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The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook
Free yourself from cosmological tyranny! Everything started in a Big Bang? Invisible dark matter? Black holes? Why accept such a weird cosmos? For all those who wonder about this bizarre universe, and those who want to overthrow the Big Bang, this handbook gives you 'just the facts': the observations that have shaped these ideas and theories. While the Big Bang holds the attention of scientists, it isn't perfect. The authors pull back the curtains, and show how cosmology really works. With this, you will know your enemy, cosmic revolutionary - arm yourself for the scientific arena where ideas must fight for survival! This uniquely-framed tour of modern cosmology gives a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this fascinating field. The portrait painted is realistic and raw, not idealized and airbrushed - it is science in all its messy detail, which doesn't pretend to have all the answers.
290 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2020
18 people are currently reading
183 people want to read
About the author
Luke A. Barnes
2 books19 followersLuke A. Barnes is a postdoctoral researcher at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy. His university medal from the University of Sydney helped him earn a scholarship to complete a PhD at the University of Cambridge. He has published papers in the field of galaxy formation and on the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He has been invited to speak at the 2011 and 2015 St Thomas Summer Seminars in Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology, the University of California Summer School for the Philosophy of Cosmology, and numerous public lectures.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 24, 2020
The popular science books' corner discussing the Big Bang Theory and inflation is a crowded space. Many extraordinarily lucid and brilliant books have been published debating these theories in the last decade. This Handbook adds nothing new to those discussions or in the explanation manners despite a different premise.
The premise, as reflected in the title, is different. Rather than the conventional approach focusing on various facets of these theories, along with proofs, discoveries, shortcomings, etc., the author addresses the matter through different rhetoric. He tries to answer what someone trying to upstage these theories would need to do before they can hope for almost any audience. The approach has some mild positives and negatives but without any radical impact for readers familiar with the subject matter through other popular books.
On the negative side, the argument flow often presupposes more knowledge than assumed in other books of the genre. The author would retract to explain many of the arguments from ground-up theories, but he is far more concise than peers. Almost all the arguments cover the same ground as those in other books and rarely anything more or different.
The positives are more whenever the author argues about alternate theories and where they fail. They are also in the end when he explains what the disbelievers need to do to build their case. It is a different matter that his genuine disbelievers already know the path while the flippant ones don't care enough to read books like these.
That said, the author has some interesting details splattered throughout. The discussions are engaging, particularly for those who have not come across these theories multiple times in other works.
The premise, as reflected in the title, is different. Rather than the conventional approach focusing on various facets of these theories, along with proofs, discoveries, shortcomings, etc., the author addresses the matter through different rhetoric. He tries to answer what someone trying to upstage these theories would need to do before they can hope for almost any audience. The approach has some mild positives and negatives but without any radical impact for readers familiar with the subject matter through other popular books.
On the negative side, the argument flow often presupposes more knowledge than assumed in other books of the genre. The author would retract to explain many of the arguments from ground-up theories, but he is far more concise than peers. Almost all the arguments cover the same ground as those in other books and rarely anything more or different.
The positives are more whenever the author argues about alternate theories and where they fail. They are also in the end when he explains what the disbelievers need to do to build their case. It is a different matter that his genuine disbelievers already know the path while the flippant ones don't care enough to read books like these.
That said, the author has some interesting details splattered throughout. The discussions are engaging, particularly for those who have not come across these theories multiple times in other works.
January 14, 2020
This is book written by Australian astrophysicists about why challenging scientific theory like dark matter is important. I have to agree with their point, but it seems like the efforts would be better put into challenging political beliefs in today's world.
June 29, 2025
Ever wanted to overthrow the Big Bang theory and have your own theory of the universe's origins put in it's place? Then this is the book for you. Two Astrophysicists give the reader a step by step account of all the things the BBT explains and how those things were discovered and measured. As they point out, for a rival theory to be accepted it needs to be able to explain all those observations. The closing chapter covers all the things that the BBT doesn't explain very well meaning that if your theory can also explain some of them better than the BBT (As well as explaining the stuff the BBT explains well) then you'd better start preparing your Noble prize acceptance speech. However they do warn you'll need to brush up on your math as they explain why physicists use math all the time (Basically it boils down to mathematical equations are far more accurate and succent that words when describing and predicting observed phenomena).
