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The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life
Are We Alone in the Universe?
In this provocative and far-reaching book, internationally acclaimed physicist and writer Paul Davies confronts one of science's great outstanding mysteries -- the origin of life.
Three and a half billion years ago, Mars resembled earth. It was warm and wet and could have supported primitive organisms. If life once existed on Mars, might it have originated there and traveled to earth inside meteorites blasted into space by cosmic impacts?
Davies builds on recent scientific discoveries and theories to address larger questions of existence: What, exactly, is life? Is it the inevitable by-product of physical laws, as many scientists maintain, or an almost miraculous accident? Are we alone in the universe, or will life emerge on all earthlike planets? And if there is life elsewhere in the universe, is it preordained to evolve toward greater complexity and intelligence?
Through his search for answers to these questions, Davies explores the ultimate mystery of mankind's existence -- who we are and what our place might be in the unfolding drama of the cosmos.
In this provocative and far-reaching book, internationally acclaimed physicist and writer Paul Davies confronts one of science's great outstanding mysteries -- the origin of life.
Three and a half billion years ago, Mars resembled earth. It was warm and wet and could have supported primitive organisms. If life once existed on Mars, might it have originated there and traveled to earth inside meteorites blasted into space by cosmic impacts?
Davies builds on recent scientific discoveries and theories to address larger questions of existence: What, exactly, is life? Is it the inevitable by-product of physical laws, as many scientists maintain, or an almost miraculous accident? Are we alone in the universe, or will life emerge on all earthlike planets? And if there is life elsewhere in the universe, is it preordained to evolve toward greater complexity and intelligence?
Through his search for answers to these questions, Davies explores the ultimate mystery of mankind's existence -- who we are and what our place might be in the unfolding drama of the cosmos.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Paul C.W. Davies
90 books533 followersPaul Charles William Davies AM is a British-born physicist, writer and broadcaster, currently a professor at Arizona State University as well as the Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He has held previous academic appointments at the University of Cambridge, University of London, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, University of Adelaide and Macquarie University. His research interests are in the fields of cosmology, quantum field theory, and astrobiology. He has proposed that a one-way trip to Mars could be a viable option.
In 2005, he took up the chair of the SETI: Post-Detection Science and Technology Taskgroup of the International Academy of Astronautics.
In 2005, he took up the chair of the SETI: Post-Detection Science and Technology Taskgroup of the International Academy of Astronautics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 19, 2009
This is a wonderful book about the science of biogenesis. How did life arise? Where and when did it arise? Why is this such a difficult question? Paul Davies is an eminent physicist and a good writer; he makes sense out of all the issues. Don't look to this book for answers--you won't find definite answers. But you will certainly read Davies' opinions; he believes that life could have begun on earth deep below the surface, under conditions of very high temperatures. There is lots of evidence to back up this concept. This was a very entertaining read for me.
December 26, 2021
That our oldest known ancestors were organisms living in water is one thing; that life itself originated in water is quite another. It was the hypothesis emitted by Darwin himself, picked up by many since then, and yet... And yet, two relatively recent and major discoveries have completely blown away our preconceived ideas on the topic.
First, the existence of so-called extremophiles that is, organisms living within the depth of the Earth and at extreme temperatures. Since such organisms seem to have been protected, within such enclosed environment, from all sorts of cataclysmic events that had constantly impacted our planet about 4 billion years ago (comets, meteorites...) they defy the idea that life appeared in water to make the centre of the Earth a matrix as plausible. Studying them, then, could lead to more tangible results that what our hypothetical experiments in laboratories have been yielding so far (e.g. the Miller-Urey one, that the author retells here in critical passages....).
Then, the fact that some of these cosmic objects which came to crash themselves upon the surface of the Erath (e.g. the Murchison meteorite) contain elements necessary to life, including amino acids. Of course, the presence of such elements is far from proving the presence of life itself! But, nevertheless, it raises important questions -has life first appeared on Earth? Has it first appeared elsewhere in the universe, and journeyed to the Earth through a cosmic collusion? Or is it the product of a symbiosis between earthly elements and extra-terrestrials ones? Even more challenging: what are the probabilities for life, even under its most primitive forms, to exist elsewhere, on other planets? Paul Davies, here, delves particularly upon the case of Mars, since its conditions about 4 billions years ago seemed to have been more favourable to life than that of the Earth, with which, also, contacts were more frequents through more frequent cosmical impacts. These are fascinating questions indeed: are we an isolated accident, or, the logical product of a vast ecosystem (the Universe itself) whose conditions are favourable to life?
Engrossing from beginning to end, accessible, rich in details, the author knows how to showcase his arguments without falling into sensationalism or wild speculations, which is quite a feat given the nature of his hypothesis! His questioning, then, put forth with such precautions, make of this book a must read for anyone interested in such an enigma as the possible origins of life itself. Superb!
First, the existence of so-called extremophiles that is, organisms living within the depth of the Earth and at extreme temperatures. Since such organisms seem to have been protected, within such enclosed environment, from all sorts of cataclysmic events that had constantly impacted our planet about 4 billion years ago (comets, meteorites...) they defy the idea that life appeared in water to make the centre of the Earth a matrix as plausible. Studying them, then, could lead to more tangible results that what our hypothetical experiments in laboratories have been yielding so far (e.g. the Miller-Urey one, that the author retells here in critical passages....).
Then, the fact that some of these cosmic objects which came to crash themselves upon the surface of the Erath (e.g. the Murchison meteorite) contain elements necessary to life, including amino acids. Of course, the presence of such elements is far from proving the presence of life itself! But, nevertheless, it raises important questions -has life first appeared on Earth? Has it first appeared elsewhere in the universe, and journeyed to the Earth through a cosmic collusion? Or is it the product of a symbiosis between earthly elements and extra-terrestrials ones? Even more challenging: what are the probabilities for life, even under its most primitive forms, to exist elsewhere, on other planets? Paul Davies, here, delves particularly upon the case of Mars, since its conditions about 4 billions years ago seemed to have been more favourable to life than that of the Earth, with which, also, contacts were more frequents through more frequent cosmical impacts. These are fascinating questions indeed: are we an isolated accident, or, the logical product of a vast ecosystem (the Universe itself) whose conditions are favourable to life?
