About this title: Written as a series of unsent letters to her mother, Janna Levin's book explains the workings of the universe as they engage both the mind and the heart.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 2003-08-12
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 2003-08-12
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: Good. No creases in cover or spine. No names, no remainder marks, no stickers. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean and bright. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: Used-Good in Fair jacket. FIRST EDITION hardcover; Corner Wear; Clean Pages; DJ Shelf Wear In Fair Condition; Edge Wear; Shelf Wear; Good Condition. Reliable customer service and no-hassle return policy. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Anchor Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. pp. 225 including index--Paperback-First printing--Book Condition VG++, very clean, no marks, pages pristine-hinge tight-crease to spine. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: Near Fine. Soft-cover Edition. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. "Lovely and utterly original. " read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 224 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Brand new hard cover with dust jacket. In stock. Same/next day shipping. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Anchor Books
Date Published: 2003-08-01
ISBN-13:9781400032723ISBN:1400032725
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781400032723. read more
Edition: 1st American Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr, Ewing, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Text and cover are in excellent condition with no flaws. Binding is tight and straight. Cover edges and corners and spine ends are straight and square. Dustjacket is fine with the exception of very minor shelfwear to bottom edge of spine area and front inside flap. DJ now protected by clear mylar cover. Not a remainder. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION/COMPLETE NUMBER LINE. "Levin guides the reader through the observations and thought-experiments that have ... read more
Description: New in New jacket. pp. 208. Is the universe infinite, or is it just really big? Does nature abhor infinity? In startling & beautiful prose, astrophysicist Levinís diary of unsent letters to her mother describes what we know about the shape & extent of the universe, about its beginning & its end. She grants the uninitiated access to the astounding findings of contemporary theoretical physics & makes tangible the contours of space & time. Levin tells her personal story as a scientist isolated by ... read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: New in new dust jacket. BRAND NEW. First Printing. Never read or opened. No remainder mark. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 224 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date Published: 2002-03-11
ISBN-13:9780691096575ISBN:0691096570
Description: Good. Good Book, withdrawn from the library with usual markings and general wear. 100% Satisfaction before, during and after the sale. read more
"A long time ago, when I was young, let's say around ten, I used to think about the universe. Why? Because that is all there is. Anyway, I thought any projectile leaving the earth's gravity would go off eternally into space. Not so, thinks Levin. The universe is finite.
She argues her case starting with Eistein's ideas about gravity. Then speculates about possible shapes of the universe. I was able to follow her until she arrived at topology and dimensions. In the end, she affirms she can't know for sure and leaves it open for an infinite universe.
Although, Levin is an atheist she makes a case for predestination. She thinks if we could live our lives over again, they would be the same. Unfortunately, she doesn't flush out her argument very well
The book is a series of letters written to her mother explaining her thinking in layman terms. She also discusses her travels and her boyfriend, Warren, who seems to have acute mental and emotional problems. I think he could have been left out of the book."
"Informative, entertaining, highly readable book about the origins of the universe, modern work in dimensions and physics. Also very personal, gives you a feel for the author. Recommended if you have an interest in physics, the nature of the universe. Did not finish due to irrational fear of thinking about dimensions, but I mean to finish this someday."
"Tim asked me about the books I'm reading. I mentioned Jana Levin's 'How the Universe got its Spots.' I talked to Jaya about infinity. He was telling us about a Black hole program he saw on NOVA. I tell them about big Infinity and little infinity. Jaya said that down at the mini level, there is just air, void. This theory of negative number and smaller units supports that. Even before these scientific discoveries, the ancient Taoist, Christian, Hindus and others claim the void, emptiness. Particulariy the taoists. I told them that the universe is just a cosmic soup and it is through our sense that we create the world everyday. Jaya made a point to clarify what I was saying, meaning that the theory of negative number and infinite negative numbers. Pythagoras held on to the theory of whole natural numbers. He had a following and they all worship the whole numbers. The notion of negative number was threatening to them. Janna has an analogy about the world as flat and the world as I know it now and comparing our own ignorance to the universe. She thinks that every one is wrong about the universe that we see the universe as flat where as she claims the universe is actually round.
'Don't screw with the universe or it will screw with you." I told them that Cantor and others went crazy. The universe holds it's secret and if one looks too hard for that secret, one will become insane."
"If you're interested in scientifically-based philosophical ideas about space and time and, well, everything, and want to go into more depth than the shows you might see on the Science Channel or Discovery Channel, this is worth the read. It explains spacetime, discusses the finiteness (or infiniteness) of the universe, the big bang, light, matter, black holes, and things of that nature. Levin is very honest about everything; she lays it all on the table, tells you when she doesn't fully understand something, and that she is going to explain it as best she can, and you can do with it what you will (like string theory). This book is probably one step up from the "layperson" text. At times it was a little dense (the chapters on geometric spaces, for instance), and certain parts were hard to get through, as I felt I wasn't fully grasping what she was trying to describe - I wished she added one or two more lines here and there explaining what certain words or phrases were, a little more clearly. There were a few things she assumed the reader already knows, that she kind of glosses over. But then as I progressed in my reading, I realized that those dense, esoteric sections were a necessary foundation to read through in order to get to the "juicy" stuff, and that I understood enough about those things to be able to appreciate the discussion that followed Interesting things that I wished she spent more time on earlier in the book, were revisited later, and I found that I was able to come back to those concepts and properly wrap my mind around them, just from gleaning what I could from those esoteric, dense sections which I thought I wasn't understanding well enough. Like, she would touch upon concept A, and then go on to concepts B, C, and D, which all seemed peripheral to A and were confusing. Then she would come back to concept A, and there would be a moment of clarity when I realized that I needed a touch of B, C, and D (even if I didn't understand them fully) in order to revisit A and now consider it more deeply.
The book is told in a narrative that weaves her own life in and out of her studies, and it is quite intimate in that you really get inside Levin's head, to understand what was going on in her life as she was discovering and mulling over these ideas. This all made her discussions very approachable.
At times, I had to put the book down because it did freak me out a bit to think about the beginning and the end of the universe. But her personal narrative helped me to keep trudging forward, because if she can manage to live and relate to life knowing what she knows, then I can manage to read about it.
Of course, the book only scratches the surface, but is a great starting point for wanting to know more about these theories without reading a completely science-heavy text."
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