THE SACRED A scientist's deeply personal plea to accept and cherish the universe as it is--with all its rich and creative imperfections--rather than seek in vain some sterile notion of simplistic 'oneness.' Urging humility above all before the fantastic complexity of our universe, Gleiser reminds us that neither the universe nor life needs a 'reason' in order to be meaningful. Only by embracing the fragility and unlikeliness of our existence can we create a new morality aimed at fighting not each other, but together as a species, for the continued existence of what is probably the only life in the universe capable of fully appreciating all that surrounds us. --K.C. Cole, author of Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens

Cherish this book. With powerful clarity Gleiser argues that there is a profound link in Western science between monotheism and the scientific search for a Theory of Everything. He argues persuasively that we must give up this dream. This may augur a profound transformation in our understanding of the world. --STUART KAUFFMAN, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, CANADA, AUTHOR OF REINVENTING THE SACRED

Much of the march of science, from the ancient Greek atomists up through the Renaissance and into today, can be seen as a quest for explanations of nature's mysteries that are, above all else, elegant and symmetrical. From such motivations sprang the Pythagorean music of the spheres, the Newtonian laws of motion, and modern searches for a grand unified theory of physics. But, according to Dartmouth astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser, the quest for elegance is ill-conceived and doomed to failure: The very things that make the cosmos interesting (and allow thinking creatures to evolve to contemplate it) are its multifarious asymmetries. Peppered with personal anecdotes and wisdom from one of the science's most eloquent statesmen, this sweeping exploration of the imperfections at the heart of existence culminates in a hopeful message for humanity's self-fulfilling purpose in an otherwise meaningless universe. --SEED Peppered with personal anecdotes and wisdom from one of the science's most eloquent statesmen, this sweeping exploration of the imperfections at the heart of existence culminates in a hopeful message for humanity's self-fulfilling purpose in an otherwise meaningless universe. --SEED A scientist's deeply personal plea to accept and cherish the universe as it is--with all its rich and creative imperfections--rather than seek in vain some sterile notion of simplistic 'oneness.' Urging humility above all before the fantastic complexity of our universe, Gleiser reminds us that neither the universe nor life needs a 'reason' in order to be meaningful. Only by embracing the fragility and unlikeliness of our existence can we create a new morality aimed at fighting not each other, but together as a species, for the continued existence of what is probably the only life in the universe capable of fully appreciating all that surrounds us. --K.C. Cole, author of Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens Cherish this book. With powerful clarity Gleiser argues that there is a profound link in Western science between monotheism and the scientific search for a Theory of Everything. He argues persuasively that we must give up this dream. This may augur a profound transformation in our understanding of the world. --STUART KAUFFMAN, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, CANADA, AUTHOR OF REINVENTING THE SACRED It's always made sense to me to live as if this planet was in fact unique--and in any event precious. This fascinating account reminds us of one key reason why we need to take really seriously the environmental predicament into which we've stumbled: we may be playing for all the marbles. --Bill McKibben author Earth: Making A Life on a Tough New Planet Marcelo Gleiser is our lucid guide to where beauty is to be found in an imperfect, unsymmetrical, accidental universe. In a masterful and brave argument he shows how grand unification, long a dream of science, will never come. For it is just a projection of our almost desperate longing for simplicity onto life's complex, chanced, rich reality. --Roald Hoffman, Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus at Cornell University, Nobel Laureate With compelling lucidity and in an engagingly personal voice, Gleiser sets out to smash my most ardently held intuitions about the deep structure of the universe. All the more wonder then that I found his book as illuminating as it is provocative, and from start to last a pure joy to read. --REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN, AUTHOR OF 36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD: A WORK OF FICTION

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