by Paul Davies, Penguin – Allen Lane. Hardback ISBN 9780713998832, £22.00.
The Goldilocks Enigma is the latest in a series of books from the past 20 plus years by physicist, cosmologist and internationally acclaimed outreach expert Paul Davies, covering the often vexed issue of the boundary between science and theology. The central theme of this book is the baffling truism, the so-called anthropic principle, that the universe is surprisingly bio-friendly, consistent with the evolution of life, at least on Earth and possibly elsewhere. Like Goldilocks’s third porridge, the universe seems to be just right for “us”, but why?
Davies guides the reader comprehensively and comprehensibly through the properties and interactions of the components of the universe, small and large, observable and imagined. He presents an equation-free exposé of particle physics and cosmology, from strings to multiverses, and in so doing reveals the wonder of the physical universe. He then augments the “facts” with an impressive sequence of analyses of how and why they came about. But is “our” universe the only one that exists? Is it the only one that can exist? If so, why? If not, what, where and when could other universes be? And does it all point to an Intelligent Designer?
Getting rid of God, numinous, eternal and responsible for all universes at all times, is a popular pursuit for some science communicators these days – Richard Dawkins springs to mind. However Davies is not relentlessly driven to deicide: “You can’t use science to disprove the existence of a supernatural God, and you can’t use religion to disprove the existence of self-supporting physical laws.” This attitude ought to leave many an agnostic armchair physicist patiently waiting for Davies’s next book.
Goldilocks is not always easy to read, but each chapter ends with a helpful shortlist of the important facts and ideas to be retained. A couple of typos and the erroneous statement, appearing twice, that the Large Hadron Collider will collide protons with antiprotons, blemish a text that otherwise bears all the hallmarks of intelligent design.
