Overview

In this fascinating and entertaining collection of essays, acclaimed cosmologist and writer John D. Barrow addresses the many questions that we ponder in our quest to discover the universe. Key topics are: the popularity of Big Science, and physics and cosmology in particular; life on other planets; issues of time and space and quantum reality; the ancient foundations of science, mathematics and their most modern expressionDScomplexity theory; and how science relates to religion and aesthetics. Taken as a whole, these thought-provoking essays provide a rich introduction to contemporary scientific debate. 'Only John Barrow could have assembled this delightful book of diverse essays, which touches on everything from the deepest secrets of Creation to the nature of art and esthetics. Witty, whimsical, and always thought-provoking and entertaining, Barrow takes us on a wild, intellectual joy-ride through the mysteries of spacetime and the mind.' Michio Kaku

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9780192880413

Table of Contents

Reviews

Barrow is emerging as the Stephen Jay Gould of the mathematical sciences. These fluent and erudite essays should further enhance his reputation. Professor Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

Reading the exhilarating essays in Between Inner Space and Outer Space is an exercise in recapturing the kind of excitement that only the very best popular science writing can provide - and which has been sadly lacking in many over-hyped books of late. Part of the charm of this collection is its astonishing diversity: John Barrow is at ease tackling everything from the nature of art and aesthetics to the most perplexing issues of time and space, taking in the sensual pleasures of music and the origin of the universe along the way. Of course, the besetting sin of this kind of collection is the patchwork quality that results from essays designed for many different magazines, but if one were unaware of the fact, it would hardly be noticeable, such is the bright thread of Barrow's ruefully questioning intellect. While some areas (such as cosmology and the nature of the laws of physics) are treated in a stimulating but hardly radical fashion, Barrow produces some highly individual thoughts on life on other planets, the laws of chance in everyday life and (particularly) the quandary of religion versus science - he sets out from Wilde's proposition that religions die when they are proved true. Whether the reader chooses to dip into this collection or read it straight through, one thing is assured: the result will be a pleasurable stirring of one's grey matter. (Kirkus UK)

Barrow is emerging as the Stephen Jay Gould of the mathematical sciences. These fluent and erudite essays should further enhance his reputation. Professor Sir Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

Author Information

John Barrow is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He is the author of several highly acclaimed popular books on science, including Theories of Everything, World Within the World (a new edition coming in March 2000 under the name The Universe that Discovered Itself), Pi in the Sky, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, and Impossibility.

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