The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang

Preface to the 2005 Edition

PREFACE TO THE 2005 EDITION To write a book and see it printed is a privilege. To see it go through a new edition is an honor. I owe the final impetus to write The Dancing Universe to Freeman Dyson. When he was visiting Dartmouth in the fall of 1995, I asked if he thought a book dealing with creation myths and modern cosmology was something worth pursuing. At the time, I had written the first chapter about creation myths. After reading it he told me to go ahead but cautioned, “Don’t add speculative modern ideas. It will shorten your book’s usefulness, as most of them will probably be wrong.” I did exactly that, resisting the temptation to write about inflationary cosmology, superstrings, extra dimensions, dark energy, and other juicy topics, even though they are an important part of my research (and some of them may be right after all). The book ends describing the first ideas concerning a quantum origin for the universe, a scientific version of the “creation out of nothing” mythic narrative from the seventies. This new printing is faithful to the original version and to Dyson’s advice. Covering over two thousand years of scientific ideas is enough of a challenge for a few hundred pages. But the effort is well worth it, as these ideas make for a fascinating story, the story of our quest for meaning in a universe that seems quite indifferent to our existence. Since its publication in 1997, I have used The Dancing Universe as the main text in a large physics class for non-science majors. Perhaps the reason why the students have greatly enjoyed it is that it is not written as a textbook. I present science as a narrative, a human construction that attempts to reveal the intricacies of the world around us. As we change, so does the narrative. As the narrative changes, it transforms us. Science provides an ever-evolving view of Nature. The universe we live in today is very different from the one Galileo or Plato lived in. It is also very different from the universe that people in the twenty-second century will inhabit. What is the same is our urge to understand, to make sense of our lives. As we inch forward, the universe keeps on dancing, carrying us in its arms. And with eyes wide open we watch in awe as we always have, and always will. x PREFACE TO THE 2005 EDITION ...