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jdintr's review against another edition
The Grand Design is an authoritative look at Science's evolving understanding of the Universe--and the mystery at its center the authors identify as "God." While the exposition is good (one of the best descriptions of the warping of space-time and Feynman's theories I've found), I felt their conclusion was unsatisfying. M-theory--String Theory plus 1 dimension--may have fewer infinities and dead ends, but I didn't catch the definitive "magic bullet" that proves it, unless I'm willing to adopt the connections to a "Game of Life" computer simulation.
yuusasih's review against another edition
4.0
Tendensi saya untuk baca buku pindah-pindah yang membuat saya menelantarkan buku ini cukup lama. Tapi akhirnya bisa selesai juga.
Well, honestly I do love the way Hawking narated this essay. Penjelasannya mudah dimengerti dan humor yang terselip disana-sini membuat saya tidak bosan membacanya --sama sekali tidak seperti buku teks fisika SMA, percayalah.
Dan saya suka gagasannya mengenai penciptaan semesta yang bottom-up, sejarah yang menentukan alam semesta. It's a nice read.
Well, honestly I do love the way Hawking narated this essay. Penjelasannya mudah dimengerti dan humor yang terselip disana-sini membuat saya tidak bosan membacanya --sama sekali tidak seperti buku teks fisika SMA, percayalah.
Dan saya suka gagasannya mengenai penciptaan semesta yang bottom-up, sejarah yang menentukan alam semesta. It's a nice read.
cyclysm748's review against another edition
5.0
I think people would call this pop science but the concepts are still hard to visualize and understand for my brain. Incredibly interesting though.
jervonyc's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty disappointing screed from the Hawkman; the first half is basically just a quick rehash of Brief History of Time, and the second half is a not particularly illuminating discussion of the current state of M-Theory, which supposedly proves that God didn't need to exist. And then, just like that, the book's over. I didn't learn anything that I didn't kinda already know from other books like this, and the book feels so quick and dashed off, without any of the humor and down-to-earth personality that BHoT had.
ericbuscemi's review against another edition
4.0
Although some of the more complicated theories and scientific explanations mentioned in the book went a bit over my head -- quarks, string theory, m-theory, multiverses, etc. -- I enjoyed reading The Grand Design, as it gave a short history of science and philosophy and its quest to try to explain how the universe came to be and what exactly we are doing here.
It shows how Hawking has continued where great minds like Einstein, Faraday, Newton, Descartes, Galileo, Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato and Socrates tread before him, albeit now with complicated math and physics that belie what our senses would tell us.
It definitely succeeded in making me think, and kept me interested throughout with examples of how these theories could be applied to a layperson such as myself. My personal favorite was the explanation for how the fish's model of reality is just as valid as our own, despite the fish living in a round fishbowl that would warp everything it sees.
There seems to be a lot of concern as to what Hawking wrote about God in the book, although to me I fail to see the controversy, since all he said was that he did not believe the universe necessitated a higher power -- "[the universe] does not require the intervention of some supernatural being or god" -- not say that science has disproved the existence of God.
It shows how Hawking has continued where great minds like Einstein, Faraday, Newton, Descartes, Galileo, Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato and Socrates tread before him, albeit now with complicated math and physics that belie what our senses would tell us.
It definitely succeeded in making me think, and kept me interested throughout with examples of how these theories could be applied to a layperson such as myself. My personal favorite was the explanation for how the fish's model of reality is just as valid as our own, despite the fish living in a round fishbowl that would warp everything it sees.
There seems to be a lot of concern as to what Hawking wrote about God in the book, although to me I fail to see the controversy, since all he said was that he did not believe the universe necessitated a higher power -- "[the universe] does not require the intervention of some supernatural being or god" -- not say that science has disproved the existence of God.
csreilly64's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not the best candidate to review this book. My understanding of physics is weak and I'm trying to learn.
reemzo's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I wish the English terms were included in the chapters as it would’ve eased understanding. Overall, very interesting and captivating read. Would’ve been a much better book if more science was included and less discussions against God. Religion is being brought up too much for someone who doesn’t want the readers to believe that a higher power is behind all of this.
thomasthereader's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
This was a good beginners guide to the universe. I knew most of this stuff from astronomy and physics classes, but it did put the information together in a logical order. I would have liked to know more about quantum theory and the Unified Field; and M theory, but it felt like it just scratched the surface. If there are good books about any of those three you’d recommend, please let me know.
girish_gupta's review against another edition
5.0
Mind-blowing.
Simple, thought provoking, insightful.
For the people interested in physics and space, a must read.
Simple, thought provoking, insightful.
For the people interested in physics and space, a must read.