Are Universes Thicker than Blackberries?

Last Book Read - Are Universes Thicker than Blackberries?  - Martin Gardner

In this book the prolific Martin Gardner offers a collection of writings on science, mathematics, religion, literature and the paranormal. This work is much less cohesive than his previous books. It's really more of a random collection - something like what his blog would be like, I would guess.  The scope of the book is much more general, and the subjects are discussed far too narrowly, resulting in a lack of the dense insights found in Gardner's usual work, hence I have few comments to make.

The title chapter quickly dismisses the possibility of alternate universes, using Occam's razor.  This subject, while begging for further exposition, is never returned to in this book.  Moving through the section on science, one issue I find with Gardner is his view of postmodernism.  Here he refers to the views of postmodernists as "crazy", held by "professors of literature who know almost nothing about science."  I think these remarks show a superficiality, and an examination of Einstein and Heisenberg could reveal the foundations of a postmodern science.  Furthermore, works like The Postmodern Turn show the progress of science in the postmodern age.

Moving on to religion, while discussing false messiahs, Gardner makes some interesting points about liberal christians who take the Second Advent as a symbol of gradual progress in the world, not a literal second coming.  This point is highly relevant to the socio-political controversies of 2010 and something all churches would be wise to consider.

The section on literature mostly deals with very obscure works, many long out-of-print novels, and some poetry, the meaning of which I can't grasp.  The most profound ideas are in terms of one of Gardner's favorite authors - G.K. Chesterton.  While discussing Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, Gardner presents intersting points about the problem of evil.  Natural evil, being less explainable than human evil can only be blamed on God.  This presents a problem for the theist.  Here, Gardner, borrowing from Henry James, points out the difference between life  (as individually experienced) and merely existing. He continues discussing one of his favorite topics, the mysterium tremendum. Illustrated in terms from Chesterton, nature must be viewed "as the back of reality", the front being unobservable to us.  Through horror "we pay for the mysterious gift of free will."

The final section, concerning the paranormal seems out of place in this collection and would probably have been better as a seperate volume.  Although mildly interesting, most of the topics here are too specific to be deeply engrossing.  As a magician and debunker of the paranormal, the most interesting element here is Gardner's analysis of investigating magicians.  He discusses why scientists are the easiest persons to fool - because they think too logically.  The only true investigation of psi activity, Gardner argues, can only be done by another magician.

While an entertaining read, the core of Gardner's thought is much better presented and expounded in works like Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener.