The latest book by notable science writer John Gribbin explores the frontiers of scientific research toward the end of the first decade of the twentieth century.

John Gribbin has been writing books on various topics of science for more than thirty years now, but is best known for such books as In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality, where he capably takes even the lay-reader step by step through the mysterious world of quantum mechanics (as well as the follow-up to that book, Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality).

In his latest book, 2006’s The Origins of the Future: Ten Questions for the Next Ten Years, Gribbin turns his sights not toward the history of physical theories, or a quest to explain the science behind them, but rather toward the future of science, specifically the science of the coming decade.

The Questions Being Asked

The Ten Questions spoken of in this book’s title are some of the most important ones facing astrophysicists, particle physicists, geologists, astronomers and other scientists today. These are questions which deal with some of the most fundamental aspects of the universe humans inhabit.

They are questions regarding “Theories of Everything,” which seeks to find a single theory which will explain all the known matter and physical forces in the universe; questions regarding both how the universe began and how it might end; questions regarding the creation of galaxies, stars, planets and, consequently, life itself; and questions regarding the very nature of science itself – how scientists know what they know.

The Quest for an Answer

Gribbin takes his readers step by step through the theories which are on the cutting edge of science, explaining how current research is underway to hopefully find answers to these questions, maybe even within the next decade.

The narrative of this book is simple to follow, with thorough, well written explanations of even very difficult scientific theories, so that even the casually-scientific-minded reader will find themselves following along and marveling at all that science is set to accomplish in short order.

Especially relevant to today’s scientific world, and discussed several times within these pages, is the soon-to-be-opening “Large Hadron Collider” at CERN – the largest and most powerful particle accelerator yet created, set to begin operation in May of 2008 (with any luck), and which very well could begin to provide some of the answers to the most pressing questions which have been facing physicists for decades.

Indeed, one gets the impression upon reading this book that this current climate is a crucial one in the world of science – a moment which very well might be seen to later generations as having been an important stepping stone to entirely new branches of study.

This really should be the goal of any great physics book – it should inspire its readers to understand the important role played by scientists in the world, and it should reveal an interest in its readers that may have previously been hidden or set aside.

In short, John Gribbin may add another entertaining, fun and enlightening book to his growing collection of science tomes.

Other recommended books by John Gribbin:

In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality

Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality

The Scientists: A History of Science Told through the Lives of its Greatest Inventors

Book Information

The Origins of the Future: Ten Questions for the Next Ten Years

By John Gribbin, 2006

R. R. Donnelley

ISBN: 978-0-300-11998-5