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Article: Books: Science - You don't have to be provocative, mad or a genius - but it helps A pet elk, a pigeon problem and the Pope - the world of the Big Bang theory isn't all about dull facts and figures, but brilliant lateral thinking. Scarlett Thomas explains all
- Article from:
- The Independent on Sunday (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 24, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 The Independent on Sunday. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Big Bang
By Simon Singh
FOURTH ESTATE pounds 20
pounds 18 (P&P FREE) 08700 798 897
George Gamow, the celebrated eccentric physicist (and author of
the wonderful Mr Tompkins books), once offered the mischievous
speculation that God must live 9.5 light years from Earth. This was
clear, he argued, because of the Kanto earthquake that hit Japan in
1923. This event was surely the result of prayers offered in 1904
during the Russo-Japanese war, when churches across Russia urged
people to pray for the destruction of Japan. Presumably these prayers
had travelled at the speed of light and the delay indicated the
distance that they'd travelled to reach God.
Although offered in jest, this comment, ...