Review: History of Cosmological Theories

Reviewed Work(s): Cosmology by H. Bondi

Review by: G. Gamow
Source: The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jul., 1952), p. 65
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20618
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differences between legislative and judicial opinion on theory, continuous creation of matter in space secures
many vital phases of the entire subject. the permanence of the universe from minus eternity
In the introduction, Roscoe Pound, formerly dean to plus eternity, so that the question of its age does not
of the Harvard law faculty, renews his customary plea arise at all.
for (a) scientific lawmaking, and (b) the creation of a This is followed by a short discussion of the cosmo-
ministry of justice, with broad powers and competent logical ideas of Eddington, Dirac, and Jordan, based
personnel, to deal objectively with such problems as on the analysis of universal constants and their possible
sex. variability in time.
The book is well organized, clearly written, and Unfortunately this very excellent book suffers from a
thoroughly documented. A check list of leading books defect caused by the rapidity of scientific progress as
and articles on the various topics, together with the compared with the slow process of book production:
author's frank and courageous proposals for change, it has become out of date at publication. In fact, more
plus his familiarity with the sociological and research than a year ago the revision of astronomical data per-
aspects of the problem, make the monograph an in- taining to the measurement of intergalactic distances
valuable handbook for law-enforcement officers, prose- led to the conclusion that these distances are actually
cutors, judges, social workers, and penologists. Every about twice as large as previously believed, thus raising
thoughtful legislator should be familiar with it. It the value of the astronomically estimated age of the
seems to this reviewer, also, that high school principals, universe from 1.8 to 3.6 billion years. This fact radically
deans of boys, and deans of girls should be motivated, changes the evaluation of the relative merits of different
if not required, to peruse it. Its implications for the cosmologies as given in the book.
counseling and character education of the American G. GAMOW
adolescent are tremendous. Department of Physics
ARTHUR L. BEELEY The George Washington University
The Graduate School of Social Work
University of Utah
THE EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE
HISTORY OF COSMOLOGICAL THEORIES
Cultural Sciences: Their Origin and Development.
Cosmology. H. Bondi. 179 pp. $4.50. Cambridge Uni-Florian Znaniecki. viii + 438 pp. $6.00. University
versity Press, New York. 1952. of Illinois Press, Urbana. 1952.
T HIS very carefully written book describes the T HIS is the fifteenth book to be published by Florian
l development and the present status of various Znaniecki, who is probably best known in this coun-
theories attempting to understand our universe as a try for his part in the collaboration with the late W. I.
whole. After a brief survey of the aims and fundamental Thomas on The Polish Peasant in Europe and America.
principles of cosmological studies (Part I), the author Like many others, Dr. Znaniecki is sensitive about
devotes considerable space to the detailed presentation the fact that social scientists are spurned as spurious not
of all information that may be of significance for the only by legislators and governmental administrators, but
formulation of cosmological theories (Part II). by many of their colleagues in the natural sciences as
The third, and the most important, part of the book well. Comte, the founder of modern sociology, dreamed
contains a mathematical discussion of existing cosmo- of a world that would be ruled by social scientists ac-
logical theories. It begins with the theory of the expand- cording to ethical values to be empirically determined as
ing universe, which can be derived in almost identical the best for humanity. Dr. Znaniecki, while disclaiming
form both from the classical Newtonian theory of uni- that his ambitions for social scientists (or "cultural
versal gravity, and from the more advanced Einsteinian scientists," as he calls them), are as audacious as were
general theory of relativity. It is stated that the main those of Comte, nevertheless confesses to the hope that
defect of that theory lies in a large discrepancy be- eventually
tween the age of the universe as derived from the
. . .the solution of all important human problems will
observation of the red shift in distant galaxies (1.8 bil-
be entrusted to cultural scientists, and that sociologists
lion years) and the age of the earth as estimated by will assume the task of ascertaining how innovations of
geological methods (3.6 billion years.) specialists in various realms of culture (including the
The next section is devoted to cosmology based on realms of natural sciences and of techniques) can be
Milne's kinematic relativity, which introduces the idea cooperatively used by social groups of practical agents
of kinematic and dynamic time scales. It is found that for the best advantage of humanity.
Milne's cosmology is also in difficulty because of the The book is heralded by the writer of its dust-jacket
above-mentioned discrepancy between astronomical and blurb as one to inspire "renewed hope . . . that man
geological age estimates.
may yet save himself from the negative aspect of the
The author indicates that the only cosmology whichAtomic Age . . . it is a book of promise for man-
is free from that difficulty is the theory of the steady kind." Actually, only a few pages at the conclusion of
state universe developed by himself, T. Gold, and F. the book are written in this vein; the rest is devoted to
Hoyle several years ago. In fact, according to thatoutlining the history of the social sciences. Dr. Znaniecki

July 195295

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