The Unexpected Cosmology

The Unexpected Cosmology PDF Author: Noel Hadley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781696744836
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 429

Book Description
IN THE SUMMER OF 2019, flat earthist Patricia Steere shocked the very movement which she had helped, not only to create, but nurture and facilitate, by pulling the plug on her YouTube channel, "Flat Earth & Other Hot Potatoes." Actually, she pulled the plug on everything. She killed social media. She even erased her list of contacts. I was sitting under the shade of a tree somewhere alongside the Dordogne River in France, welcoming the sweltering heat of summer in, when I received the news. Patricia Steere simply walked. And nobody knew why. I was preparing to cook my family dinner, trying to make sense of another long-winded recipe in French, when a message lit up my screen. Rick Hummer, the man who'd served as Masters of Ceremony at the Flat Earth International Conferences, had said Patricia Steere was willing to talk. More specifically, she wanted to talk with me. But I didn't have her number, I said. She told me to give it to you. Wait, Patricia Steere said me specifically? CALL HER NOW, BRO. Dinner was critically panned by a family of food critiques, who had made a point of highlighting my French to English measurement miscalculations--macaroni and cheese. How could this go any worse? So I positioned myself comfortably behind my computer screen in the underground wine cellar of a medieval village in south-western France, soon-as unhappy faces had finished scouring over their dinner plates, and set up the microphone. And then, with a heavy sigh, I told myself, "It's now or never, bro." When Patricia answered, she didn't have a clue as to who I was. Regardless, it was the one interview which she agreed to give. In time, the story which she told that night would have such a profound effect on the very community which I too, like Patricia, had clamped to my heart, that dozens of additional voices would ask to contribute. Bob Knodel would ask to contribute. Chris Van Matre would ask to contribute. David Weiss and Paul Lindberg, Karen B and Shelley Lewis, Zen Garcia and Laurel Austin, Mark Sargent, Chris and Liz Bailey, Robbie Davidson, Rob Skiba, and Rick Hummer all agreed to be a part of the telling. The following narrative is therefore not only Patricia's, nor is it simply my own. It is the testimony of the very community which she and so many others had dreamt of establishing. This is the story of the flat earth awakening, mostly through their words. "I told myself I wouldn't do this," Patricia seemed to bemoan our initial conversation with a sigh. And then, for better or worse, she began to tell me about it. In fact, they all did.

Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality

Cosmological Koans: A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality PDF Author: Anthony Aguirre
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393609227
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

Book Description
“Playful and enchanting.” —Priyamvada Natarajan, Wall Street Journal Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Using pleasingly paradoxical vignettes, known as Koans, that follow the ancient Zen tradition and have a flair for explaining complex science, physicist Anthony Aguirre tackles cosmic questions from the meaning of quantum theory and the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes.

The Lost World of Genesis One

The Lost World of Genesis One PDF Author: John H. Walton
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 0830861491
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
In this astute mix of cultural critique and biblical studies, John H. Walton presents and defends twenty propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins.

The Unexpected Universe

The Unexpected Universe PDF Author: Loren C. Eiseley
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780156928502
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
A naturalist deals informally with the way in which totally unexpected twists in the evolutionary process bring renewal of hope in the life of our planet.

A Cosmology of Monsters

A Cosmology of Monsters PDF Author: Shaun Hamill
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 152474767X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
Shielded by his mother and sisters from his father’s obsessive construction of a haunted house attraction, young Noah considers an ultimate sacrifice when he chooses to acknowledge a monster that his family members have tried to ignore.

Cycles of Time

Cycles of Time PDF Author: Roger Penrose
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307596745
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307

Book Description
From Nobel prize-winner Roger Penrose, this groundbreaking book is for anyone "who is interested in the world, how it works, and how it got here" (New York Journal of Books). Penrose presents a new perspective on three of cosmology’s essential questions: What came before the Big Bang? What is the source of order in our universe? And what cosmic future awaits us? He shows how the expected fate of our ever-accelerating and expanding universe—heat death or ultimate entropy—can actually be reinterpreted as the conditions that will begin a new “Big Bang.” He details the basic principles beneath our universe, explaining various standard and non-standard cosmological models, the fundamental role of the cosmic microwave background, the paramount significance of black holes, and other basic building blocks of contemporary physics. Intellectually thrilling and widely accessible, Cycles of Time is a welcome new contribution to our understanding of the universe from one of our greatest mathematicians and thinkers.

