''The Cosmic Landscape'' is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

popular science book on the

anthropic principle The anthropic principle, also known as the "observation selection effect", is the hypothesis, first proposed in 1957 by Robert Dicke, that there is a restrictive lower bound on how statistically probable our observations of the universe are, beca ...

and

string theory landscape The string theory landscape or landscape of vacua refers to the collection of possible false vacua in string theory,The number of metastable vacua is not known exactly, but commonly quoted estimates are of the order 10500. See M. Douglas, "The ...

. It is written by

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experimen ...

Leonard Susskind Leonard Susskind (; born June 16, 1940)his 60th birthday was celebrated with a special symposium at Stanford University.in Geoffrey West's introduction, he gives Suskind's current age as 74 and says his birthday was recent. is an American physicis ...

. The book was initially published by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

on December 12, 2005.

Background

At the time the book was written, it had been noted that the conditions of the Universe are very fine tuned, allowing life. However, at the same time it is unknown why. The Anthropic principle was one solution, but was rejected by many physicists who preferred a more elegant solution.

String theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interac ...

was then created, but allowed too many solutions. Then, in the book, Susskind hypothesized that there are multiverses where there are occasional universes where life is indeed possible. He calls this multiverse the "landscape".

Susskind writes in the preface that the book is mainly about "the scientific explanations of the apparent miracles of physics and cosmology and its philosophical implications".2008 ebook
/ref> The book deals with the

Anthropic principle The anthropic principle, also known as the "observation selection effect", is the hypothesis, first proposed in 1957 by Robert Dicke, that there is a restrictive lower bound on how statistically probable our observations of the universe are, beca ...

. The earlier chapters deal with topics such as

quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and spec ...

Feynman diagrams In theoretical physics, a Feynman diagram is a pictorial representation of the mathematical expressions describing the behavior and interaction of subatomic particles. The scheme is named after American physicist Richard Feynman, who introduce ...

and

quantum chromodynamics In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type ...

. Later on, the

cosmological constant In cosmology, the cosmological constant (usually denoted by the Greek capital letter lambda: ), alternatively called Einstein's cosmological constant, is the constant coefficient of a term that Albert Einstein temporarily added to his field equ ...

is introduced and problems with the amount of energy produced from

virtual particles A virtual particle is a theoretical transient particle that exhibits some of the characteristics of an ordinary particle, while having its existence limited by the uncertainty principle. The concept of virtual particles arises in the perturbat ...

is also introduced and the black hole war. The book emphasizes the theory of a "landscape" with many universes out there. Instead of the fact that the Universe is somehow just perfect for life, the truth is that "it's not that the universe is somehow contorting itself to accommodate us; it's just a diverse place and we find ourselves in a friendly corner".

Critical reception

The book has received favorable critical reception. ''Choice Review'' praised the way the "nuances" are presented and called the book "a stimulating, semi-popular book that presents an excellent, descriptive tutorial of modern physics and cosmology". ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' noted that the book was "of utmost significance to science readers" and how "in this extraordinary work, Susskind ushers us to the mind-bending edge of a possible paradigm shift". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' believed that Susskind was able to guide readers into the Anthropic Principle. The reviewer then stated that "persistent readers will finish this book understanding and caring about contemporary physics in ways both unexpected and gratifying". ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' said that the book is able to explain String Theory and how it can unite

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...

and

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

together. The reviewer recommended the book to "science collections in academic and larger public libraries". According to Paul Langacker, a professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, concerning the "debate between the landscape idea and the more traditional view":

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmic Landscape, The American non-fiction books 2006 non-fiction books Popular physics books String theory books

Background

Contents

Critical reception

See also

References