Engrossing from beginning to end, accessible, rich in details, the author knows how to showcase his arguments without falling into sensationalism or wild speculations, which is quite a feat given the nature of his hypothesis! His questioning, then, put forth with such precautions, make of this book a must read for anyone interested in such an enigma as the possible origins of life itself. Superb!
April 14, 2013
القراءة الثانية لبول ديفيز بترجمة منير شريف
بول ديفيز وحيد من نوعه كـ أديب فيزيائي نظري حتما
الفصل الثاني في أصل الحياة أكثر مايلزمُني ، فيما بين الفوضى والنظام والطاقه واقصى معدلات الانتروبي والاتزان الديناميكي الحراري ، بول ديفيز صاغ أحجية ممتازه
بول ديفيز وحيد من نوعه كـ أديب فيزيائي نظري حتما
الفصل الثاني في أصل الحياة أكثر مايلزمُني ، فيما بين الفوضى والنظام والطاقه واقصى معدلات الانتروبي والاتزان الديناميكي الحراري ، بول ديفيز صاغ أحجية ممتازه
February 28, 2014
In this book, Davies discusses how life may have arisen on earth, with some reference as to what implications this holds for the 'meaning' of life and the universe. I was most interested in the discussion of the possibility of life on planets other than earth, particularly some of the evidence for microbial life on Mars. The biogenesis stuff, as in the technical details of how exactly life may have arisen were too familiar to me to hold much interest. I'm also not sure I agree with his assertion that if it turns out that life is common in the universe, which would suggest that the 'laws of nature' are such that life is an inevitable outcome of our particular kind of universe, then this means the universe is "designed" for the creation of life. I would think that the view that life is a fortunate by-product, which accompanies the perspective of our own living planet as a sort of 'happy accident', is still tenable even if life turns out to be more common. However, his view does make the search for extraterrestrial life seem even more important than just for the sake of exploration. They are questions that may never be answered in my lifetime, but I hope I'm lucky enough to see some more evidence.
March 29, 2009
very interesting presentation of the problem of biogenesis. turns out to be a lot trickier than I thought. Did proteins come before DNA or the other way? How did the first amino acids form and link to make proteins, a pretty statistically difficult process?
But anyway, the main point here is Paul Davies always goes too far. From cosmic Darwinism to the meaning of life. Except for the religious, why the hell should biogenesis have anything to do with the meaning of life? Why does extraterrestrial intelligence alter our philosophy and meaning? It might be a scientific shock that some day we find out the origin of life came from a comet from outer space, but would it be an emotional shock? I might be not smart enough, but totally can't see the link.
But anyway, the main point here is Paul Davies always goes too far. From cosmic Darwinism to the meaning of life. Except for the religious, why the hell should biogenesis have anything to do with the meaning of life? Why does extraterrestrial intelligence alter our philosophy and meaning? It might be a scientific shock that some day we find out the origin of life came from a comet from outer space, but would it be an emotional shock? I might be not smart enough, but totally can't see the link.
February 8, 2014
كتاب عظيم
بيغير نظرة الواحد للكون وبيخليه يبص للصورة من بعيد بشكل أوضح
قد يكون الكاتب موصلش في رحلته ﻹجابة قاطعة عن أصل وطبيعة الحياة
بس في خلال رحلته هتشوف كتير من المعطيات اللي هتغير مفهومك وانت بتتأمل في أسئلة من هذا
القبيل
يؤخذ عليه بعض الملل في الفصل التالت ﻹنه كان بيتكلم عن الأنطروبيا والقانون التاني للديناميكا الحرارية واللي مكنتش فاهمهم بشكل كافي
ويحسبله إن نظام الكتاب في عرض الفرضيات/النظريات اللي ببتناول أصل الحياة رتبها من اﻷقل منطقية للأكثر منطقية بحيث تحس إنك بتستنج مع الكاتب
بيغير نظرة الواحد للكون وبيخليه يبص للصورة من بعيد بشكل أوضح
قد يكون الكاتب موصلش في رحلته ﻹجابة قاطعة عن أصل وطبيعة الحياة
بس في خلال رحلته هتشوف كتير من المعطيات اللي هتغير مفهومك وانت بتتأمل في أسئلة من هذا
القبيل
يؤخذ عليه بعض الملل في الفصل التالت ﻹنه كان بيتكلم عن الأنطروبيا والقانون التاني للديناميكا الحرارية واللي مكنتش فاهمهم بشكل كافي
ويحسبله إن نظام الكتاب في عرض الفرضيات/النظريات اللي ببتناول أصل الحياة رتبها من اﻷقل منطقية للأكثر منطقية بحيث تحس إنك بتستنج مع الكاتب
July 10, 2014
I absolutely loved this book. It takes on life's biggest questions; is there a reason, is there a design, is it all random? This is an outcrop of the battle between science and religion while Davies is able to captivate the disbelief of both sides. The possibilities are endless. I love his rationality, his science, and his way of teaching to those who are left one-sided. The 5th miracle is a must read for anyone who is pondering the bigger questions in life.
October 27, 2015
Awesome read. The chapter on Claude Shannon's information entropy was truly eye-opening for me. Information is actually unpredictability! The less predictable a message, the more information it contains. Fascinating.
February 20, 2024
The title is a riff on the book of Genesis, which describes four miracles of Creation. Given the extraordinary nature of life, one could argue that biogenesis constitutes a sort of 5th miracle.
To not bury the lede, I enjoyed the book and give it 3.5 stars. The book can drag at times, such as the discussion of life on Mars, and is also out of date, so it is not a great read on biogenesis research in the 2020s. However, its discussion of the fundamental issues around life, and especially the role of information processing, is excellent.
Here are some unorganized notes.
