From Eternity to Here - Sean Carroll (2010)

Sean Carroll is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology.  Carroll received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1993 and has taught at MIT, UC Santa Barbara and the University of Chicago.

"From Eternity to Here" examines the "Arrow of Time."  The "Arrow of Time" concept states that the Universe, and all things in it, move from a low entropy (highly organized) to a high entropy (highly disorganized) state.  This phenomenon represents the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  It is evident in the evolution of the universe as well as in the breaking of a dropped egg on the kitchen floor.  One of the characteristics of this evolution is that it is generally not reversible.  Once broken, it is difficult to recreate the original egg.

Carroll begins with an explanation of the principle of "SpaceTime," first formulated by Eistein in the Law of General Relativity.  While General Relativity provides a solid description of time experienced at the Macro level of life, Carroll and others believe that Quantum Mechanics holds the ultimate explanation for the Arrow of Time.

To fully understand the Arrow of Time one must understand the origin of time beginning at the Big Bang.  While scientists have a good understanding of the evolution of the universe from the period just after the Big Bang, they have little understanding of the universe right at the time of the Big Bang.  Carroll notes that the essential question that theoretical physicists and cosmologists are trying to answer is, "Why was the universe at the time of the Big Bang in such a state of low entropy?"  To date, the answer to this question continues to allude scientists.

Since the number of possible high entropy states far exceeds the number of possible low entropy states, Carroll suggests that the status of the early universe was very unlikely.  Rather than trying to explain the low entropy state of the early universe, some scientists have simply accepted it as a "Boundary Condition."  Carroll views this as a cop out. While cosmologists have put forth a variety of possible scenarios for how the universe might have begun in such a low entropy state, none has risen to the status of a theory.

From Carroll's point of view, the most promising of the current scenarios is that of a Multiverse.  In this model, the known universe is only one of many universes.  Each universe in the Multiverse evolves independently and is completely isolated from any other universe.  In the Multiverse model a given universe may spawn "Baby Universes" in a low entropy state.  The "Baby Universe" then separates and evolves from low to high entropy completely unaware of any other universe that might exist.

Thus, in a Multiverse model, the Big Bang does not represent the ultimate beginning of time.  Although it would be impossible for anyone from the known universe to discover anything prior to the Big Bang.

Some interesting facts:

1.  Up until the 1990's it was believed that the universe would eventually stop expanding and then collapse on itself in an event scientists called the "Big Crunch."  That was disproven with the discovery that the expansion of the universe is actually accelerating due to "Dark Energy."
2.  Unlike other types of energy, "Dark Energy" does not dissipate or dilute as the universe expands.  It remains constant.
3. 80-90% of the mass that makes up the universe is dark matter, not made up of atoms and molecules.
4. Atoms were not formed until approximately 400,000 years after the Big Bang.

Living on the Future Edge - Jukes et al. (2010)

Ian Jukes is an educator, consultant and author.  He is the founder and director of the InfoSavvy Group.  "Living on the Future Edge" was coauthored by Ted McCain, an award-winning educator and Lee Crockett a designer, consultant and entrepreneur.

"Living on the Future Edge" is a call to educators to restructure education to meet the current and future needs of their students.  Jukes describes how society at large has been transformed by the pace and magnitude of technological change, but education has lumbered along largely unaffected.  The authors urge educators not to be paralyzed by their paradigm

Jukes, et al. urge educators to adopt the perspective of the quarterback who views the field with two screens simultaneously, the present and near future.  The quarterback knows that throwing the ball to where the receiver is can only result in an incomplete pass.

Jukes introduces four trends that have enormous significance for the students in today's schools.  These trends have increased the rate of change and have transformed the way that the world does business. They have had a fundamental impact on how individuals learn, play and communicate.

The trends include:  Moore's Law, Photonics, the Internet, and InfoWhelm.  The authors also discuss how disruptive innovations have led to the failure of many market leaders because they have refused to change their way of doing business.  Jukes et al. suggest that this could also happen to public education.

The book concludes with a discussion of education in the future and the new roles it will require educators to assume.