THEORIES OF EVERYTHING: The Quest for Ultimate Explanation

by John D. Barrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1991

What an elegant exposition lies here: not for everyone, to be sure, but for those familiar with astronomer Barrow's rich background in mathematics and in the history and philosophy of science, a treasure of learning and insight. Barrow (Astronomy/Univ. of Sussex; coauthor, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, 1985, etc.) takes as his target the Theories of Everything or ""T.O.E's,"" which have become fashionable as particle physicists and astronomers come together to ponder the origin and fate of the universe. The evidence that there really was a Big Bang some 15 billion years ago (by virtue of uniform low-temperature background radiation) and the proof (through collider experiments) of the existence of massive particles predicted by theories aimed at unifying first two, then three of the four fundamental forces of nature, have spurred cosmologists to seek the ultimate TOE. There are problems, however, not the least of which concerns the present confusion about the structure of the visible universe (lumpy and bumpy; dense in some places; empty elsewhere). Then there's the problem of the missing mass. Check out Riordan and Schramm (The Shadows of Creation, reviewed below) for a survey of the current state of cosmological science (or art). Barrow deals with these problems but casts them in the context of intellectual history and contrasting metaphysical views--the idealism of Plato and Kant; the realism of Aristotle and Helmholtz. Into this heady mix he stirs a fine analysis of the evolution of mathematical thought; indeed, the implicit role that mathematics has played in cosmology is a recurrent, finely drawn theme that adds considerably to the book's scholarly luster. In the end, Barrow states there can be no ultimate TOE. The reasons lie in the limits of reductionism and the evidence for phenomena (truth, beauty, but also theorems) that are not decidable, not computable, not listable. In the end, ""No Theory of Everything can ever provide total insight. For to see through everything, would leave us seeing nothing at all."" Marvelous.

Pub Date: April 1, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Oxford Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: NONFICTION