These words will doubtless be seen as controversial by some. I may be accused of creating a god in my own image. I wouldn’t be the first to do this, but I am not doing it as I do not believe in a god. Believers may accuse me of elevating science to the level of religion, while some scientists may accuse me of lowering it to that level, but that is not my aim. The reason I don’t believe in gods is I don’t believe we require them to explain our existence. I know that some people believe in a god even though they don’t accept one is needed to explain our universe. But I adhere to Occam’s razor, preferring the simplest possible explanation. Why believe in something that created us when our existence doesn’t require it?
I know that belief in gods is about faith rather than requirement, and even if I could entirely scientifically explain all the whys and hows of why and how we came to be, there would still be those who believe in higher powers. I can’t, and I don’t want to, change their minds. My aim in writing this book has not been to change anyone’s mind. Instead, it is to explain and to celebrate the achievements of science. I find it rather frustrating that a book on existence must still touch upon non-scientific explanations for our being, but it would be odd for a book on existence not to at least briefly touch on creation myths.
Science is a human invention, but it is not one you need to take on trust. You, like me, can do scientific experiments to test hypotheses to help explain our existence. I argued earlier in the book that we are all scientists at heart, and if this book achieves anything I hope it is that you engage with your inner scientist and join the hordes of scientists who are using humanity’s greatest invention, the scientific method, to answer the most profound question we can ask: why is it that we exist? Intelligent life did arise in our universe, but our existence required a big dose of luck. Enjoy being conscious, for it doesn’t last for long. Three score years and ten is but a blink of an eye in the 13.77 billion years our universe has been around.
Acknowledgements
I have loved researching and writing this book. I have had a huge amount of support and help, both knowingly and unknowingly, over the years from an army of friends and colleagues, and I owe them all a huge debt of thanks. I cannot list them all, but below are those who have been particularly important. First, thanks to my family. In particular, thanks to my wife, Sonya Clegg. Without her support, encouragement and endless conversations about science and existence, this book could not have been written. Thanks, too, to my children, Sophie, Georgia and Luke. Perhaps one day they will read the book in its entirety. Or perhaps not. They have had to listen to me wittering on about science and existence all their lives.
When we got Woofler as a family pet, Sonya, Sophie, Georgia and Luke agreed to regularly walk him. They did for the first week or two. Thanks for not walking him much after that, and thanks to Woofler for needing walks. It was during these walks around the parks of Oxford and Brisbane that I composed much of the prose I wrote down on my return home. I could not have completed this book without being forced away from the keyboard to think.
The first full draft of this book was written during a sabbatical year in Australia, much of it spent at my father-in-law’s farm. Thanks to farmer Col for putting up with the Oxford don sat writing on the veranda, and his friends Eve-Ann Springate and Robert Hudson, who I spent many evenings chatting with. Thanks for the beer and good humour you provided while we sat around the best stove on the planet. Thanks too to Angela, Alex, Ava and Stella for making my year in Australia so enjoyable.
Rebecca Carter, my agent, has been amazing from the day I met her. Thanks for believing in me and in the idea of the book, and trusting that I could deliver it. Thank you also for answering all my questions about publishing, and for finding such a great publisher. Without Rebecca this book would not have seen the light of day.
Penguin Michael Joseph has been fantastic throughout the whole process. Alan Samson has been a wonderful editor. He has provided insightful and thoughtful comments that have improved the text no end, making incomprehensible first drafts of chapters accessible. Alan’s patience, good humour and fabulous editing have made writing this book enjoyable. Dan Bunyard has kept the project on track, moving it seamlessly through each stage of the publishing process. Sarah Day has been a keen-eyed and expert copy-editor and Sukhmani Bhakar has organized the illustrations with supreme efficiency.
Claiborne Hancock and Jessica Case at Pegasus Books bought the rights to publish in the US. Thank you for believing in the book, and for being so wonderfully efficient in designing the US release. Margaret Halton, Terry Wong and Rebecca Sandell at Pew Literary have made securing overseas publication rights very smooth, and I am extremely grateful for all their hard work.
Bryony Blades, Sonya Clegg, Richard Dawkins, Jane Hodgson, John Park, Quentin Painter, Ana Rivero, Rick Stockwell, Tabby Taberer, Tianqi Wang and Andrew Wood all provided insightful comments on drafts of the complete manuscript, while Phil Burrows, Sarah Hilton, Chris Summerfield, Anna Vinton and Wai-Shun Lau have commented on the chapter in areas they research. Their advice and correction of errors are greatly appreciated. Any inaccuracies or misrepresentations that remain are entirely my fault.
I am grateful to numerous friends and colleagues who have helped me become a scientist and thrive. In particular Steve Albon, Charlie Canham, Tim Clutton-Brock, Mick Crawley, John Lawton, Steve Pacala and Josephine Pemberton were inspirational mentors during my graduate and postdoctoral studies. More recently, I have had wonderful and illuminating discussions in Trinidad and Yellowstone with Ron Bassar, Dan MacNulty, David Reznick, Doug Smith, Dan Stahler and Joe Travis. I have also collaborated a lot with my close friends Jean-Michel Gaillard, Pete Hudson and Shripad Tuljapurkar over many years, and I have spent countless enjoyable hours discussing numerous topics with them. Their views on science and the way it is done have helped mould my take on the universe and how it works.
Conversations with Anne Carlson, and then Amanda Niehaus, gave me the belief I could write this book, and I am extremely grateful to both of you for your encouragement. My friends Greg Devine, Djami Djeddour, Dominique Eza, Mike Furlong, Sally Gibbons, Nigel and Gen Griffiths, Sunetra Gupta, Richard Hobbs, Loeske Kruuk, Bob Montgomery, Ian Owens, Rick Paul and Sue Scull are yet to read the book, but have all helped keep me sane and happy at various points over the last thirty-five years. I have had conversations with each on the meaning of existence at some point. Some conversations were more memorable than others, but primarily due to the good food and wine rather than the content.
Lastly, thanks to my parents, Anne and Patrick, and my sister, Fiona. Without their encouragement and support over the last fifty-five years I could not have pursued a career as a scientist nor written this book. Sometimes my parents have not been entirely certain what it is I do for a living, so perhaps this book provides some answers. I have been doing quite a bit of thinking. I know they won’t agree with all I have written, but I do hope this book makes them proud, and I look forward to discussing life, the universe and everything with them for many years to come.