Paul Davies is a philosopher trapped in a physicist's body. This becomes apparent by the theme of his books, which is to ask the philosophical question why. Make no mistake; however, Davies is a scientist of standing with a far ranging knowledge of physics and mathematics. This book begins as many of his others have by an examination of the state of modern physics with an attempt to establish the experimental and mathematical underpinnings of that knowledge. There is no one better at doing this and yet if you are a fan of general science literature you have probably seen most of this before. In the end, the book, despite its many merits, is curiously unsatisfying.



Davies is a though going rationalist who believes implicitly in the scientific method and regards it conclusions as inescapable. In the final chapters, he delves into what all of this means and in so doing passes over into the realm of metaphysics. He correctly understands that there are some areas of the human experience that can only be understood in this way. And it is here that the book falters for he never takes a stand. He never says, OK this is what I believe and he is a man whose opinions we would like to hear. He takes you through most of the main ideas that have been proposed to explain these findings but in the end there is no insight. You finish the book pretty much where you began with many questions but few answers. There is only the faintest hint at the end that he understands that by crossing over into the realm of metaphysics the methods and rules for arriving at conclusions change and that his inescapable conclusions may not be so inescapable after all. Still if you like reading books of science if you are interested in how scientists try to understand the universe that their math is revealing this is worth a look. If nothing else, it will give you food for thought.

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