by Frank Tipler
NOTE: This reporter seems to be on a physics jag in this blog, so this review just adds to the collection.
This book can either be regarded as a compendium of insights from an extremely bright, talented, well-credentialed scientist or as the delusional rantings from the broken mind of a once highly respected physicist. Both views have their adherents; Tipler’s supporters are as vocal in their discipleship as are his detractors.
Tipler is a professor at Tulane University, whose fields of study include particle physics, general relativity, and computer science.
The book, first published in 1994, is not an easy read for the most part. The author frequently becomes immersed in the more arcane regions of physics and information processing, and there seem to be areas in which the reader wonders how he got there from here. An example is his use of a scriptural reference, retranslated at that, (“I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” from Exodus) as documented support for his scientific ideas, especially those involving our perception of time which he views as an illusion.
Although Tipler denies a fundamental connection, his notions and his even his choice of terms are closely parallel to the speculations of an earlier scientist/theologian, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Basically and simplistically, Tipler’s speculations are:
Tipler is a professor at Tulane University, whose fields of study include particle physics, general relativity, and computer science.
The book, first published in 1994, is not an easy read for the most part. The author frequently becomes immersed in the more arcane regions of physics and information processing, and there seem to be areas in which the reader wonders how he got there from here. An example is his use of a scriptural reference, retranslated at that, (“I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE” from Exodus) as documented support for his scientific ideas, especially those involving our perception of time which he views as an illusion.
Although Tipler denies a fundamental connection, his notions and his even his choice of terms are closely parallel to the speculations of an earlier scientist/theologian, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Basically and simplistically, Tipler’s speculations are:
- The process of life involves the acquisition and accumulation of pieces of information.
- Just as in the case of matter and energy, this accumulated information cannot be destroyed; it is therefore immortal.
- A cosmological force (Teilhard’s “Omega Thrust”) pushes for the eventual consolidation of all of the information packets.
- As entropy proceeds and universal “heat death” occurs, the cosmos will consist of the totality of information; this totality (the “Omega Point”) is synonymous with God.
This work gives a fascinating perspective on the kinds of philosophic and theological rumination undergone by even the most hard-nosed and objective rationalists.
Review by Ken West
Review by Ken West
1 comment:
Tipler's conclusion, by the way, reminds me of a short story by Isaac Asimov in which a computer tradition is established over the eons; each new system is asked,"Can entropy be reversed?" always followed by the answer, "Insufficent data for a response." Finally, at the time of total universal death, the same question is put to the mother of all super computers, and the response comes back, "Yes! Let there be light!"
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