The Cosmic Landscape is a mess. I bought this book because the title and first few sections seemed to indicate that an eminent theoretical physicist, Leonard Susskind, was presenting a scientific argument against the Christian evangelical boondoggle called "intelligent design." In reality, the work is intended to promote the Anthropic Principle - a "principle that requires the laws of nature to be consistent with the existence of intelligent life" - as being a necessary result of the Landscape of String Theory.
Susskind's argument for the Anthropic Principle is fairly non-existent. What the book primarily consists of are demonstrations of how precarious the existence of life is against the array of possible universes. Could we exist if the cosmological constant was different? Or if quantum-level particles had different properties? The answer is confidently shown to be "no." There is little for the non-physicist to criticize here, and the book is a good primer on the Standard Model and String Theory. However, Susskind's ideas about the Anthropic Principle do not follow from his demonstrations.
Susskind views the potential existence of intelligent life as the organizing principle by which the laws of nature came to be. Note that this is different from saying that "because the laws of nature are what they are, it was possible for intelligent life to develop." It is also a different project from rejecting theories about the laws of nature that do not allow for intelligent life. To use the tired cliche, Susskind is putting the cart before the horse.
I might recommend this book to someone who wants a basic outline of modern theoretical physics. Be forewarned that this is dense material and Susskind tends to refer to material long ahead or behind the present material. Susskind's personal biases are also rampant. All but the most masochistic philosophers of science should look elsewhere as there is little of value to be had here.
Originally posted @ LibraryThing on June 5th, 2006.
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