Stephen Hawking (1942–2018)

When I was young, the Christmas presents I coveted the most were a Junior Chemistry Set and a telescope. I read as many books on science as I could. Unfortunately, my math skills resulted in little more than adding two-digit numbers. There was nearly zero chance of a career in science. Despite this disappointment, I have never given up reading about the latest discoveries in the cosmos and in physics. Of course, Stephen Hawking became my hero when I read his first book, A Brief History of show more Time. While my eyes glazed over at the math, I still could not get enough. Stephen died this year despite a crippling disease known as ALS. He was given only a few years to live when he was in his early 20s. He lived far longer than predicted. Now, he has a new book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions.

There is something about the “voice” of his writing that is not condescending, but relaxing, gentle, and mesmerizing. The book begins with an introduction and brief biography, which crowned Hawking as “the most renowned scientist since Einstein, known both for his groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology and for his mischievous sense of humor,” according to the dust jacket. He even appeared as himself on several episodes of the hysterically funny comedy, The Big-Bang Theory.

Hawking starts off with “Why We Must Ask the Big Questions.” He wrote, “People have always wanted answers to the big questions. Where did we come from? How did the universe begin? What is the meaning and design behind it all? Is there anyone out there? The creation accounts of the past now seem less relevant and credible. They have been replaced with a variety of what can only be called superstitions, ranging from New Age to Star Trek. But real science can be far stranger than science fiction, and much more satisfying” (3).

He starts off boldly with a question as controversial as it is fascinating: IS THERE A GOD? Stephen wrote, “Science is increasingly answering questions that used to be the province of religion. Religion was an early attempt to answer the questions we all ask: why are we here, where did we come from? Long ago, the answer was always the same: gods made everything. The world was a scary place, so even people as tough as the Vikings believed in supernatural beings to make sense of natural of phenomena like lighting, storms or eclipses. Nowadays, science provides better and more consistent answers, but people will always ling to religion, because it gives comfort, and they do not trust or understand science” (25).

Of course, Stephen raises another more than interesting question. He wrote, “I would like to speculate a little on the development of life in the universe, and in particular on the development of intelligent life. I shall take this to include the human race, even though much of its behavior throughout history has been pretty stupid and not calculated to aid the survival of the species” (67).

Hawking does not pull any punches. His manner is matter of fact, and to the point. Some other mind-bending questions he poses and thoroughly disposes of include: “How Did It All Begin?” “Can we predict the future?” “What is inside a black hole?” and one that worries me, “Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?”

These and other questions are challenging to scientists and non-scientists alike. Stephen Hawking will be missed, but, like Einstein, his work has opened new secrets of the universe, and it may take decades to prove some his hypotheses. His latest book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, is undoubtedly a challenge. But it is well worth the effort to learn something about the universe. 5 stars

--Chiron, 10/30/18 show less

Well-written and concise discussion of some nifty theoretical physics including black holes, the big bang, time, and the search for a unified theory of everything. Hawking explains complex science well (I've come away with a satisfying, if non-working*, understanding of most of the concepts he discusses), and his funky sense of humor helps make this a fun read.

*By which I mean that I grasp the concepts in general terms but would have a hard time teaching them to anyone else and certainly show more could not draw conclusions from or otherwise use my knowledge. show less

A light read, insofar as popular science books can be. However, this is less from any feat of writing (i.e. making difficult concepts accessible to the general reader) and more from the book's indulgence of Hawking's celebrity. In contrast to the enduringly astute bestseller A Brief History of Time, this posthumous offering – with the publisher's hand sometimes artlessly evident – is in thrall more to Stephen Hawking's status as a popular icon than to his genius achievements as a show more scientist.

We find this tonal dissonance right from the off, with Eddie Redmayne (the actor who played him in The Theory of Everything) providing a dorky and valueless Foreword. It is a mere pandering to celebrity, with Redmayne even talking about how he and Professor Hawking share the same star sign. The contrast to the more substantial Introduction – by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Kip Thorne – is marked.

As for the main body of text itself, Hawking is not at his best. Maybe it is because I read A Brief History of Time fairly recently (only a week or so before Hawking died, in fact), but I found that Brief Answers pales in comparison when it comes to the actual science. There's no in-depth discussion of his ideas, not even new initiatives like Breakthrough Starshot or his views on LIGO that he has not discussed in print before. He mentions these, but scarcely goes further than that. He mentions nuclear fusion as a potential saviour for mankind's energy problems, but doesn't explain how or why or what his wider thoughts on this topic might be. We get two or three sentences at most.

The truth is that Hawking's writing here is more polemical than suits him. Even leaving aside constant shallow digs at Brexit and Trump, the book is speculative ('should we colonise space?', 'are there aliens out there?', 'will artificial intelligence prove a threat?', etc.). His responses are grounded in science, of course, and it is interesting to get into Hawking's mind, but they are not answers that provide much in the way of new insight. In contrast to the excellent A Brief History of Time, the popular science market would not be all that poorer had Brief Answers not been published.

As a fairly keen reader of popular science, particularly astrophysics, I craved more substance. I craved expansion and insight from this, our last opportunity to engage with one of the finest scientific minds of the past century. Brief Answers is instead a sort of 'greatest hits' package, an interesting but obvious overview culled from other sources. It might draw new listeners to the band, so to speak, but if you actually want the best of Hawking you are much better off reading an updated edition of A Brief History of Time. show less

I adore Stephen Hawking. He has a way of taking the very complex and explaining it so anyone can understand. That is a rare gift. Like many, I am fascinated by the existence of our world, galaxy and universe and the ultimate question of why everything is the way it is, or at least the way we perceive it. This series of lectures is informative, humourous and witty. It stretches the brain and makes you smile at the same time. I loved it!