If you didn’t catch the first two hours of PBS’ “The Elegant Universe” with string theorist Brian Greene, the final third hour is coming up from 8-9 pm on Tuesday, November 4. We haven’t finishing watching the initial episode, but what we’ve seen has been great. I’ve read most of Greene’s book by the same name, and am passingly familiar with string theory. Still, there’s no substitute for special effects, and having complex physics/cosmology explained by an expert with a gift for communicating. Greene can write; he can talk; he’s likable and expressive; and he’s also a top-notch scientist—a rare combination of talents.
Superstring theory was prominently featured in the final chapter of my first book, God’s Whisper, Creation’s Thunder. It’s hard not to get excited about a theory that purports to explain everything in the universe, the long-sought Theory of Everything. Supposedly the foundation of the cosmos actually is ten or eleven dimensions, not the three of space and the one of time with which we are familiar. Whether these extra unseen dimensions are compactified, or folded up, in an extremely small fashion, or whether they truly exist as really real realms of reality is still conjecture—as is all of string theory.
Yet it’s the current best bet for a Theory of Everything, one which posits that a cosmic symphony of vibrations produced by a single simple source results in all the complex matter/energy in the universe. A beautiful idea, entirely compatible with the deepest tenets of mystical spirituality. Watch “The Elegant Universe.”
Comments