Synopses & Reviews
In this most provocative and original work about mankind's attempts to explain the mysteries of the universe, Corey S. Powell argues that Einstein's theory of relativity marked a massive, irreversible turning point in our spiritual history. For countless millennia, religion provided explanations about the universe, its size, shape, beginning, and end, seeking to define the significance of human life, aspirations, and belief within the vastness of the cosmos. In the last century, however, the quest to answer eternal questions became the provenance of scientists. God in the Equation traces this transformation and posits that Einstein created the new gospel by including a "God factor"--a cosmological constant--in his relativity equations. Represented in his formulae by the Greek letter "lambda, " it links the tangible universe of science and the intangible realm of spirituality. Shedding new light on Einstein's famous declaration, "God doesn't play dice with the universe, " Corey Powell shows that current research confirms the God factor. He contends that this crucial constant in the theories of modern cosmology, first articulated by Einstein, brings the age-old dichotomy between science and religion to an end. By offering an explanation of the universe that satisfies our spiritual longings, he maintains, science has in fact become the only fully functioning religion in today's world.
Review
Scientific American A delight to read....Provides an unusually graceful account of the history of cosmology.
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John Horgan author of The End of Science and The Undiscovered Mind A splendid, startling argument that the greatest religious issue of our time is actually a 'scientific' problem -- the quest to discover the mysterious energy that sparked cosmic creation and that may control our ultimate destiny.
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Kirkus Reviews Provocative, securely grounded in contemporary theories of physics, and worth pondering.
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Carl Zimmer author of Evolution and Parasite Rex Powell is one of our finest science reporters....This is a book of eloquence and passion.
Synopsis
He wanted to know where our world comes from and where it was going.
He wanted to understand how the remote stillness of the heavens relates to the erratic, ever-changing events here on earth.
Above all, he wanted to know if the answers to these questions would bring him closer to a higher authority.
So Einstein put God in the Equation
"Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science," Albert Einstein once said, "becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe -- a spirit vastly superior to that of man." This mysterious component, which Einstein called a "cosmological constant," would eventually work its way into his world-shattering theory of relativity. In this way, explains acclaimed science writer Corey S. Powell, Einstein was creating a formula for a new kind of "sci/religion," one in which God was a factor, denoted by the Greek letter Lambda, and one that would pave the way for an entirely new gnostic era in the history of human spirituality.
About the Author
Corey S. Powell is an editor at Discover magazine and also a regular contributor. He has written for a variety of other publications, including Scientific American and Newsday. An adjunct professor of science writing at New York University, he lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Table of Contents
CONTENTSOne The God of Sci/Religion
Two How God Got a Job in Physics
Three The temple of Einstein Is Founded
Four The New priests Bicker in Europe and America
Five Einstein's Prophecy Fulfilled
Six The Era When the Universe Came Forth from the Hands of the Creator
Seven Hisses from the Microwaves
Eight The Angel of Dark Energy
Nine Salvation in the temple of Einstein
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index