From the frontspiece:
The First Cosmology
"The world is not flat, as it appears, but round, like a ball."
"Then what holds the world up?"
"The great god Atlas holds the world on his shoulders."
"But what does Atlas stand on?"
"He stands on a huge island."
"But on what does the island rest?"
"It rests on the back of a giant turtle."
"But what..."
"No need to ask further. It's turtles all the way down!"
"Modern cosmology [and physics] has discovered several new turtles in the chain, for which achievement it is very proud of itself. But what if the world is not held on the shoulders of the great god Atlas?"From the preface:
"Something is wrong with science -- fundamentally wrong. Theories just keep getting stranger and stranger."Van Flandern is an accredited astronomer. He addresses the problems of the "Big Bang" theory and relativity and proposes his own fascinating alternatives.
If you think the conventional wisdom of the "Big Bang", where time and space start from nothing, is a bit bizarre, note that it essentially derives from theology, not science. Van Flandern offers convincing arguments for his theories. If you have any interest in science, cosmology, astronomy, you will find it a fascinating read.