- The problem of negative entropy in life can be explained by the fact that organisms “drink orderliness” from their environments; e.g. the entropy reduction involved in maintaining humans is more than offset by the heat waste generated by our bodies. (Indeed, I wonder if something can be said about complexity vs efficiency in this regard. In analogy to the rate of an error-correcting code, we might say that an efficient organism has almost no “informational overhead,” meaning that it produces almost no net entropy. Are more complex organisms inevitably less informationally efficient?)
- At a more cosmic level, we can see that the early universe had almost no entropy, while we seem to have quite a lot today in the form of spiral galaxies and so on. Gravity can be viewed as a source of negative entropy and might explain this apparent imbalance. Indeed, Hawking writes about gravity as a sort of “entropy debt” that we will eventually repay at the end of the universe.
- The Miller-Urey experiments were the first to show that biogenesis is even possible from inorganic materials. Indeed the distinction between “organic” and “inorganic” chemistry is not necessarily well-defined.
- RNA world seems to have been discredited, since RNA experiments in the lab are quite delicate and it’s not clear that RNA could have survived in real-world harsh conditions. Autotrophs, on the other hand, seem well adapted for such situations. This is especially true of chemautotrophs, which do not even require sunlight.
- The self-organization and complex systems theory view of life (led by Ilya Prigogine, Stuart Kauffman, and Jeremy England) faces two flaws. First, organization is not the same as semantic information; the sort of structures studied with respect to self-organization are not necessarily goal directed or meaningful in the same way biological information coded in DNA is. For example, the former school might study periodic pulsing behaviors. Second, the structures that are formed in self organized systems are a result of the environment, e.g. boundary conditions. However, life follows an internal script in the form DNA. Therefore the source of entropy is all wrong. The whole point of self-organization is that the systems in question are actually compressible; whereas DNA is seemingly incompressible. (I wonder if people like Kauffman bite the bullet here. If life is self-organized, then does that mean it is efficiently compressible?)
- Life is a deal struck between nucleic acids and proteins. Indeed, Earthly life seems to have a chiral pairing in this regard (most nucleic acids have one orientation, or handed-ness, and most proteins have the other).
- Panspermia seems like a bit of a stretch when it comes to life from other solar systems, but it's quite plausible that microbes contained within ejected rocks from the Earth or Mars could survive the journey to neighboring planets. Indeed some of our present strains of microbes already exhibit robustness against radiation, low pressure, and the cold; these are the principal threats to survival in space.
To not bury the lede, I enjoyed the book and give it 3.5 stars. The book can drag at times, such as the discussion of life on Mars, and is also out of date, so it is not a great read on biogenesis research in the 2020s. However, its discussion of the fundamental issues around life, and especially the role of information processing, is excellent.
Here are some unorganized notes.
- The problem of negative entropy in life can be explained by the fact that organisms “drink orderliness” from their environments; e.g. the entropy reduction involved in maintaining humans is more than offset by the heat waste generated by our bodies. (Indeed, I wonder if something can be said about complexity vs efficiency in this regard. In analogy to the rate of an error-correcting code, we might say that an efficient organism has almost no “informational overhead,” meaning that it produces almost no net entropy. Are more complex organisms inevitably less informationally efficient?)
- At a more cosmic level, we can see that the early universe had almost no entropy, while we seem to have quite a lot today in the form of spiral galaxies and so on. Gravity can be viewed as a source of negative entropy and might explain this apparent imbalance. Indeed, Hawking writes about gravity as a sort of “entropy debt” that we will eventually repay at the end of the universe.
- The Miller-Urey experiments were the first to show that biogenesis is even possible from inorganic materials. Indeed the distinction between “organic” and “inorganic” chemistry is not necessarily well-defined.
- RNA world seems to have been discredited, since RNA experiments in the lab are quite delicate and it’s not clear that RNA could have survived in real-world harsh conditions. Autotrophs, on the other hand, seem well adapted for such situations. This is especially true of chemautotrophs, which do not even require sunlight.
- The self-organization and complex systems theory view of life (led by Ilya Prigogine, Stuart Kauffman, and Jeremy England) faces two flaws. First, organization is not the same as semantic information; the sort of structures studied with respect to self-organization are not necessarily goal directed or meaningful in the same way biological information coded in DNA is. For example, the former school might study periodic pulsing behaviors. Second, the structures that are formed in self organized systems are a result of the environment, e.g. boundary conditions. However, life follows an internal script in the form DNA. Therefore the source of entropy is all wrong. The whole point of self-organization is that the systems in question are actually compressible; whereas DNA is seemingly incompressible. (I wonder if people like Kauffman bite the bullet here. If life is self-organized, then does that mean it is efficiently compressible?)
- Life is a deal struck between nucleic acids and proteins. Indeed, Earthly life seems to have a chiral pairing in this regard (most nucleic acids have one orientation, or handed-ness, and most proteins have the other).
- Panspermia seems like a bit of a stretch when it comes to life from other solar systems, but it's quite plausible that microbes contained within ejected rocks from the Earth or Mars could survive the journey to neighboring planets. Indeed some of our present strains of microbes already exhibit robustness against radiation, low pressure, and the cold; these are the principal threats to survival in space.
January 24, 2023
A ghost in the living cell
This book is a little outdated since it was published in 1999. Significant advances have been made in the last two decades in the fields of astrobiology, biological evolution, paleobiology, physics and philosophical arguments about the origin of life. Nevertheless, Paul Davies is still one of the leading scientists who is still active in this field. In this book, he addresses basic questions about life such as, is life a byproduct of the laws of physics? And consequently, life could evolve elsewhere in the cosmos, perhaps on earthlike planets. If they exist, do they evolve toward greater complexity and intelligence? What were the earliest mechanisms when molecules (in disorganized state) assembled to form complex molecules (organized structures) that assembled to form a living cell (highly organized self-regulating structure). Molecules (Non-life) becoming self-regulating living cells (life) is creating order from disorder that appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics. But life doesn't break this law. It merely creates a local low-entropy system by shifting excess entropy to its environment along with other waste products thus increasing the entropy in the universe.
