The Copernicus complex : (Record no. 3144)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 02738nam a22001697a 4500
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20240223102743.0
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 9780374129217
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Transcribing agency GESM
100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Relationship Scharf, Caleb A.
240 00 - UNIFORM TITLE
Uniform title The Copernicus complex : our cosmic significance in a universe of planets and probabilities
245 00 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title The Copernicus complex :
Remainder of title our cosmic significance in a universe of planets and probabilities
Statement of responsibility, etc. Caleb A. Scharf
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Place of publication, distribution, etc. New York
Name of publisher, distributor, etc. Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date of publication, distribution, etc. 2014
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 278 p.
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Summary, etc. In the sixteenth century, Nicolaus Copernicus dared to go against the establishment by proposing that Earth rotates around the Sun. Having demoted Earth from its unique position in the cosmos to one of mediocrity, Copernicus set in motion a revolution in scientific thought. This perspective has influenced our thinking for centuries. However, recent evidence challenges the Copernican Principle, hinting that we do in fact live in a special place, at a special time, as the product of a chain of unlikely events. But can we be significant if the Sun is still just one of a billion trillion stars in the observable universe? And what if our universe is just one of a multitude of others-a single slice of an infinity of parallel realities? In The Copernicus Complex, the renowned astrophysicist Caleb Scharf takes us on a scientific adventure, from tiny microbes within the Earth to distant exoplanets, probability theory, and beyond, arguing that there is a solution to this contradiction, a third way of viewing our place in the cosmos, if we weigh the evidence properly. As Scharf explains, we do occupy an unusual time in a 14-billion-year-old universe, in a somewhat unusual type of solar system surrounded by an ocean of unimaginable planetary diversity: hot Jupiters with orbits of less than a day, planet-size rocks spinning around dead stars, and a wealth of alien super-Earths. Yet life here is built from the most common chemistry in the universe, and we are a snapshot taken from billions of years of biological evolution. Bringing us to the cutting edge of scientific discovery, Scharf shows how the answers to fundamental questions of existence will come from embracing the peculiarity of our circumstance without denying the Copernican vision. With characteristic verve, Scharf uses the latest scientific findings to reconsider where we stand in the balance between cosmic significance and mediocrity, order and chaos. Presenting a compelling and bold view of our true status, The Copernicus Complex proposes a way forward in the ultimate quest: determining life's abundance, not just across this universe but across all realities.
653 ## - INDEX TERM--UNCONTROLLED
Uncontrolled term Space and time
-- Life
-- Cosmology
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Source of classification or shelving scheme Dewey Decimal Classification
Koha issues (borrowed), all copies 1
Holdings
Withdrawn status Lost status Source of classification or shelving scheme Damaged status Not for loan Collection Home library Current library Shelving location Date acquired Total checkouts Full call number Barcode Date last seen Date last checked out Price effective from Koha item type
    Dewey Decimal Classification     English Non-Fiction Adolescent-Adult GESM Library GESM Library Main Library 26/10/2018 1 ENA/ 523 SCH E0004372 27/12/2024 10/05/2022 26/10/2018 Books