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How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space Audiobook
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(3.50) - 20 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Is the universe infinite or just really big? With this question, the gifted young cosmologist Janna Levin announces the central theme of her intriguing and controversial new book and establishes herself as one of the most direct and unorthodox voices in contemporary science. As Levin sets out to determine how big “really big” may be, she gives us an intimate look at the day-to-day life of a globe-trotting physicist, complete with jet lag and romantic disturbances. Nimbly synthesizing geometry, topology, chaos, and string theories, Levin shows how the pattern of hot and cold spots left over from the big bang may one day reveal the size and shape of the cosmos. Written with originality, lucidity, and even poetry, How the Universe Got Its Spots is a thrilling and deeply personal communication between a scientist and the lay reader.
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"This book is fascinating and sometimes poetic, but the author's attempts to draw parallels in Godel's and Turing's lives are heavy-handed in places. That's the only reason I'm giving it four stars instead of five. Still, I'm looking forward to more from Janna Levin. "
— Jane (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[Levin] covers…fascinating ground…She writes passages that may make you either feel claustrophobic for only living in three visible dimensions or see the night sky in an entirely new way.”
— Baltimore City Paper -
“Levin unpacks the technicalities with a skill honed from giving many lectures…A book to be applauded.”
— Scotsman -
“[A] gift to those people who want to think big but came to a screeching halt about two dozen pages into…A Brief History of Time.”
— Discover -
“Narrator Christine Williams gives the production its soul. Her clear, unhurried voice suffuses everything with Levin’s loneliness in a cosmos and a life that do not give up secrets easily.”
— AudioFile -
“Lovely, utterly original…makes a reader long to meet the author.”
— American Scientist
How the Universe Got Its Spots Listener Reviews
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" I can't come up with a better way to describe this than: mathematician fan fic. <br/> <br/>But it's good. A quick read. And very sad, mostly because Turing and Gödel had such sad lives, in the end. "
— Chris, 3/11/2011 -
" Pretty great book for being written by a physicist. Equal parts fiction, history and poetry. A quick read, too! "
— Brian, 1/31/2011 -
" Janna Levin breathes life into her characters from a pen dipped in a magical, lyrical language. She dwells more on the humanity of her famous subjects than on their theorems, giving the reader an immediate intimacy with them. An amazing literary talent. "
— Doris, 1/2/2011 -
" Levin is clearly a scientist first and an author second. I disliked almost everything about this novel, from the poor, under-developed themes of truth and reality to the bland and lacking "plot" with a barely visible thread linking the three scientists' lives. "
— Lindsay, 12/31/2010 -
" <p><em>Declaring literary blogging bankruptcy as I'm now eight months behind on logging books read and I would like to get back into the swing of things without dropping further behind!</em></p> "
— Kirsty, 12/7/2010 -
" This was an excellent read. "
— Glynn, 10/24/2010 -
" Wonderful and informative. Straddles a very interesting line between fiction & biography. <br/> <br/>A great read if you're at all a fan of Turing or Gödel. <br/> <br/>Dark ending. Un-light. "
— Canton, 5/18/2010 -
" Such a thin line between genius and madness! "
— Rose, 4/17/2010 -
" Interesting back story about the man and the math behind the invention of the computer. "
— Rob, 4/3/2010
About Janna Levin
Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. Her scientific research concerns the early universe, chaos, and black holes. She earned a PhD from MIT in physics and has worked at the Center for Particle Astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University.
About Christine Williams
Christine Williams is a singer and actor based in Ashland, Oregon. Her performance credits include productions at regional theaters and on concert stages across the country and around the world, from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Barbican Centre in London to the Aspen Music Festival and the Grotowski Institute in Poland.