The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy [Paperback]

A. Intellectually one of the most pleasing and thorough explanations of existing theoretical physics I have read

B. The alternative explanation offered is both ingenious, and VERY hard to logically refute; and as such is a brilliant thought experiment; sure to raise questions in the most trenchantly held belief system.

C. Well written and clearly presented; and relying exclusively on sound logical concepts, which seem utterly bizzare at first, but which have a startling appeal over time

All in all, a thoroughly entertaining read; and it will become a vital place to start for anybody seriously looking for somwhere to insert a crowbar into conventional scientific thought. I laughed so hard my glasses fell off more than once; with sheer delight!. Best read since Flatlands!

Every amateur scientist or science enthusiast knows the premise: science cannot explain the fundamental "why" or "wherefore" of any of our physics. The models work for us - as well as the concept of a flat earth worked for the ancient world - but there are gaps - often big gaps - in our ability to fully explain exactly how everything fits together and why there are inconsistencies in our models.

McCutcheon's theory is thought-provoking and his explanations are - for the most part - clear and often entertaining. The one thing that plays in my mind as I read his book is that the final, true, correct Final Theory will probably make our science look like the flat-earth, geo-centric model of the universe by comparison. We have built our science on assumptions upon assumptions that work well enough, but ultimately fail to incorporate all our observations. Who knows if McCutcheon's theory is correct or better? One of the short-comings as I read further is that - there simply is no way to prove his theory. What he does well is explain many fundamental physical phenomena in terms of his theory, but this is finally not a proof.

His theory is simple where our science - already built on a structure of assumptions - struggles toware ever more complicated and bizarre theories and models. He could be right or he could be on the right track or he could be 180 degrees off.

There are four things I believe just because they seem plain: first, there is a fundamental structure to the universe (which we cannot see today), second, we will discover it someday, third, it will be as clear and obvious as the concept that the sun is a star together with all the other stars and it is the center of our solar system, and lastly, this fundamental structure will be as different from today's science as today's science is from the idea that the earth is a giant turtle and the universe revolves around it.

I recommend the book for several reasons: it is thoughtful, it is entertaining, and if McCutcheon is right, then you will be among the first to embrace or reject his theory. It could be better written, but it could be far far worse; his style is very readable.

McCutcheon's theory simply put is that matter is rapidly expanding - his theory is The Expansion Theory - and this expansion accounts for observations that are attributed to Forces and energy. One criticism I have is that he doesn't (or hasn't yet in my reading) explain the source or reason for this expansion except to suggest that it comes from another fundamentally incomprehensible dimension, like a three-dimensional object intersecting with Flatland. The constant and rapid expansion accounts for gravity, among other things. According to McCutcheon, we feel weight because the earth is pushing us up like an elevator.

So naturally I am now concerned about flying off into space if (when?) the expansion suddenly stops.

It's a good book about a novel new idea, but a little steeply priced, Amazon.com.

I am really interested to read the opinions of some of today's well-know names in physics.

We find ourselves here again in 21st century physics where our observations, various real and "thought" experiments are producing increasingly anomalous behaviors, requiring the existence of dark matter and energies, multi-dimensional strings, mysterious quantum effects, and hosts of other concepts that only a handful of super-scientists can fully comprehend. We need to think outside the box and follow our intuitive belief that there are simpler models to explain these phenomena. McCutcheon's "The Final Theory" does just that.

McCutcheon presents a model that simplifies all four fundamental forces to a single force, "expansion," and in doing so explains many of the anomalies we observe in our current theories and answering the age-old question of the nature of gravity. The concepts are easy to understand even for the layperson with no scientific or mathematical training. That said, McCutcheon does leave some questions not well answered.

The most glaring example and cornerstone of his theory is the explanation of celestial orbits. He uses just two small pictures to diagram how his theory would explain them. Both diagrams do not produce a logically coherent model of the orbit, which he readily admits, but then he effectively thrusts the understanding back to reader, claiming we need to not think so "Newtonian" in order to visualize it. If McCutcheon has in fact visualized how his theory explains the orbit, he should better represent it on paper.

McCutcheon's theory does remove the various fundamental forces he claims violate the Laws of Conservation but in doing so he has created a single expansion force (or geometry as he calls it) that still has no explanation as to why it occurs. It is simpler to understand than our current accepted theories but none-the-less is mysterious in its own right.

Finally, the writing style is somewhat of a rant at times, with single paragraphs consuming entire pages or more, and statements (usually how a current theory doesn't work) redundantly repeated over and over without adding any new information. If you are a skimmer, you will be able to finish the book in a couple evenings. Otherwise you may become frustrated at times asking yourself, "He mentioned that already several times in the last few pages, when do we get to his point?"

This is a must-read for anyone who believes we are flying into an esoteric abyss of complexity with our current theories. We need more thinking like this if we are to make the next leap in understanding physical reality.

Lee Cascio