The Universe: Past, Present, Future

Alex Steinberg

10 WEEK SERIES: NO CLASS ON FEBRUARY 19
This class is for all who desire to explore together the mysteries and fascinations of our universe. No prior knowledge of astrophysics or mathematics is required. We will have two books from which we will read selected essays: Welcome to the Universe by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Michael A. Strauss and J. Richard Gott and Now: The Physics of Time by Richard A. Muller

Note: There is also a problem book supplement to Welcome to the Universe. We will be using the initial Welcome to the Universe book and not the supplement in this class series. Of course some students may wish to get the problem book on their own.

Together we will get to the bottom of a number of concepts that are widely discussed but poorly understood.

We will ask and look for answers to such questions as:

1. Is our universe finite or infinite?
2. Is it heading for a final state of entropy known as heat death
3. What exactly is meant by entropy?
4. What do we mean when we say two events happen at the same time?
5. Can you go backwards in time?
6. What was before the Big Bang?
7. How does understanding our galaxy, other galaxies, this broad universe, inform our living on our planet Earth?

The facilitator of this class, Alex Steinberg, has previously taught widely including on the philosophy of Hegel and Marx, the dialectics of nature, the implications of dialectics for contemporary science, and contemporary philosophical trends on the left and right inspired by Nietzsche. He recently conducted a walking tour centered on what Leon Trotsky did in his few months living in New York City prior to the Russian Revolution.