This book is an account of the evolution of our Universe, and it explains the possibility of other universes being constantly born through the formation of black holes. The author, John Gribbin, means the word "evolution" literally, because it is his contention here that the Universe can be described as a truly living system that has evolved, through Darwinian natural selection, in competition with other universes.
Using data supporting the Big Bang theory from the COBE satellite (which was new when this book was written), and referencing Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, Gribbin has put together a theory that our Universe is alive. Not metaphorically alive or in any way spiritual or supernatural, but alive in a real sense, in a population of other living universes. This is an intriguing idea, but a controversial one. Though some cosmologists have written about the possibility of other universes being "born" and of there being a multitude of other universes in addition to our own, the idea that the Universe is actually alive in any real sense is not widely accepted. The book was published in 1993, and so some of the cosmology within it is now out of date - for example, Gribbin states that the Universe is definitely going to halt its expansion, and then collapse in a "Big Crunch". This is no longer the current thinking, and we now understand that the Universe will go on expanding and cooling forever.
Gribbin's style is very readable and accessible to the non-scientist but this book should be read with caution by anyone who does not already have at least some knowledge of the present theories of cosmology. Gribbin is very confident in his assertions, but they are often either outdated or so controversial that such confidence seems ill-founded. So, in all, this is an interesting read, and it raises some very thought-provoking issues - but in my opinion it should be read in conjunction with other, more up-to-date works on cosmology.
Using data supporting the Big Bang theory from the COBE satellite (which was new when this book was written), and referencing Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, Gribbin has put together a theory that our Universe is alive. Not metaphorically alive or in any way spiritual or supernatural, but alive in a real sense, in a population of other living universes. This is an intriguing idea, but a controversial one. Though some cosmologists have written about the possibility of other universes being "born" and of there being a multitude of other universes in addition to our own, the idea that the Universe is actually alive in any real sense is not widely accepted. The book was published in 1993, and so some of the cosmology within it is now out of date - for example, Gribbin states that the Universe is definitely going to halt its expansion, and then collapse in a "Big Crunch". This is no longer the current thinking, and we now understand that the Universe will go on expanding and cooling forever.
Gribbin's style is very readable and accessible to the non-scientist but this book should be read with caution by anyone who does not already have at least some knowledge of the present theories of cosmology. Gribbin is very confident in his assertions, but they are often either outdated or so controversial that such confidence seems ill-founded. So, in all, this is an interesting read, and it raises some very thought-provoking issues - but in my opinion it should be read in conjunction with other, more up-to-date works on cosmology.
