Synopses & Reviews
Originsreveals the human being within the scientist in a study of the philosophical, personal, and social factors that enter into the scientific process. Twenty-seven active cosmologists--including Stephen Hawking, Roger Penrose, Steven Weinberg, Vera Rubin, Allan Sandage, Margaret Geller, and Alan Guth--talk candidly about their childhoods and early influences, their motivations, prejudices, and worldviews. The book's lucid introduction traces the explosion of new ideas that has recently shaken cosmological thinking. Originsexplores not just the origin of the universe but also the origins of scientific thought.
Review
A fascinating, surprisingly accessible and altogether human collection of conversations with today's leading cosmologists...Originsis composed of a lucid 49-page introduction to the field of cosmology, followed by question and answer interviews with 27 prominent cosmologists...Concepts...may stagger the average reader on first impact. Lightman is perfectly at ease with them. Arcane cosmic phenomena...are meat and drink to him. Readers lucky enough to sit near him at this intellectual banquet table will share the physicist's exquisite pleasure in the feast.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 513-530) and index.
About the Author
Alan Lightmanis Professor of Science and Writing and Senior Lecturer in Physics at the <>Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a Research Scientist at the <>Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction to Modern Cosmology
Fred Hoyle
Allan Sandage
Gérard De Vaucouleurs
Maarten Schmidt
Wallace Sargent
Dennis Sciama
Martin Rees
Robert Wagoner
Joseph Silk
Robert Dicke
James Peebles
Charles Misner
James Gunn
Jeremiah Ostriker
Vera Rubin
Edwin Turner
Sandra Faber
Marc Davis
Margaret Geller
John Huchra
Stephen Hawking
Don Page
Roger Penrose
David Schramm
Steven Weinberg
Alan Guth
Andrei Linde
Dates and Places of Interviews
Note on Citations and References
Notes
General Reading in Cosmology
References
Glossary
Illustration Credits