Some physicists believe that laws of nature are rigged to favor life, and consciousness is probably an integral part of the spacetime fabric that contains matter and energy. This idea depends on the properties of the four fundamental forces of nature, and with a slight tinkering of the nuclear forces, the universe would have little or no carbon, and hence no life. This is known as "the anthropic principle," According to this, our existence is a dicey affair, a consequence of some happy coincidences in the underlying mathematical structure of the universe. This principle has been criticized by many biologists and physicists which the author discusses in some detail.
Physicist Fred Hoyle suggested that life may have come from comets that showered earth with viruses, which may have helped to evolve life on earth. But author Paul Davies speculates that life came from another planet like Mars. Chapter 8 is devoted to the issue of Martian meteorites like ALH84001 containing fossil Martian microbes. Since then, due to the efforts by NASA, we have learnt that there is still no evidence of any form of life on Mars, but mere speculations. Research on extra-solar planets and life elsewhere in the solar system has revealed Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a subsurface ocean, and it may be coated with complex organic molecules that could be stepping-stones to life. Jovian moons, Europa, and Ganymede are also known to have oceans that may harbor primitive forms of life.
The book, despite the fact it is dated, still has great ideas that you will find interesting.
This book is a little outdated since it was published in 1999. Significant advances have been made in the last two decades in the fields of astrobiology, biological evolution, paleobiology, physics and philosophical arguments about the origin of life. Nevertheless, Paul Davies is still one of the leading scientists who is still active in this field. In this book, he addresses basic questions about life such as, is life a byproduct of the laws of physics? And consequently, life could evolve elsewhere in the cosmos, perhaps on earthlike planets. If they exist, do they evolve toward greater complexity and intelligence? What were the earliest mechanisms when molecules (in disorganized state) assembled to form complex molecules (organized structures) that assembled to form a living cell (highly organized self-regulating structure). Molecules (Non-life) becoming self-regulating living cells (life) is creating order from disorder that appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics. But life doesn't break this law. It merely creates a local low-entropy system by shifting excess entropy to its environment along with other waste products thus increasing the entropy in the universe.
Some physicists believe that laws of nature are rigged to favor life, and consciousness is probably an integral part of the spacetime fabric that contains matter and energy. This idea depends on the properties of the four fundamental forces of nature, and with a slight tinkering of the nuclear forces, the universe would have little or no carbon, and hence no life. This is known as "the anthropic principle," According to this, our existence is a dicey affair, a consequence of some happy coincidences in the underlying mathematical structure of the universe. This principle has been criticized by many biologists and physicists which the author discusses in some detail.
Physicist Fred Hoyle suggested that life may have come from comets that showered earth with viruses, which may have helped to evolve life on earth. But author Paul Davies speculates that life came from another planet like Mars. Chapter 8 is devoted to the issue of Martian meteorites like ALH84001 containing fossil Martian microbes. Since then, due to the efforts by NASA, we have learnt that there is still no evidence of any form of life on Mars, but mere speculations. Research on extra-solar planets and life elsewhere in the solar system has revealed Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a subsurface ocean, and it may be coated with complex organic molecules that could be stepping-stones to life. Jovian moons, Europa, and Ganymede are also known to have oceans that may harbor primitive forms of life.
The book, despite the fact it is dated, still has great ideas that you will find interesting.
May 12, 2016
Life is the most wonderful phenomenon in the universe. If you reduce its complexity to its most basic elements, it is nothing more than a collection of ordinary material that doesn’t differ at all from inanimate objects. Still, living beings are so fundamentally different and inexplicable that science has not been able to cast its beacon of searching light on the issue of origins of life. About half a century ago, at the instant when DNA’s secrets were coming out, it was widely believed that the puzzle would be solved in a matter of a few years. But decades later, science has not been able to advance knowledge much deeper than where it was. Paul Davies is a physicist, writer, broadcaster and a professor, who has authored many books on popular science. In this book, Davies presents some unusual ideas on the origin of life. Being an advocate of panspermia, he postulates the origin of earthly life taking place on Mars! A presentable case is made out with novel scenarios and clever reasoning. Since the subtitle also mentions a quest to the meaning of life, philosophical enquiry into the nature of life is also included. We know that evolution does not have foresight nor involve a direction to an ultimate goal towards a higher being. Natural selection makes it blind to be oblivious to the advantage of an entire species as compared to the survival benefit of a particular animal. This book is a model case of how a physicist can introduce novel concepts in a conservative field such as biological studies.
Those who first pick this book up from a bookshelf would wonder at the significance of the title. The mystery is neatly explained in the preface, and is linked to the chapter on Genesis in the Bible. God first created the Universe, then made light, then the firmament and the fourth in line was dry land. After arranging the ‘infrastructure’, God commanded that vegetation may appear on land. This first reference to life in the Bible is arranged as fifth in the sequence of miracles, and hence the title ‘The 5th Miracle’ is the most perfect for a book that makes its quest on the origin, nature and meaning of life. The earth is bountiful in life, and there are indications that the presently inhospitable terrain of Mars was once home to life. There may be several variants of life, which may not resemble life as we know it. Davies spells out autonomy, reproduction, metabolism, nutrition, complexity, organization, growth and development as the essential characteristics that delineate life in any form. At the same time, the chain of unification runs through all forms of terrestrial life whether it is a plant, animal or a simple bacterium. For example, take the protein Cytochrome C, which is made of hundreds of amino acids. This protein is present in plants and animals. The copy in humans differs from that of Rhesus monkeys in just one amino acid, out of a total of hundreds. The human cytochrome protein differs from that in wheat by about 45 amino acids, providing solid proof that man diverged from the line of plants pretty early in his development as compared to simian forms. This is also a proof of evolution at work.