A good introduction to those interested in cosmology.
A good introduction to those interested in cosmology.
September 26, 2020
Overall, this is a fun read. The technical content can be found in numerous different physics books, but The Cosmic Revolutionary’s Handbook is truly unique in how the content is packaged. The discussions are engaging and humorous, and by presenting the material in the form of guidance for overturning the Big Bang, Barnes and Lewis manage to keep the reader wanting more. Out of all the books on the Big Bang theory that I have read, this is one of the most enjoyable.
For more details, see my full review at: https://apologetics315.com/2020/08/bo...
For more details, see my full review at: https://apologetics315.com/2020/08/bo...
January 2, 2025
Despite the humorous title this book is GOOD. A clear runthrough through the main ideas that hold up the standard view of cosmology today & the standard model (the model you have to beat), and the potential leading theories. Not afraid to put graphs and things requiring some scientific literacy to understand either, +1.
If this is your first entry into cosmology then the book may be slightly too advanced, but otherwise is overall a fun, and genuinely good educational read that I would say is around ~1st-2nd year university student interested in astrophysics, or late high school.
goatsauce. One of the best astronomy/cosmology books I've read to date.
If this is your first entry into cosmology then the book may be slightly too advanced, but otherwise is overall a fun, and genuinely good educational read that I would say is around ~1st-2nd year university student interested in astrophysics, or late high school.
goatsauce. One of the best astronomy/cosmology books I've read to date.
March 19, 2020
like this book in general. It's helpful to readers who would like to dig a bit into the universe and so on. The style of writing is also very easy and simple to comprehend. However, it is always a challenge for writers of this topic -- university, cosmo -- to make it interesting and fun, since the topic itself is already so deep, mysterious, yet very much scientific and exact. The author did a good balance in this case.
May 21, 2020
For such a nerdy endeavor, the authors kept this lighthearted, even moreso than Fortunate Universe and digestible for layman enthusiasts like me. I love how they describe the remarkable order but also the weirdness of our amazing universe - neutrino abundance, dwarf galaxies, quasars, etc. This work also really lays out scientific methodology, peer review and publication, as well as the importance of quantitative rigor to support theories. A fun educational work and I highly recommend it.
July 28, 2022
The Quantum Leap - A Theory of Six Realities
A terrific read. This book confirmed me as a Cosmic Revolutionary!
However, in my Slideshare presentation I add physical realities to math and physics to broaden the audience for understanding both the Big Bang and the probability of Multiverses.
Once we have determined the border of our Universe, everything beyond are Multiverses.
A terrific read. This book confirmed me as a Cosmic Revolutionary!
However, in my Slideshare presentation I add physical realities to math and physics to broaden the audience for understanding both the Big Bang and the probability of Multiverses.
Once we have determined the border of our Universe, everything beyond are Multiverses.
December 3, 2022
A terrific and accessible “popular science” book. It has a slightly to tongue-in-cheek approach to laying out the requirements for those who wish to challenge the acceptance of the Big Bang theory, and lays out the successes of and current issues with the theory. Lots to learn and enjoy - highly recommended!
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June 13, 2020I love this book. Barnes is not trying to limit potentialities for paradigm shifts, but telling where we are at in big bang model, so smartass can pick up quickly to scrutinise their hypothesis, either immature or revolutionary.
April 18, 2021
One of the best popular science books I have read recently. It gives an account of the central ideas in modern cosmology, their evolution and the challenges would that have to be overcome in order to replace them. The writers are careful to point out the uncertainties of the science, as well as the difficulties of trying to draw conclusions and inferences about cosmic entities from a vast distance away and with limited observational abilities.
August 5, 2021
Gave it four stars because it was a very clear explanation as to the current state of Big Bang theory understanding. I learned a lot.
January 16, 2026
A really thorough introduction to the Big Bang, and our evidence for it.
January 16, 2023
Good premise-- if you want to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos, you've got to know the most important discoveries, theories, and perplexing data that scientists have already encountered. This book tries to lay out the basic framework of what you need to understand and subsequently explain in a more insightful way. I think it succeeds in laying out the essential foundations of cosmology, but the trouble of presenting the unvarnished facts of science is that it's a long slog to get through. You've got to be really committed to get through this book from cover to cover.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews