---
product_id: 7558456
title: "The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew"
brand: "alan lightman"
price: "24927CFA"
currency: XOF
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/7558456-the-accidental-universe-the-world-you-thought-you-knew
store_origin: SN
region: Senegal
---

# The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew

**Brand:** alan lightman
**Price:** 24927CFA
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew by alan lightman
- **How much does it cost?** 24927CFA with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/7558456-the-accidental-universe-the-world-you-thought-you-knew)

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## Description

The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew

## Images

![The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91J-vGIvuML.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    His Thinking Mirrors My Own
  

*by T***H on Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2014*

Over the years, I have read many of Professor Lightman’s books.  For me, his work is a mixed bag—sometimes great, sometimes no more than adequate.  It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I can report The Accidental Universe to belong in the former category.  This is a wonderful book.Most readers are likely familiar with Lightman because of his fiction: Einstein’s Dreams, Good Benito, Reunion (a personal favorite), and others.  This book, however, is a work of nonfiction.  It is essentially a series of short meditations on the universe by this author who is, after all, both a professor of physics and the humanities.Meditations is the right word, I think.  These brief essays each have the universe as their topic but approach it from a different aspect.  Most of the titles give you a clue.  “The Temporary Universe” discusses entropy and change, “The Gargantuan Universe” discusses its size with we as a speck in the vastness, and “The Symmetrical Universe” talks about—what else?—symmetry and its intellectual attractiveness (as well as the importance of the Higgs particle).The two best sections, though, are “The Lawful Universe” and “The Spiritual Universe”. In a sense, they give the underlying themes of the book as a whole.  First, there are things about the universe that are intellectually understandable.  Over the centuries, the scope of the things that we understand—that we have laws about—has widened considerably, as our conception of the universe itself has grown.  (How many of us realize that it was only a hundred years ago that the brightest minds on earth considered the “universe” to consist of a static Milky Way galaxy?)  Lightman’s scientific bent enables him to grasp our need for scientific laws quite clearly.  On the other hand, Lightman’s also has another side, a contrarian side that looks at the universe differently, and this also comes through.For lack of a better term, this is his “spiritual” side which is the second strong undercurrent in these pages.  Though he remains basically atheist himself, he realizes the importance and the power of faith.  I try to strike this balance myself and I find his thinking runs very close to mine.  He certainly has the best words to say to the militant atheists I’ve read so far: “As a scientist, I find Dawkins’s efforts to rebut these two arguments for the existence of God—Intelligent Design and morality—completely convincing.  However, as I think he would acknowledge, falsifying the arguments put forward to support a proposition does not falsify the proposition.  Science can never know what created our universe…The belief or disbelief in such a Being is a matter of faith.”  He goes on to say (after more kind words about Dawkins and his accomplishments): “What troubles me about Dawkins’s pronouncements is his wholesale dismissal of religion and religious sensibility…In my opinion, Dawkins has a narrow view of faith and of people.  I would be the first to challenge any belief that contradicts the findings of science.  But, as I have said earlier, there are things we believe in that do not submit to the methods of science” (p. 49 – 51).  I have quoted this rather extensively but, as one who follows these arguments rather closely, I think Lightman has hit it on the head here.  (Others, I know, will disagree.)In the end, I was impressed by Lightman’s thinking here.  He expounds easily on matters of science both historical and current.  He also obviously considers the meanings of things deeply and speaks well on the subject.  I recommend this highly to anyone interested in science and faith.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Excellent for the Layreader
  

*by W***H on Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021*

I'm not a physicist and although I enjoy reading about some of the concepts, there is a mystery involved if you don't speak the language.The strength of this book is the author's excellent way of making these theories / observations accessible.  Some I still don't understand, like string theory.  I understand the words he uses to describe string theory and I don't think they could be simplified to any greater extent.  The concept is just hard to wrap one's mind about if you don't live in that universe.Lightman offers and excellent discussion of physics, belief in God and how they intersect.  He's respectful of those of us who have faith that the almighty is behind all of this even while presenting the logical arguments and points of view of those who see only science behind theory.This is a short book that I highly recommend if you want to get a good glimpse of what it all is at the massive as well as minuscule levels.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Most layperson-readable presentation of science I’ve seen, in a philosophical framework.
  

*by S***S on Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2020*

Terrific examination of how we view the world as human beings, and ways in which we may or may not be right. Also a really helpful endeavor to ground it all philosophically. Includes a brief overview of the history of science, including modern physics, in a format non-scientists can actually grasp, making concepts accessible and even entertaining. And Hh does it all within the dual framework of our everyday experience and a deep grounding in philosophy. Challenges the reader to consider the big and very orderly symmetry of the cosmos alongside our human penchant for variety and deviations from the norm, questioning our everyday understanding of things each step of the way. I’m not explaining it near as well as he does. Read the book.

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*Product available on Desertcart Senegal*
*Store origin: SN*
*Last updated: 2026-03-08*