Before looking at how life originated, a general discussion on why and if life had to appear on earth. When a physicist writes a book on popular science, we can be pretty certain that a reference to the Second Law of Thermodynamics would somehow be included. According to this now famous theory, the entropy, or level of disorder, in the universe always increases. However life brings about order in complexity and it may appear that biological systems violate the thermodynamic principle. This notion is false and Davies really tries his best to dispel doubts in this regard. The Second Law is applicable only to closed systems in which matter or energy does not enter into the system. However, terrestrial life-forms make an open system, in which the sun’s energy is always available. Even with localized order, the entropy of the universe taken as a whole increases, thus underlining the truth of the law. The author faces an uphill task in explaining how life itself took root. Today’s beings use a genetic code encoded in the DNA to manufacture proteins essential for their survival and reproduction. The author compares this to software of the DNA and hardware of the proteins. However, all attempts to explain the origin of self-replicating molecules end in confusion, as it is not forceful enough to convince skeptics.
Davies makes an extensive survey of organisms existing in specialized niches like deep sea thermal vents and nutrient-deficient habitats. Pyrolobus fumarii is the organism that sets the record for highest temperature at 113 deg C. Introduction to organisms that thrive in extreme conditions is presented with good reason. Spectacular conjectures on the origin of life – biogenesis – follow next. The author is much interested in the concept of panspermia, the theory that places the origin of life somewhere in the deep mists of space, which reached the earth hitchhiking on a comet or meteor. It is also possible that life originated in Mars; where there is abundant proof that running water flowed through the terrain. Martian meteorites have been found on earth, the most recent and fruitful being a piece of rock discovered in Antarctica. Traces of organisms that once lived in Mars have been detected by researchers, though the chain of reasoning is tenuous and highly imaginative. But problems still persist. Even if it is believed that a meteor impact dislodged a piece of rock containing microbes, it has to undergo the tremendous ordeal of radiation in space, heat of entry into earth’s atmosphere and the shock energy of the impact on earth. Since the argument is purely hypothetical, Davies comes up with several mechanisms by which microbes may just be able to survive the bodily transportation to another planet, each being weirder than the previous one.
This book on the origins of life is written by a physicist. We have heard the axiom that ‘physicists defer only to mathematicians, while mathematicians defer only to god’! True to the maxim, most of the authors referred in the book are physicists, thus curtailing the real-life significance of it. Even Fred Hoyle is quoted more times than Charles Darwin. This excessive reference is all the more inappropriate when we remember that Hoyle was a stubborn opponent of the Big Bang theory, while still clinging to his pet hypothesis that the Universe always existed. Also, Hoyle is the co-author of a research paper that ‘found’ that great pandemics visited the earth when our planet travelled through the tail of a comet. Davies expresses rational, even controversial, arguments throughout the book, but some of his remarks seem to be deliberately designed as to be quoted out of context as proof of a creator of the world. For example, “The conclusion has to be that without a trained organic chemist on hand to supervise, nature would be struggling to make RNA from a dilute soup under any plausible pre-biotic condition” (p.131). What about this? Wouldn’t this be the choicest nectar for creationists and proponents of intelligent design? Then again, he states on p.263 that “although biological determinists strongly deny that there is any actual design, or preordained goal, involved in their proposals, the idea that the laws of nature may be slanted towards life, even if not contradicting the letter of Darwinism, certainly offends its spirit”. This book by a non-expert on biological systems lacks proper depth and appeal. This is only recommended to those who want to learn the theories occupying the extremes of probability.
The book is recommended.
Those who first pick this book up from a bookshelf would wonder at the significance of the title. The mystery is neatly explained in the preface, and is linked to the chapter on Genesis in the Bible. God first created the Universe, then made light, then the firmament and the fourth in line was dry land. After arranging the ‘infrastructure’, God commanded that vegetation may appear on land. This first reference to life in the Bible is arranged as fifth in the sequence of miracles, and hence the title ‘The 5th Miracle’ is the most perfect for a book that makes its quest on the origin, nature and meaning of life. The earth is bountiful in life, and there are indications that the presently inhospitable terrain of Mars was once home to life. There may be several variants of life, which may not resemble life as we know it. Davies spells out autonomy, reproduction, metabolism, nutrition, complexity, organization, growth and development as the essential characteristics that delineate life in any form. At the same time, the chain of unification runs through all forms of terrestrial life whether it is a plant, animal or a simple bacterium. For example, take the protein Cytochrome C, which is made of hundreds of amino acids. This protein is present in plants and animals. The copy in humans differs from that of Rhesus monkeys in just one amino acid, out of a total of hundreds. The human cytochrome protein differs from that in wheat by about 45 amino acids, providing solid proof that man diverged from the line of plants pretty early in his development as compared to simian forms. This is also a proof of evolution at work.
Before looking at how life originated, a general discussion on why and if life had to appear on earth. When a physicist writes a book on popular science, we can be pretty certain that a reference to the Second Law of Thermodynamics would somehow be included. According to this now famous theory, the entropy, or level of disorder, in the universe always increases. However life brings about order in complexity and it may appear that biological systems violate the thermodynamic principle. This notion is false and Davies really tries his best to dispel doubts in this regard. The Second Law is applicable only to closed systems in which matter or energy does not enter into the system. However, terrestrial life-forms make an open system, in which the sun’s energy is always available. Even with localized order, the entropy of the universe taken as a whole increases, thus underlining the truth of the law. The author faces an uphill task in explaining how life itself took root. Today’s beings use a genetic code encoded in the DNA to manufacture proteins essential for their survival and reproduction. The author compares this to software of the DNA and hardware of the proteins. However, all attempts to explain the origin of self-replicating molecules end in confusion, as it is not forceful enough to convince skeptics.
