Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape The Universe

This is familiar ground, though rarely so comprehensively explored. What makes Rees's book exceptional is his conviction that cosmology is as materialistic and as conceptually simple as any of the earth sciences. Indeed,

cosmology is simpler in one important respect: once the starting point is specified, the outcome is in broad terms predictable. All large patches of the universe that start off the same way end up statistically similar. In contrast, if the Earth's history were re-run, it could end up with a quite different biosphere.

Rees demonstrates how the cosmos is full of "fossils" from which we can deduce how our universe developed as surely as we infer the earth's past from the relics found in sedimentary rocks. Rees's theme is nothing less than the colossal richness of the universe. It is an ambitious book, but if anything, it deserves to be longer. --Simon Ings, Amazon.co.uk

Product Description
The genesis of the universe elegantly explained in a simple theory based on just six numbers by one of the world's most renowned astrophysicists.

David Skea, Reviewer


Excellent Speculations About the Implications of Cosmology   December 15, 2000
Professor Donald Mitchell (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 97,000 Helpful Votes Globally)
111 out of 114 found this review helpful

Popular science books are often so simplified that little is gained by reading them. Add equations, and some people will ignore the book. Become detailed in mathematics, and more people will be lost. Professor Rees has done a remarkable service in this outstanding book by taking mathematical ratios and exploring their implications in nonmathematical ways. The result builds a totally new metaphor for considering the structure of the universe . . . that of a stable system.

He then takes that metaphor and uses it to build an understanding of the important unanswered questions about cosmology and how answers may be derived through a combination of experimenation, observation, and systems analysis. As a result, the nonscientist is brought into the "thinking" part of these scientific areas without needing to have much scientific background.

I was attracted to the book by the concept of how six numbers could explain a great deal about the universe. The development of that theme turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The six numbers are:

nu (a ratio of the strength of electrical forces that hold atoms together compared to the force of gravity which is 10 to the 37th power)

epsilon (how firmly the atomic nuclei bind together which is 0.004)

omega (amount of material in the universe)

lambda (force of cosmic "antigravity" discovered in 1998, which is a very small number)

Q (ratio of two fundamental energies, which is 1/100,000)

delta (number of spatial dimensions in our universe)

Doesn't look overwhelming, does it? Well, that highlights the book's strength, which is to explain the importance of these numbers. Basically, Professor Rees describes the background behind how the numbers were developed, then explores the implications of the number (especially by looking at what happens if the number was much larger or smaller), and then ties the number to implications for other cosmological questions and puzzles. Building from one to the next, he describes the current state of cosmological thinking through an architecture of these six numbers. To this summary of the known science, he adds his own conjectures by way of potential hypotheses for future testing.

We are at an interesting time for cosmological study. Because our ability to peer into space is improving rapidly due to advances in space and earth telescopes, more kinds of observations can be conducted to test basic theories about the nature of the forces in the universe. We should expect rapid progress in knowledge, as a result. Stephen Hawking has placed a twenty dollar bet that the elusive "unified field theory" that frustrated Einstein will appear within twenty years (but you should also know that he just paid off a loss on the same bet). A pathway that follows along understanding superstrings of 10 dimensional matter seems promising in this regard for now.

I found the writing to be very appealing in this book. Professor Rees is gifted in using examples to make the incomprehensible more meaningful. He is also ruthless in excising any detail that you do not need to know to comprehend the points he is developing. So you get a lean, compact argument. He writes clearly, which simplifies the reader's task while increasing the reader's pleasure. The text is benefited by several interesting illustrations, as well.

After you have finished reading this informative and stimulating book, ask yourself what the implications of a stable system are. Does it mean that some greater hand has been involved? Does it have no further implications, whatsoever? Does it mean that even greater systems should be assumed? How does it square with the notion of entropy (order becoming disordered)? If you are like me, new questions and perspectives will occur to you after reading this book that will greatly increase your interest in and appreciation of cosmology and physics.

Look backward and outward to see the future more clearly, and then ask, "What is the essence?"


Brilliant but Unnerving   March 27, 2000
quarmix (New York, New York)
33 out of 36 found this review helpful

The more one reads about science, the more one either does not believe in God or strongly believes in God. This book is rather unsettling in that it really points out some extraordinary facts about not just our existence but the existence of the universe.

This book is very well-written by someone who is well known in the field. I liked the style here, it was constantly interesting to read, except at the end, where it seemed to me that dwelling on parallel or additional universes was rather pointless from a scientific perspective if one could never prove their existence. Outside of that, it was fascinating reading, even though I knew a lot about the area.

One complaint, the book's size is obnoxiously narrow -- it was very difficult to read this way. I felt the publisher didn't have enough text to justify the price and came up with this idea to get more pages in.

Anyway, enjoy. The one thing that science keeps showing over and over again is the incredible "strangeness" of existence. I can deal with the 3-dimensions and the omega of one, but the values of "E," the 23% helium created at the Big Bang, and mostly, the way the various energies of atoms result in the right prevalence of carbon created in the destruction of stars to create life on this planet, that's what keeps me up at night.


Much better than his last book   April 21, 2000
Frank Paris (Beaverton, OR USA)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful

"Just Six Numbers" is a fascinating and quick read on how six crucial numbers describe the characteristics of the universe we live in. If any of them were changed ever so slightly, the character of our universe would change drastically and it would no longer be a friendly place for life to evolve. There are a dozen books a year written on cosmology at this level. I judge a book like this by how many times my brain lights up with an insight that I'd never realized before. This happened a lot more reading this book than Rees's previous book, "Before the Beginning" to which I gave three stars. Even if you read lots of books like this every year, you probably will not waste your time reading this one, especially since it is such a quick read.


Give me 6 numbers, and I'll give you the world...   August 23, 2000
Adam Rutkowski (Lennox Head, Australia)
23 out of 25 found this review helpful

Could the entire universe be described with just six numbers? To an extent, that is what this book proposes. Another addition to the marvellous Science Masters series, this book looks at six important numbers that describe various aspects of our universe, and how the present state of the universe is largely describable by just these numbers.

Rees actually goes further, by showing us also that these six numbers MUST not vary by much if a universe where intelligent beings can emerge is desired. He describes, for each number, what the universe would look like if that value was more or less than the observed one, and the consequences for intelligent life. Given that these six numbers require values within such a small range, does this mean that there must be a creator to explain how such precise values can come about? Not really. Some people prefer the Anthropic Cosmological Theory, which simply states that if these values were any different, we wouldn't be around to ask the question, so the values simply have to be what they are. Rees puts forward a different spin on this idea, which is his preffered explanation: There are several ways in which the universe may in fact be a `multiverse', an infinite number of disjoint universes, each with different starting configurations, and thus different values for the six numbers. This means that we do not need to find a special explanation for the values we see in this universe, since all possible values will occur in some universe.

This is an all-round excellent book, covering a great deal of information in a very accessible manner. It is also a great way to get up to date with the latest findings and ideas in astronomy. It is possibly a bit difficult for the newcomer, but for anyone who's read a pop science book or two, it should be smooth sailing the whole way.