On Space and Time

Modern Cosmology is telling us ever more about the cosmos, but there is always a quest to go beyond what is known and pose new questions about the nature of the universe. In On Space and Time, edited by Shahn Majid a number of eminent scientists tell of their part in this quest

Andrew Taylor gives an overview of current cosmology, the problems it is facing, and some of the ideas which have been proposed to deal with these problems. Roger Penrose tell of his ideas of a cyclic universe, in which the universe loses track of time in the heat death, which thus becomes a new big bang - this book gives one of the clearest explanations of this process that I have seen. As well as such considerations of the large scale nature of the universe, several contributors consider what space and time are like on the smallest scales. Shahn Majid investigates how geometry might be quantized, and Alain Connes and Michael Heller look at similar ideas, including non-commutative geometry. Heller also examines the religious implications of these ideas, as does John Polkinghorne, who considers how the Creator is affected by time.

There are quite a few equations in this book, but failure to follow these technicalities doesn't detract from following the main points of the arguments. Whether you are coming to the subject from a scientific, a philosophical or a theological viewpoint you will find plenty of stimulating ideas in this book.