Davies makes an extensive survey of organisms existing in specialized niches like deep sea thermal vents and nutrient-deficient habitats. Pyrolobus fumarii is the organism that sets the record for highest temperature at 113 deg C. Introduction to organisms that thrive in extreme conditions is presented with good reason. Spectacular conjectures on the origin of life – biogenesis – follow next. The author is much interested in the concept of panspermia, the theory that places the origin of life somewhere in the deep mists of space, which reached the earth hitchhiking on a comet or meteor. It is also possible that life originated in Mars; where there is abundant proof that running water flowed through the terrain. Martian meteorites have been found on earth, the most recent and fruitful being a piece of rock discovered in Antarctica. Traces of organisms that once lived in Mars have been detected by researchers, though the chain of reasoning is tenuous and highly imaginative. But problems still persist. Even if it is believed that a meteor impact dislodged a piece of rock containing microbes, it has to undergo the tremendous ordeal of radiation in space, heat of entry into earth’s atmosphere and the shock energy of the impact on earth. Since the argument is purely hypothetical, Davies comes up with several mechanisms by which microbes may just be able to survive the bodily transportation to another planet, each being weirder than the previous one.
This book on the origins of life is written by a physicist. We have heard the axiom that ‘physicists defer only to mathematicians, while mathematicians defer only to god’! True to the maxim, most of the authors referred in the book are physicists, thus curtailing the real-life significance of it. Even Fred Hoyle is quoted more times than Charles Darwin. This excessive reference is all the more inappropriate when we remember that Hoyle was a stubborn opponent of the Big Bang theory, while still clinging to his pet hypothesis that the Universe always existed. Also, Hoyle is the co-author of a research paper that ‘found’ that great pandemics visited the earth when our planet travelled through the tail of a comet. Davies expresses rational, even controversial, arguments throughout the book, but some of his remarks seem to be deliberately designed as to be quoted out of context as proof of a creator of the world. For example, “The conclusion has to be that without a trained organic chemist on hand to supervise, nature would be struggling to make RNA from a dilute soup under any plausible pre-biotic condition” (p.131). What about this? Wouldn’t this be the choicest nectar for creationists and proponents of intelligent design? Then again, he states on p.263 that “although biological determinists strongly deny that there is any actual design, or preordained goal, involved in their proposals, the idea that the laws of nature may be slanted towards life, even if not contradicting the letter of Darwinism, certainly offends its spirit”. This book by a non-expert on biological systems lacks proper depth and appeal. This is only recommended to those who want to learn the theories occupying the extremes of probability.
The book is recommended.
May 22, 2018
Although I didn’t necessarily agree with everything he said, The Fifth Miracle by Paul Davies (another philosopher of science and a theoretical physicist ) was a fascinating read. I won’t go so far as to say I couldn’t put it down, but picking it up again was not a chore.
This is another investigation into the possible origins of life. After reading Daniel C. Dennett’s Darwin’s Dangerous Idea with his idea that it is possible to explain the evolution of life from non-life entirely by means of natural selection, it was interesting to see Davies’ investigation even further into the possible pre-cellular precursors to life and a different take on where life might have originated.
He keeps returning to the virtual impossibility of life ever originating anywhere, and refuting all the people who believe that the origin of life was almost inevitable. But he lists many instances of life and proto-life existing at much lower levels than previously thought possible.
His three most likely candidates for where life originated are not in the open ocean but:
1) underground somewhere, catalyzed by clay crystals
2) at the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean either beneath the ocean floor in the pores of volcanic basalt there or around the “black smoker” ocean vents leaking gases and organic material into the ocean, or
3) on Mars, whence it might have traveled to Earth when some large comet or asteroid impacted the planet blasting pieces of rock off of the planet and all the way to Earth.
He also discusses the idea of “Panspermia” – that life may have been transferred to Earth via comets or similar bodies from outside the solar system. Conversely, he looks at experiments involving what looks like replicating molecules that are simpler than DNA.
This is another investigation into the possible origins of life. After reading Daniel C. Dennett’s Darwin’s Dangerous Idea with his idea that it is possible to explain the evolution of life from non-life entirely by means of natural selection, it was interesting to see Davies’ investigation even further into the possible pre-cellular precursors to life and a different take on where life might have originated.
He keeps returning to the virtual impossibility of life ever originating anywhere, and refuting all the people who believe that the origin of life was almost inevitable. But he lists many instances of life and proto-life existing at much lower levels than previously thought possible.
His three most likely candidates for where life originated are not in the open ocean but:
1) underground somewhere, catalyzed by clay crystals
2) at the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean either beneath the ocean floor in the pores of volcanic basalt there or around the “black smoker” ocean vents leaking gases and organic material into the ocean, or
3) on Mars, whence it might have traveled to Earth when some large comet or asteroid impacted the planet blasting pieces of rock off of the planet and all the way to Earth.
He also discusses the idea of “Panspermia” – that life may have been transferred to Earth via comets or similar bodies from outside the solar system. Conversely, he looks at experiments involving what looks like replicating molecules that are simpler than DNA.
January 18, 2022
Paul Davies uses scientific knowledge to conjecture about how life got started on Earth. Although there are no real conclusions, he does put forth some interesting hypotheses. I must admit that at times my eyes were glazing over the information and my brain desperately wanted to take a rest from some of the text but I plowed through. The later chapters of the book were quite fascinating.
Did life start deep in the ocean near thermal vents? Did it start elsewhere in the universe and come to Earth hitching a ride on a meteor? Perhaps we will never know but Davies explains how different scenarios could have been the catalyst for life on our planet. He also explains about how different evolutionary trails would lead to several conclusions - we are either alone in the vast universe or there is other life out there and, if there is, is it sentient?
While reading this book I was struck by how long it must have taken for life to get to where it is today and even though the timeline presented looks like an inordinate amount of time it still seemed too brief for all that had to happen.
One little item that did rather bother me was that Davies makes it clear that he does not believe in a higher being but at several junctures readily admits that scientists cannot figure out how some of the steps in the evolution of life came about or how certain processes started at all. Hmm...
Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. I think I will take a different view as to where it all started.
Did life start deep in the ocean near thermal vents? Did it start elsewhere in the universe and come to Earth hitching a ride on a meteor? Perhaps we will never know but Davies explains how different scenarios could have been the catalyst for life on our planet. He also explains about how different evolutionary trails would lead to several conclusions - we are either alone in the vast universe or there is other life out there and, if there is, is it sentient?
