Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine

You never know what you are going to find at amazon when you look up one of your major interests. I was looking for a book on stars and this appeared. Since I've read other Alan Lightman books I was intrigued. I always enjoy the poetic way he writes and his deep philosophical and scientific considerations in this book are a bonus. I love science and reading about the universe and Lightman makes it fascinating as he is up to date on scientific research. His predictions for the future also made me think seriously about what is in store for humans in a short time relatively speaking. Upon beginning this book you are transported to a cave of damp earth and stone in France. Alan Lightman soon connects his experience with thoughts about the material world. It only gets better when he then describes what I would call a mystical experience. Alone with his thoughts, laying in a boat he gazes up at the stars which fill the vast expanse. Soon he is talking about relativism and dreamy philosophical musings. If you know Lightman's writing you will recognize his signature poetic descriptions. This is sheer beauty to me as he has such a command of the English language and on top of it, sees things like a philosophical scientist. Why is there something rather than nothing? What caused the universe to come into being? Are their other universes? What is dark energy? What is consciousness? Alan Lightman is right to question how consciousness could be the result of electrical and chemical flows between neurons. I wish he has spent more time describing how the mind works as opposed to just the brain as I have read the mind can function apart from the body in a near-death experience. In some ways he questions materialist viewpoints. As he says: "The Now is not enough." "We want to be part of the Infinite." Who can not relate? As he says 74% of Americans believe in life after death. Still however Lightman is not convinced. He sees himself mostly as a biological machine. He even goes so far as to say there is no "I" although his self-image is quite intact. Some of this book is deeply scientific and there is a long discussion about the Law of Conservation of Energy. I feel Lightman makes science a fun and creative subject for the casual reader. You don't have to be a scientist to enjoy this book although your imagination (eye of the soul) will function at a higher level if you've seen COSMOS or paid great attention in science class. Knowing what an atom looks like helps greatly in some of the explanations. This book while serious in places is also brilliantly poetic and at times lol humorous. Then there are some startling admissions like when Lightman says: "I wish I believed." Maybe he will one day as he is so close to finding a spiritual reality. His love of nature could easily be a gateway into the Divine. My favorite line was: "The tart scent of raspberries blends with the salty sea air." How I longed for the beach while I was reading this book. I've never been to Maine, but it seems idyllic. To me, this book is a search for ultimate meaning. Yes life is short but maybe eternity in heaven will make up for it. I think Lightman would enjoy reading The Case for God by Lee Strobel or Knowing God by Packer. They would be perfect books to encourage more of his intellectual introspection. I enjoyed this book completely and think you will love it. Lightman asks some of the most important questions about reality that have been asked by religious people and scientists alike. But I have to say that not everything needs to be tested. Some things should just BE. Now and then sometimes what is, simply is and we know it in our heart. We've never needed to prove love exists. ~The Rebecca Review P.S. If you enjoy philosophy and science blended together you may also enjoy a book by Kat Lehmann called Stumbling Towards Happiness. It is poetic, philosophical and has science all blended together. A great achievement for any author!

This is a lovely little book. The central perspective comes from an island in Maine, but it begins in a cave in the Dordogne, Fonte-de-Gaume. That cave contains paintings which date to approximately 17,000 BC. I have visited Fonte-de-Gaume and can attest to the feeling of wonder which it engenders. Hume argues that faith is not open to rational critique because it is, by its very definition, irrational; it exists in a separate realm from that of reason. While it may be 'irrational' it can still convince those who believe. Alan Lightman writes from that perspective. He is a scientist and a self-confessed materialist. He is not a believer. In fact, most (but certainly not all) scientists are not believers. At the same time, scientists (especially those who stare up at the stars from islands in Maine and contemplate the paintings of bison, mammoths and horses in French and Spanish caves) have experiences which challenge their materialism and stretch their imaginations. Indeed, the very observations and conclusions of modern science can do that, so much so that George Steiner once suggested that science would come to furnish the essential material for post-holocaust poets. I have seen those stars from the vantage point of coastal Maine. One evening we saw a plane flying beneath them in repeating patterns, far higher than one would expect. Since it was flying significantly south of the DEW line, we wondered what we were actually observing. These special experiences are variously categorized. AL speaks of the 'oceanic feeling' that comes upon scientists when they perceive the elegance of order, law and form. His own personal accounts in which he feels himself imaginatively merging with phenomena larger than himself are what my high school English teacher categorized as 'aesthetic experiences.' That is the subject of the book: the positioning of a scientific sensibility that is exposed to what feel like deeply spiritual experiences. Along the way we receive brief accounts of some of the scientific realities that are undeniable to reason but which nonetheless stretch our imaginations: the speed of the earth on which we travel, the number of stars and galaxies and the planets among them which could potentially support life, the number of atoms in the human body and the number of neurons in the human brain. We also stand with Hubbel atop Mt. Wilson watching the expanding universe through its telescope. (AL doesn't talk about the wonderful but very earthly hummingbirds which crowd the nectar feeders there, but mentions them elsewhere.) The result is a book of spiritual and scientific anecdotes that help us to understand the 'place' in which we live and move and have our being. Among the many stories one of the most vivid captures the essence of the book. It concerns Einstein's interview with George Sylvester Viereck. When Viereck asked Einstein if he believed in God, Einstein responded: "I'm not an atheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangements of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws" (pp. 115-16). Highly recommended.

Being from Maine, knowing the area & Maine life, and after having recently read a review of this book, I was intrigued to delve into it. It was a quick read - done in a couple of days. The book was well-written and thought-provoking, but perhaps more scientific than I expected or desired. The author, I believe, is simultaneously blessed and cursed with intellect and a scientific background. He, like many other scientists and engineers I know and have worked with, is making life overly “complicated” by reading and thinking too much trying to prove everything. Some things can’t be proven such as how and why the author felt as he did on the boat and at other times on the island. They are emotional, transcendent moments. Take in the moments, the years, the experiences, and relationships with others to just enjoy life. Stop over-thinking everything- I’m smiling, so [author] don’t take this too seriously. Relax and enjoy life!

A beautiful book. Alan Lightman masterfully explains complex scientific concepts in a clear and accessible way, while seamlessly weaving in stories about human nature and the natural world. It's a book I'll revisit time and time again.

science and literature make this informative and worth rereading.I have found this fascinating.