Not by Design

by Victor J. Stenger

Much of the world seems chaotic and unpredictable, but the regular movement of celestial bodies and certain demonstrable physical phenomena seem to indicate the existence of a world that is basically orderly. This orderliness is often taken as evidence for an intelligence beyond our experience - a "creator" responsible for the first moment in time and all ensuing infinite patterns of the universe. Yet the science of the origin of the universe is still highly speculative and incomplete. How did the universe begin? According to Professor Victor J. Stenger, the simplest hypothesis so far is that it began by accident.Stenger insists that the existence of order does not necessarily imply that it is the result of design. Nothing currently known about the universe, he writes, requires that its structure was somehow imposed upon it from the outside. The universe is complex, but the laws of nature are simple; in fact, the universe may have originated because of a series of spontaneous random events.The book begins with a discussion of the meaning of order and examples of orderly patterns generated by chance. (Play enough poker hands, Stenger writes, and one day you will be dealt four aces.) Subsequent chapters introduce readers to the unique perspective of the universe provided by physics, with historical and philosophical material intertwined with a systematic but nontechnical presentation of basic physics. This leads to a description of the basic structure of the universe and the way in which symmetries of space, time, and inner dimensions account for the "laws" obeyed by particles.The origin of the universe is then described as a chance event, with space, time, matter, and the laws of nature the result of a spontaneous process of symmetry-breaking. Focusing on the question of planned versus unplanned origin, Stenger shows that the issue is not philosophical but scientific and that order can and does happen every day - by chance.

Genres: Science, Atheism

202 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Victor John Stenger was an American particle physicist, outspoken atheist and author, active in philosophy and popular religious skepticism.

He published 13 books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience. He popularized the phrase "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings".

Reviews

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason anyone should read this particular book is if he or she is a fan of Victor J. Senger's writings. A combination of his later writings are more comprehensive, lucid, and contemporary than this somewhat outdated 1988 publication. Stenger's description of entropy's role in the evolution of the universe is an exception to the above. His description rivals that of Sean Carroll who does an outstanding job with the subject matter.

In case you're curious though, the book provides a history of cosmology and particle physics aimed at the layperson with a modicum of scientific literacy. He then lays out a fairly good argument that there is no good reason to suppose that the universe came about by design. He does a much better job of this in his books, God, The Failed Hypothesis, and The Fallacy of Fine Tuning. He then points out that humans are much better at design than accidents of nature and that we will make ourselves extinct through our machine inventions. Whoo-hoo! But in a good way.

Read this if you want to study the evolution of Victor J. Stenger's writing and ideas. Also, if you have nothing else to read, this book will certainly not harm you as long as you realize that some of the cosmology and particle physics are a wee bit outdated.

Oh, and seriously, people! The temperature of the universe is 2.7 kelvins (2.7 K). There is no reason for a PhD physicist to be using degrees with kelvins - even for a lay audience. That's insulting dumbing down! You use degrees with Celsius and Fahrenheit - not kelvins! Jesus H. Christ! Also, a PhD physicist should know that people can hear sound from supersonic sources, but most cannot hear ultrasonic or infrasonic frequencies of sound.

[Preston Constantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like it so far, I love crack pipe theories. Thats pretty much what it is. It also talks about what is beyond space...empty matter, I dont know, havent got there yet.