While reading this book I was struck by how long it must have taken for life to get to where it is today and even though the timeline presented looks like an inordinate amount of time it still seemed too brief for all that had to happen.
One little item that did rather bother me was that Davies makes it clear that he does not believe in a higher being but at several junctures readily admits that scientists cannot figure out how some of the steps in the evolution of life came about or how certain processes started at all. Hmm...
Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. I think I will take a different view as to where it all started.
November 10, 2018
A roller coaster dealing with the question of how life may have arisen from matter. Up and down exploring the incredible complexity of even the simplest of life forms and the paths chemistry would have to take to arrive there. That juxtaposed with the huge number of opportunities for even a random event that could arrive at rudimentary life. Ending with the highly unlikely prospect of Darwinian purposeless evolution ever coming up with an intelligent species remotely like us. 20 years since written; would there was a sequel.
September 22, 2021
My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.
July 28, 2019
Praticamente introvabile in italiano, è probabilmente il libro scientifico più interessante che abbia mai letto. Tratta dell'origine biologica della vita, spiegando in modo chiaro e abbastanza semplice le varie ipotesi sull'argomento, anche meno conosciute rispetto al tanto acclamato brodo primordiale.
July 6, 2023
I read this near the end of a biology binge, and I think I was exhausted of the subject. It didn't leave much of an impact and I can't remember anything about the book 11 years later, writing this review.
June 4, 2017
A truely very good book which deals with the question of the origin of life and the intertwining problems of physics , chemistry and biology !
June 20, 2013
Davies writes about the origin of life ("biogenesis"). In the preface he says that he cannot answer that question without first discussing life. "What, exactly, is it?" he asks. In probing that question, Davies acknowledges that "a definition of life [is] a notoriously difficult problem." While many who look at that question focus on "the chemistry of life," Davies believes that life comes not from "chemistry as such" but from "its informational properties; a living organism is a complex information-processing system."
I don't understand how Davies believes he is making a new argument about the nature of life or how, even, he makes advances in what Darwin put forward. That life takes information from the outside world and incorporates it inside itself over evolutionary time is in a way the definition of adaptation. But adaptation involves an information EXCHANGE with the world and Davies misses one-half of that equation. He has the information coming from the outside and going into the life form, as if the latter is a passive participant in all of this. But a life form is active in applying the information that is relevant to survival and reproduction TO the world. It's first in the sequence. A life form applies its own information onto the world, which may or may not fit it, and the world "acts" back by telling the life form how it needs to adjust to survive. In this way, a transformation occurs in which new information is formed about the world. In other words, there are three sources of information that are involved in this exchange with the world: action, reaction, and transformation.
How this exchange moves from body chemistry to information is not clear, but it does seem essential to what the author is after. Davies goes into some detail describing the chemical workings of the DNA molecule, focusing on the matching up of base pairs, which he refers to as geometry, but he does not discuss how a chemical molecule (a) knows what is relevant in the outside world, (b) mechanically draws that information into itself, (c) takes that now internalized information and stores it in some form of memory, and (d) uses that information to promote survival and reproduction. We know that life has this information processing capacity and we know that there's a chemical basis for it since our bodies are collections of molecules. What is needed is the linkage between the two and this Davies does not really discuss. More on that in a minute.
The second half of the book gets into some exciting discussion about the origins of life, and this is the stronger part of the book. Rather than dividing life into plants and animals, Davies says there are three life divisions and, sequence wise, the Archaea came first, followed by Bacteria and then the Eucarya that contains plants and animals. With the Archaea (3.5-3.9 billion years ago), Davies moves the origin of life from the surface (e.g., Darwin's soupy pond theory) to the thermal vents under the sea or to the deep underground. From here, Davies also describes the possibility that life's origins come from space where organic chemicals essential to life are abundant.
I am neither clear about what Davies thinks about life's space origin nor how his argument about life as "information" relates to life's start deep underground or from space. Davies does clearly state his argument that chemistry follows deterministic, non-random laws and life's essence cannot have forced such chemical processes aside to arrive at a genetic code that overrides these processes. "Life succeeds precisely because it evades chemical imperatives," he writes, adding that "...normal physical laws alone can't crank out life to order." Something more must account for our information processing capacity, but here Davies goes vague, suggesting a "new type of physical law," with some non-convincing discussion of self-organization and complexity theory along the lines of Stuart Kauffman. In short, Davies discredits life's origin as the product of chemical self-assemblage in the precise right way necessary for information processing, but it's not at all clear what alternative theory he has in mind.
More problematic, Davies argues against such a "fortuitous coming together" happening elsewhere in the universe. He says that despite the vastness of the cosmos, any argument about statistical probability of life such as ours occuring elsewhere "won't wash." "Though the universe is big, if life formed solely by random agitation in a molecular junkyard, there is scant chance it has happened twice," he writes. "If there is only one planet in the universe with life, it has to be ours!" he states. There's nothing inherently wrong with such an "Earth exceptionalism" argument, but it seems to be a fairer statement to make that the cosmos is just too big a place to say that life only exists here.
I don't understand how Davies believes he is making a new argument about the nature of life or how, even, he makes advances in what Darwin put forward. That life takes information from the outside world and incorporates it inside itself over evolutionary time is in a way the definition of adaptation. But adaptation involves an information EXCHANGE with the world and Davies misses one-half of that equation. He has the information coming from the outside and going into the life form, as if the latter is a passive participant in all of this. But a life form is active in applying the information that is relevant to survival and reproduction TO the world. It's first in the sequence. A life form applies its own information onto the world, which may or may not fit it, and the world "acts" back by telling the life form how it needs to adjust to survive. In this way, a transformation occurs in which new information is formed about the world. In other words, there are three sources of information that are involved in this exchange with the world: action, reaction, and transformation.
