Cosmic Legacy: Space, Time, and the Human Mind

The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, Winter 2003
"this truly remarkable book ... is a concise but graphic introduction about space and man's place in the Universe and Time"

Mensa Bulletin, November/December 2003
"take a quick tour of the Universe from the beginning of creation to present time and beyond"

Star-Bulletin, Bookshelf, August 22, 2004
"Everything about everything, placed in a logical scientific, historical and cultural continuum"

Book Description
Cosmic Legacy takes the reader on an extraordinary journey through the evolving Universe, defines our place within it, and what the future may hold. The book follows a chronological sequence, opening with the birth of our Universe when matter, energy, and space-time came into existence. After a brief discussion of the history of cosmological science, recent theories are investigated, including the classic Big Bang, Inflationary, Quantum Cosmology, and String Theories. Numerous additional topics and phenomena are discussed, including the Standard Model of Particle Physics, quantum physics, theories of time, dark matter, dark energy, neutron stars, black holes, wormholes, etc. The first chapter proceeds with the evolution of our Universe and the coalescence of matter into the galaxies, stars and planets, leading to the formation of our solar system and Earth. The second chapter begins with the development of life from the materials provided by the Universe. The principles of biochemistry, biogenesis, and biological evolution are followed to explain this exciting phenomenon. In addition, the possibility of extraterrestrial life (within our own solar system and also the Universe) is examined. After primitive life was established on Earth, its evolutionary path to modern humans is traced, followed by the ancient human migrations across the globe with subsequent development of racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. The third chapter explores the human mind, the anatomy and physiology of the human brain, and their relevance in theories of how consciousness, intelligence, and behavior are derived. The product (and consequences) of these basic qualities of the human mind are examined: society, philosophy, science, religion, and technology. The fourth chapter examines some issues of importance to the future of humanity (e.g., future evolution, technology, civilization, overpopulation, disease, pollution, and climate), and various scenarios of human extinction and ways to avoid (or at least delay) undesirable consequences. The chapter ends with theories of the ultimate fate of our Earth, our galaxy, and the Universe. The fifth chapter is a summary of the highlights of the previous chapters, providing some perspective of humanity’s place within the context of the Universe and examining our concepts of reality. Cosmic Legacy is a hard cover edition with 390 pages and illustrated with numerous photographs, drawings, graphs, and tables. The book also includes an appendix, glossary, bibliography and extensive index.

About the Author
Prior to entering medicine, Greg Reinking, received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering at Texas Tech University, conducted original thesis research with the Molecular Physics group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and studied medical physics at U.C. Berkeley. Dr. Reinking received his doctorate in medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine followed by training in surgery and radiology, and recent completion of Harvard University fellowships with the Diagnostic Neuroradiology and Interventional Neuroradiology groups at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Reinking was recently named to Texas Tech University Electrical Engineering's Honorary Engineering Academy for his accomplishments and contributions. He is a member of the Friends of Hawaii Astronomy affiliated with the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy and currently practices in Honolulu, HI. Dr. Reinking has authored numerous journal articles in such fields as physics and medicine.

Excerpted from Cosmic Legacy: Space, Time, and the Human Mind by Greg F. Reinking. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Comprehending the origins of life, matter, and the Universe itself has been an elusive subject of human curiosity since time immemorial. As the tools and methods of the quest to explain the Universe’s birth have become more sophisticated, the dense veil of mystery that cloaks the events of that nascent period is slowly lifting. Recent endeavors to decipher this monumental instant are focusing the attention of investigators on the fundamental principles governing the architecture of space, matter, force, and time. Indeed, these presumably discrete elements of nature that we experience in our existence, alternatively, may ultimately represent permutations of a single medium through a multidimensional construct. It is generally believed that the nature of our Universe, including its eventual fate, was determined at a fiery birth billions of years ago. The formation of the matter of which everything is composed occurred within just an infinitesimal part of the first second of that colossal inferno. In fact, the very laws of physics that govern our natural environment were established in those early moments. Predestinarians argue that all events—including our thoughts and intentions—are the direct and inevitable consequence of the unfolding of creation. Such believers contend that once matter and its forces (which can be mathematically described) came into existence, they were destined to dutifully follow predictable patterns throughout time, rendering the future purely determined by events of the past and present. However, the elegance of that philosophy is shaken when quantum effects—properties on the smallest scales—are considered. The desire to uncover the mysteries of the birth of our Universe has challenged humanity for millennia. In ancient times theories were rooted in forms of philosophical, religious, or quasi-scientific speculation. Ancient Greek philosophers proposed the Universe began in a formless state of elements, called chaos, which somehow achieved order to form the cosmos. The transition was a role delegated to various characters in mythology. However, centuries of philosophers attempted vainly to explain the process through material principles rather than the whims of deities. In the mid-seventeenth century, James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, consulted biblical references to pinpoint the Earth’s creation at 6:00 P.M. on October 22, 4004 B.C. Thousands of years of philosophical reasoning and, more recently, scientific and mathematical investigations have not been able to satisfactorily describe the exact nature of the Universe’s origin. In fact, the moment the Universe began is considered indefinable by some investigators as they argue that time itself may not have existed in the conventional sense. The task of retracing the footsteps to the Universe’s earliest moments was the realm of pure speculation until only recently. How is it possible to even consider such a mystical journey? Advances in physics and applications of new technologies are bringing us ever closer to the beginning. Strangely enough, the capability to actually "see" the early Universe, and watch it age, exists.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

Cosmic Legacy is a hard cover edition with 390 pages and illustrated with numerous photographs, drawings, graphs, and tables. The book also includes an appendix, glossary, bibliography and extensive index.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices