Have you ever stopped to wonder how the world works? Not our man-made world, but the natural world which has been evolving for millions of years. Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen provide a holistic overview of the current understanding of the natural world in their book “Forces of Nature.” They describe the connection between the macro and micro forces that govern giant planets and the molecular building blocks of all life.
The authors have broken their book into four chapters, namely symmetry, motion, elements and colour, and demonstrate how the simplest questions about our universe often have such complex and incomplete answers. They touch on varying areas of science and demonstrate that despite the complexity of nature, everything works together in perfect symmetry in contrast to man-made objects.
Over the centuries there have been debates about how life was formed and how nature evolved. Today we have countless laws governing the realm of chemistry and theories within particle physics to explain the molecular intricacies of cells. We also have contributions from Newton and Kepler which led to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. The authors draw on all of these historic developments to understand our world and show the amazing symbiosis between organisms and our natural environment.
In line with Stephen Hawking’s opinion in his book ‘A Brief History of Time‘, the authors pointed out that maybe the world was created randomly, and many aspects of nature occur as unexplainable events. Humans live in a world of infinite complex systems, many of which we have identified patterns to express it in a way we understand. Science provides a platform to measure these systems and predict how they will function in the future.
This book is well written with many analogies to help explain the complicated topics. Cox often provided his commentary on the side, sharing a personal memory or experience which dramatically lightens the mood of the book. Some of the details are lost due to its deep scientific nature, but a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world was achieved. Many individuals may not be as curious to understand how the natural world works, or the origins of life, but after reading this book my curiosity has grown to comprehend the complexities of nature.
Are you interested in learning more by reading this book?
Books for Thought 