The Fabric of the Cosmos, by Brian Greene

Brian Greene has done it again. He has presented very technical concepts to lay audiences in previous books. This time, in this 2004 publication, he outdoes himself. Greene writes of very sophisticated technical concepts and theories, several of them his own, to a wide audience. This is a daunting task. I doubt that it can be done much better than Dr. Greene does it. His target audience is, ostensibly, the educated layman, that is, it is not a text book to teach students of physics--sort of. I am not a physicist, so I may be straying a bit in this statement, but I can see it as a supplemental text in many courses.

O.K., enough preamble, what is this book actually about? It is about time, but to a modern physicist, that also means space, and the very origin of the universe. Five hundred and sixty-nine pages, including references, to explain time, space, The Universe and Everything (apologies to the memory of Douglas Adams)? Well, Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time) made a very nice try at it in much less space. Greene's shot at this incredible task is considerably more technical than Hawking's and for a somewhat different audience. Hawking, on the advice of his publisher, limited his math, for example, to one equation (if my memory is correct), the famous Einsteinian statement that E (energy) equals M (mass) times C (the speed of light) squared. Greene limits himself to no such strictures regarding math. In fact, he presents highly complex mathematical formulations (for example in quantum mechanics) for the sophisticated and interested reader. It is important to note that, in general, the more technical expressions are found in notes, not necessary at all to the flow of the book and only for those with the background and detailed interest to want them. They are there, primarily for physicists who are interested in evaluating Greene's own arguments and theories in detail, or students who are learning the theories. The rest of us can follow his logic and arguments on a more superficial, but still very interesting level. There are even frequent illustrations to help illustrate the theories and experiments that are discussed Greene tries very hard to present his writings in a way that can make as much intuitive sense to the reader as such highly abstract concepts can. Moreover, he writes very well and with a gentle humor that is a pleasure to read. (That's not easy to do with this sort of topic.) For example, in trying to explain the relativistic concept of multiple, conflicting but equally valid, views regarding simultaneity of events, Greene describes the conclusions in everyday terms, bullets, clocks, trains, etc. He pictures, for the reader, what this theory would mean if we had very, very fast trains and interesting characters on them. Then, in end notes, he supplies the mathematical formulations of this theory for those who can follow it and care. The manner by which Greene conveys the wonder of physics to laymen is as impressive an illustration of his brilliance in writing as his theories are proof of his brilliance in physics. He borrows Mulder and Scully from their popular television series (X files) to discuss and argue a "spooky" event from quantum physics. Their interplay captures the wonder of the phenomenon for the laymen as well as a startling solution to a complex function in quantum mechanics will thrill a theoretical physicist.

The book begins with a discussion of the nature of space, which he titles, "Realities Arena." He is aware of and discusses the inherent epistemological assumptions in this title and presentation. From this point, he addresses the connections and relations between the highly abstract theoretical formulation and our 'everyday' experience, called, appropriately enough, "Time and Experience." These first two sections introduce and contrast the places of relativity theory and Quantum mechanics. The third section, "Spacetime and Cosmology," address the origin of the universe, including various versions of the 'Big Bang' theory and introduces his theory of the relation between the origin of the universe and the so-called 'arrow of time.' This is the big time. In this section, Greene presents his view of whether or not it is reasonable to view time as progressing in anything resembling a linear fashion or, for that matter, any fashion in which events can be said to precede or follow other events. Part IV, "Origins and Unification," develops string theory and the highly intricate (I am tempted to say arcane) contributions of "M-Theory." Part V, "Reality and Imagination," soars well beyond the wild blue yonder (way, way, beyond) and addresses some intoxicating theoretical speculations that derive from these theories, such as, teleportation, and traveling through space and time; yes, time.

This book far transcends most presentations of science intended for laymen. It is beyond up-to-date, in that it presents theories in their preliminary states, before their acceptance in mainstream physics (if they become fully accepted). If one is prone to speculating about such phenomena, it is a captivating, fascinating, and truly brilliant book. It fires the imagination and provokes as much thought as the reader is capable of thinking. But, obviously, it is not for everyone. There are many capable, intelligent people who simply don't care about such abstruse things. It is not for them. There are people who don't have the background to follow the arguments at a meaningful level. It is not for them. But it is for a wide array of people from students of the hard sciences, professional scientists in divers fields, engineers, (it was an engineer who insisted that I buy this book) professional physicists, and non scientist at widely different levels of knowledge and sophistication. Each of these different audiences will gain different things from this book. Some of those who read it carefully, may be uncomfortable with the philosophical implications that are inherent in the book. Many will love them. It is written at multiple levels, each level containing highly thought provoking insights. What is so wonderful about the experience of reading this book is the fact that it reads like a gripping mystery novel. You just have to know what happens to that particle next!

For many people at many different levels of education, there are wondrous things to be found in this book. Anyone who likes to think hard, even occasionally, will find much to love about this book.