The universe in a nutshell; The Cosmic Landscape String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design Leonard Susskind Little, Brown: 404 pp., $24.95 HOME EDITION

• Published in: The Los Angeles times
• Main Author: Kirsch, Jonathan
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, Calif Los Angeles Times Communications LLC 15.01.2006
• Subjects: Books-titles; Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design; Cosmology; Nonfiction; Physics; Susskind, Leonard
• ISSN: 0458-3035

[LEONARD SUSSKIND] has not picked up a pipe wrench in a long time. The Stanford scientist is credited with revolutionary discoveries in virtually every aspect of theoretical physics, including the invention of string theory (although he graciously credits a couple of colleagues for their independent work in the same field) and advanced work on quarks and black holes. Who, then, is better equipped to answer such cosmic questions as how our world came into existence and why intelligent life exists here? "[O]ur own universe is an extraordinary place that appears to be fantastically well- designed for our own existence," he muses. "This specialness is not something that we can attribute to lucky accidents, which is far too unlikely. The apparent coincidences cry out for an explanation." Susskind also finds himself compelled to address what is called the anthropic principle, a scientific theory based on the idea that "the laws of physics that we observe are determined not by fundamental laws, but instead by the requirement that intelligent life can exist to observe them." Starting with such a deceptively simple definition, it is all too easy to jump to the conclusion that some "intelligent designer" devised the laws of physics for the convenience of humankind. That's not what the advocates of the anthropic principle mean, as Susskind explains, but that's why some physicists "refer to the Anthropic Principle as religion or superstition or 'the A word' and claim that it is 'giving up.' " The bulk of Susskind's book, however, has nothing to do with intelligent design or the current culture war between science and religion. Rather, he walks us through the strange world of physics and cosmology, starting with the big bang and ending with his own groundbreaking notion of looking at the cosmos as a landscape of possible worlds rather than a single universe that is bounded in space and time. Along the way, he has something to say about everything from "absorption lines" to the "Z-boson," the first and last entries in his glossary of scientific terms. But Susskind is always aware of how tough and even treacherous it can be to explain such abstract and complex ideas to the lay reader.