Probability 1

Probability 1

by Amir D. Aczel
Probability 1

Probability 1

by Amir D. Aczel

Paperback(First Edition)

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Overview

For thousands of years, it was the visionaries and writers who argued that we cannot be alone-that there is intellegent life in the universe. Now, with the discoveries of the Hubble Telescope, data emerging from Mars, and knowledge about life at the extremes, scientists are taking up where they left off. Amir Aczel, author of Fermat's Last Theorem, pulls together everyting science has discovered, and mixes in proabability theory, to argure the case for the existence of intelligent life beyond this planet. Probability 1 is an extraordinary tour de force in which the author draws on cosmology, math, and biology to tell the rollicking good story of scientists tackling important scientific questions that help answer this fundamental question. What is the probability of intelligent life in the universe? Read this book, and you'll be convinced, by the power of the argument and the excitement of the science.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780156010801
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 01/20/2000
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 680,014
Product dimensions: 5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Amir D. Aczel, Ph.D. grew up on a ship and was navigating straits in the Mediterranean long before he could drive a car. The author of Fermat's Last Theorem, God's Equation, The Mystery of the Aleph, and Probability 1, he lives with his wife and daughter in the Boston area and teaches at Bentley College.

Table of Contents

Author's Noteix
Preface1
1Fermi's Paradox and Drake's Equation5
251 Pegasi28
3The Chemistry of the Universe55
4The Double Helix of Life76
5Panspermia, Byurakan, and the Meteorite from Mars90
6Asteroids, Volcanoes, and Nemesis110
7The Evolution of Intelligence131
8Does God Play Dice?151
9The Inspection Paradox181
10The Birthday Problem196
11The Probability of Life on at Least One Other Planet208
Epilogue215
Endnotes217
Further Reading221
Index223
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