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What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know?
There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later. Chapter by chapter, it sets out the current state of scientific knowledge: the origins of space and time; energy, mass, and light; galaxies, stars, and our sun; the habitable earth, and complex life itself. Drawing together the physical and biological sciences, Baggott recounts what we currently know of our history, highlighting the questions science has yet to answer.
List of contents
- Preface
- 1: In the 'Beginning': The Origin of Space, Time and Energy
- 2: Breaking the Symmetry: The Origin of Mass
- 3: The Last Scattering Surface: The Origin of Light
- 4: Setting the Firmament Alight: The Origin of Stars and Galaxies
- 5: Synthesis: The Origin of Chemical Complexity
- 6: Sol: The Origin of the Sun and its Planets
- 7: Terra Firma: The Origin of a Habitable Earth
- 8: The Cosmic Imperative: The Origin of Life
- 9: Symbiosis
- 10: A Song of Ice and Fire: The Origin of Species
- 11: The Human Stain: The Origin of Humanity
- 12: Cogito Ergo Sum: The Origin of Human Consciousness
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Powers of Ten
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Jim Baggott is a freelance science writer. He was a lecturer in chemistry at the University of Reading but left to work with Shell International Petroleum Company and then as an independent business consultant and trainer. His many books include Higgs: The Invention and Discovery of the 'God Particle' (OUP, 2012), A Quantum Story: A History in 40 Moments (OUP, 2011) and A Beginner's Guide to Reality (Penguin, 2005).
Summary
What is life? Where do we come from and how did we evolve? What is the universe and how was it formed? What is the nature of the material world? How does it work? How and why do we think? What does it mean to be human? How do we know?
There are many different versions of our creation story. This book tells the version according to modern science. It is a unique account, starting at the Big Bang and travelling right up to the emergence of humans as conscious intelligent beings, 13.8 billion years later. Chapter by chapter, it sets out the current state of scientific knowledge: the origins of space and time; energy, mass, and light; galaxies, stars, and our sun; the habitable earth, and complex life itself. Drawing together the physical and biological sciences, Baggott recounts what we currently know of our history, highlighting the questions science has yet to answer.
Report
Jim Baggot has impressive mastery, not just of the physics and chemistry, but also of the other sciences that play roles in this story. The story this book tells is compelling, well written, and satisfying. Richard A. Richards, The Quarterly Review of Biology
