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A review by odbasford
The Grand Design by Leonard Mlodinow, Stephen Hawking
5.0
I honestly thought I understood general relativity, quantum mechanics, the Uncertainty Principle, the multiverse, etc... but reading this not only revealed my previous ignorance, it did a decent job of bringing me up to speed! Each chapter starts with a historic perspective on a certain principle of modern physics (which is good, because historically speaking everyone started out simplistic and wrong), and then slowly builds through solid explanations and diagrams until you get a basic grasp on modern understanding of the issue, from which Hawking extends to a logical conclusion. Two small critiques:
- I think Hawking watches 24/7 video feeds of random Londoners. Throughout the books he makes somewhat painful attempts at "everyman" humor that, although funny, somehow miss the mark and make him seam detached.
- WTF is up with the last two pages!? I had to read the end multiple times, and it really lacked the clear train of logic presented in other parts of the book. Was this rushed to the press, and had to be finished in a hurry? A bit of a shame since it promises to be the real pay-off of the book.
Despite the awkward ending, a wonderful science non-fiction.
- I think Hawking watches 24/7 video feeds of random Londoners. Throughout the books he makes somewhat painful attempts at "everyman" humor that, although funny, somehow miss the mark and make him seam detached.
- WTF is up with the last two pages!? I had to read the end multiple times, and it really lacked the clear train of logic presented in other parts of the book. Was this rushed to the press, and had to be finished in a hurry? A bit of a shame since it promises to be the real pay-off of the book.
Despite the awkward ending, a wonderful science non-fiction.