Mysteries of the Sacred Universe

Mysteries of the Sacred Universe PDF Author: Richard L. Thompson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781536981681
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 374

Book Description
From the flat earth to the sun's chariot - traditional spiritual texts seem wedded to outmoded cosmologies that show, at best, the scientific limitations of their authors. The Bhagavata Purana, one of the classical scriptures of Hinduism, seems, at first glance, to be no exception. However, a closer examination of this text reveals unexpected depths of knowledge in ancient cosmology. Mysteries of the Sacred Universe shows that the cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana is a sophisticated system, with multiple levels of meaning that encode at least four different astronomical, geographical, and spiritual world models. By viewing the text in the light of modern astronomy, Richard Thompson shows how ancient scientists expressed exact knowledge in apparently mythological terms. Comparison with the ancient traditions of Egypt and the Near East shows early cultural connections between India and these regions - including a surprisingly advanced science. However, quantitative science is only part of the picture. Mysteries of the Sacred Universe also offers a clear understanding of how the spiritual dimension was integrated into ancient Indian cosmology.

Precision Cosmology

Precision Cosmology PDF Author: Bernard J. T. Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110812450X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1166

Book Description
Cosmology seeks to characterise our Universe in terms of models based on well-understood and tested physics. Today we know our Universe with a precision that once would have been unthinkable. This book develops the entire mathematical, physical and statistical framework within which this has been achieved. It tells the story of how we arrive at our profound conclusions, starting from the early twentieth century and following developments up to the latest data analysis of big astronomical datasets. It provides an enlightening description of the mathematical, physical and statistical basis for understanding and interpreting the results of key space- and ground-based data. Subjects covered include general relativity, cosmological models, the inhomogeneous Universe, physics of the cosmic background radiation, and methods and results of data analysis. Extensive online supplementary notes, exercises, teaching materials, and exercises in Python make this the perfect companion for researchers, teachers and students in physics, mathematics, and astrophysics.

Enjoy Our Universe

Enjoy Our Universe PDF Author: Alvaro De Rújula
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192550187
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Book Description
Enjoy Our Universe is a guide for an enjoyable visit to the Universe. The "Universe" refers to all "observable things," ranging in size from the entire cosmos to elementary particles. This small tome on fundamental physics, cosmology, Higgs bosons, time travel and all that, is unlike any other analogous book. Its scientific statements are correct or, at least, they coincide with the opinions held by the vast majority of experts. It establishes clear distinctions between things we know for sure -- in the sense of having strong observational support for them -- and things that we know that we do not know, or we do not understand. In this sense, it is scientifically honest. In descriptions of our Universe and of the way it functions, beauty is a recurring word. In an attempt to portray its beauty from the eyes of the beholder, the book is profusely illustrated. Its offbeat, tongue-in-cheek illustrations greatly enhance its readability, particularly in those chapters whose understanding, admittedly, requires a little extra effort. This book's idiosyncracies remind us of our own smallness and eccentricities even as we read about the logic, function and magnificence of the Universe.

What's Eating the Universe?

What's Eating the Universe? PDF Author: Paul Davies
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022681632X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Book Description
Combining the latest scientific advances with storytelling skills unmatched in the cosmos, an award-winning astrophysicist and popular writer leads us on a tour of some of the greatest mysteries of our universe. In the constellation of Eridanus, there lurks a cosmic mystery: It’s as if something has taken a huge bite out of the universe. But what is the culprit? The hole in the universe is just one of many puzzles keeping cosmologists busy. Supermassive black holes, bubbles of nothingness gobbling up space, monster universes swallowing others—these and many other bizarre ideas are being pursued by scientists. Due to breathtaking progress in astronomy, the history of our universe is now better understood than the history of our own planet. But these advances have uncovered some startling riddles. In this electrifying new book, renowned cosmologist and author Paul Davies lucidly explains what we know about the cosmos and its enigmas, exploring the tantalizing—and sometimes terrifying—possibilities that lie before us. As Davies guides us through the audacious research offering mind-bending solutions to these and other mysteries, he leads us up to the greatest outstanding conundrum of all: Why does the universe even exist in the first place? And how did a system of mindless, purposeless particles manage to bring forth conscious, thinking beings? Filled with wit and wonder, What’s Eating the Universe? is a dazzling tour of cosmic questions, sure to entertain, enchant, and inspire us all.