Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Mr. g by Alan Lightman

Mr g, a supreme being who lives in the Void with his Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, decides to create a universe. He begins by creating time, space, matter and three laws to govern them. Sitting back to enjoy the resulting developments, he sees that they are good. However, his pride of accomplishment is disrupted by the disturbing visits of a previously unknown being, Belhor. Belhor stops by periodically to argue philosophical points such as: free will, good and evil, suffering, predestination and immortality. Although he finds Belhor annoying, Mr g enjoys these debates. So, they continue their discussions for eons until the ever-changing universe expands to the point that it can no longer support life.  Mr g is a well-written book which makes physics and philosophy enjoyable to the layman and may be of particular interest to those interested in the recently discovered “god particle.”