How this exchange moves from body chemistry to information is not clear, but it does seem essential to what the author is after. Davies goes into some detail describing the chemical workings of the DNA molecule, focusing on the matching up of base pairs, which he refers to as geometry, but he does not discuss how a chemical molecule (a) knows what is relevant in the outside world, (b) mechanically draws that information into itself, (c) takes that now internalized information and stores it in some form of memory, and (d) uses that information to promote survival and reproduction. We know that life has this information processing capacity and we know that there's a chemical basis for it since our bodies are collections of molecules. What is needed is the linkage between the two and this Davies does not really discuss. More on that in a minute.
The second half of the book gets into some exciting discussion about the origins of life, and this is the stronger part of the book. Rather than dividing life into plants and animals, Davies says there are three life divisions and, sequence wise, the Archaea came first, followed by Bacteria and then the Eucarya that contains plants and animals. With the Archaea (3.5-3.9 billion years ago), Davies moves the origin of life from the surface (e.g., Darwin's soupy pond theory) to the thermal vents under the sea or to the deep underground. From here, Davies also describes the possibility that life's origins come from space where organic chemicals essential to life are abundant.
I am neither clear about what Davies thinks about life's space origin nor how his argument about life as "information" relates to life's start deep underground or from space. Davies does clearly state his argument that chemistry follows deterministic, non-random laws and life's essence cannot have forced such chemical processes aside to arrive at a genetic code that overrides these processes. "Life succeeds precisely because it evades chemical imperatives," he writes, adding that "...normal physical laws alone can't crank out life to order." Something more must account for our information processing capacity, but here Davies goes vague, suggesting a "new type of physical law," with some non-convincing discussion of self-organization and complexity theory along the lines of Stuart Kauffman. In short, Davies discredits life's origin as the product of chemical self-assemblage in the precise right way necessary for information processing, but it's not at all clear what alternative theory he has in mind.
More problematic, Davies argues against such a "fortuitous coming together" happening elsewhere in the universe. He says that despite the vastness of the cosmos, any argument about statistical probability of life such as ours occuring elsewhere "won't wash." "Though the universe is big, if life formed solely by random agitation in a molecular junkyard, there is scant chance it has happened twice," he writes. "If there is only one planet in the universe with life, it has to be ours!" he states. There's nothing inherently wrong with such an "Earth exceptionalism" argument, but it seems to be a fairer statement to make that the cosmos is just too big a place to say that life only exists here.
May 11, 2013
An interesting book looking at the very origins of life on earth and explaining the way microbes and bacteria work and how they live in the most extreme of environments. There is a lot on the second law of thermodynamics and how it relates to biological entities. There is a lot on DNA and RNA and the way that these can be made from amino acids.
He considers the possibility of life having existing on Mars millions of years ago, and the possibilities that microbes could have been carried from one planet to the other after meteor strikes.
Some of the science was a bit beyond me, but the majority was clear.
He considers the possibility of life having existing on Mars millions of years ago, and the possibilities that microbes could have been carried from one planet to the other after meteor strikes.
Some of the science was a bit beyond me, but the majority was clear.
February 24, 2014
‘The Fifth Miracle’ is a book about the search for the Origin of Life written by a theoretical physicist. Since a lot of the science was kind of complicated I had to read between the lines a lot but still what a great read. Paul Davies’ ideas are pretty incredible not to mention provocative but he explains his thoughts so well that they become believable too; and then he’ll say something like, “but I don’t think it happened that way.” Funny. By the end of his book he’s raised a lot more possibilities and questions than he has answered about where and how life might have begun; and even, “What is life anyway?”
September 23, 2016
This is an exceptional book. Paul Davies eludes to finding the meaning and purpose of life by bringing together little pieces of evidence present all around us. Especially absorbing is the fact that he connects many different fields of study i.e. science, math, physics, sociology, art and theology to some extent to bring out the otherwise hidden information. In the process, he has demonstrated that it is not just the information content but also the context is important in developing holistic understanding of life. This must be by far his best book in a series that started with "God and The New Physics".
February 9, 2016
"The 5th miracle" just fed (in contrast to satiating) my interest in how on Earth (pun probably intended) life came to being in the first place (pun intended). Personally I would have liked a deeper biochemical component, just to be sure how much more it has to say on the very very first steps of life. On the other hand I fully understand that Davies exactly wanted to steer the focus of explanation away from the conventional biochemical realm.
December 28, 2022
This book has everything a science book should have. The author has presented everything with so much clarity. Took ministeps to explain even the most complex topics and brought it down to a level where a layman can understand. I liked the book way too much mostly because it talked about cosmos, made me change my perception about a lot of things, left me wondering with some amazing facts. Good read!
April 9, 2008
How unlikely is the actual beginning of life. While Davies never advocates deism (or theism for that matter) one is left with a profound sense of wonder on the origin of life. It really is a miracle. I think that the Universe is somehow predisposed to life though some underlying principle that we've yet to fully comprehend. If it isn't then the chances of life elsewhere are very slim.
June 22, 2016
Interesting and enjoyable, easy to follow. Not his best, I probably over-rated it because I love his writing so much. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of his commitment to any particular theory....are we alone? or part of a masterplan? I think that Davies' best work is whe he's dealing with his own discipline, physics/cosmology.
October 20, 2009
An extensive review of all the current hypotheses of the origin of biological life as well as an examination of the reasons why, with our current level of knowledge, we are unlikely to be able to discover an answer in the near future.
Excellent book with its only drawback its inability to offer a likely answer but that is not the author's fault.
Excellent book with its only drawback its inability to offer a likely answer but that is not the author's fault.
August 27, 2009
Another masterpiece for those who contemplate further than their own back yard or even the planet. How can we know who we are without knowing from where we came? This is the force of this book.
I learned from this that we are unique in our connection to everything. And it is all backed by solid science.
I learned from this that we are unique in our connection to everything. And it is all backed by solid science.
September 21, 2014
An interesting book on biogenesis. I wanted to like this more but the author seems to somewhat misrepresent some positions with which he is opposed, and it feels to me as if he is sometimes demolishing straw men. All in all, however, I think he is pretty even handed, with mostly fair treatments of the relevant theories.
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