New Cosmology

The amateur cosmologist, irresistibly drawn to the mysteries of the universe, is an admirably peculiar sort. While "amateur" is too often used to denote someone less than professional, its Latin root reveals that it is high praise, a handle for someone who pursues a hobby or field of study out
of love for it.

In this sense, James N. Gardner is a true amateur. He is also a lawyer and a book reviewer (he writes about Science books for The Oregonian); the disciplined mind and research skills he's honed in his fields serve him well in his labor of love.

"Biocosm" -- which is subtitled "The New Scientific Theory of
Evolution: Intelligent Life Is the Architect of the Universe" -- is a challenge for a layperson with limited Science background, and it remains to be seen what academic and scientific communities make of it, but curious readers will
come from both camps. Gardner's depth of research, original thought and enthusiasm will impress readers across the board.

Why is it, Gardner wonders, that our universe "emerged from the
cataclysm of the Big Bang in such an improbably biofriendly condition"? Is it simply a happy accident ("a lucky roll of the dice in an endless cosmic crap game") that our universe emerged so life-friendly? Or is it part of something much richer, more complex and exciting?

He comes out in favor of something more complex, of course -- and names his conclusions the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis.

Gardner lays groundwork by drawing on writings and research from
diverse sources: philosophers, astrophysicists, mathematicians, biologists and evolutionary theorists.

The Selfish Biocosm hypothesis proposes that the anthropic
(life-friendly) nature of our universe came about as part of a predictable, provable "cosmic reproduction cycle." Or, as Gardner puts it with appropriate humility: "The universe we are privileged to inhabit" hosts intelligent life not as part of
"meaningless accidents in a hostile, largely lifeless cosmos but at the very heart of the vast machinery of creation, cosmological evolution and cosmic replication."

In this cosmic reproduction cycle, a "cosmologically extended
biosphere,"billions of years in the making, "serves as the device by which our cosmos duplicates itself and propagates one or more 'baby universes.' " (A "baby universe" is a hypothetical new universe. Gardner revisits work by theoretical physicist Lee Smolin, who applied Darwinian logic to the creation of new universes, hypothesizing that some are essentially more
fit when it comes to spawning these "babies.")

As Gardner warms to his subject, the highly abstract implications of all this become sturdier; his view is both alluring and heartening: "Under the Selfish Biocosm hypothesis, the evolutionary process is analogous not to a random walk through a theoretical library containing all possible variations of species, but rather to a purposeful climbing of a ladder
that leads to discrete and discernible plateaus populated with species of growing complexity and competence."

Gardner challenges evolutionary theorists and others who dismiss
human-level intelligence as a small, random blip on an endless universe-timeline. "The appearance of human-level and vastly higher intelligence is a highly robust phenomenon, virtually ordained by the basic laws of physics."

The book's structure is effective; "sidebar" notes that appear to the left of the text explain relevant laws and theories, and provide brief biographies of experts in related fields.

Gardner predicts his provocative work will spark hot debate among
experts, especially evolutionary theorists, and would that he is right. But those readers new to his topics stand to gain something arguably richer. He provides a keen sense of the vast, always growing body of creative thinking on the workings of the universe, and he ably demonstrates the artificiality
of borders between humanities and sciences.

The debate, with all its voices, is the point for this devoted amateur. "The messy science/religion philosophy interface should be treasured as an incredibly fruitful cornucopia of creative ideas -- a constantly coevolving triple helix of interactive ideas and beliefs that is, by far, the most precious of all the manifold treasures yielded by our history of cultural
evolution on Earth."

By Kimberly Marlowe Hartnett
http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainme...




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