ABC Café Scientifique: Imperfect Creation - The Gloriously Messy Universe
Event Details
- Date:
- Sunday, 05 September 2010
- Time:
- 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Room:
- Breezeway Stage
- Location:
- State Library of Queensland
- URL:
- http://www.brisbanewritersfestival.com.au
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Lynelle Ross
- Phone:
- 33654547
- Email:
- lynelle.ross@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Science
Event Description
- Full Description:
- Marcelo Gleiser argues that there is no cosmic blueprint, the universe is not elegant. It is gloriously messy. Paul Willis, ABC Catalyst, Marcelo and local scientists grapple with some amazingly contradictory theories about how we happen to exist.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL
Marcelo Gleiser is Professor of Natural Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College. His lectures are as popular with literature students as they are with science students. He is the multi-award winning author of The Dancing Universe: From Creation Myths to the Big Bang and The Prophet and the Astronomer: A Scientific Journey to the End of Time.
For millennia, humankind has searched for an intellectual holy grail—a unifying theory to explain the origins of the universe and our place in it. Our greatest minds, from Pythagoras and Aristotle to Galileo, Newton and Einstein have explained the universe in terms of symmetry, harmony and order. Yet despite their best efforts, a theory of everything has remained elusive, and for good reason. In Imperfect Creation, Marcelo Gleiser argues there is no grand plan, cosmic blueprint or overarching explanation for our existence. In fact, the latest evidence reveals that not only are there imperfections in the fabric of the universe—they are the driving, creative forces behind its very existence. The universe, it turns out, is not elegant. It is gloriously messy.
Imperfect Creations offers a fresh new perspective on life in an evolving cosmos. It will change the way we see ourselves and our place in the universe.
'This is a masterful even thrilling account of how we happen to exist. It is personal, clear and as wide-ranging as the imagination and the latest science allows. As we reach a turning point in physics and the understanding of some amazingly contradictory theories, Imperfect Creation is the briefing on what may come next.' - Robyn Williams, ABC Radio National, The Science Show
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