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A review by mxunsmiley
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
The combined humility and scope of A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking gives lay people an enormous view of the intricacies and apparent contradictions of the universe in a little volume, opening avenues for further reading and study. Hawking invokes the same analogies and examples which ease the reader into concepts that are most likely quite beyond their capacity to fully comprehend, as he even alludes to in the conclusion. Whether it’s the astronaut tragically blown apart within a black hole or a reference to science fiction tropes like time travel, he uses these examples well; repetition of definitions helps a lot, too, like the parameters of the uncertainty principle and imaginary numbers.
Underneath his aura of expertise, Mr. Hawking welcomes error and revision of seemingly unquestionable theories in light of new evidence and observations. It’s riveting to read the trajectory of the history of what we know as “time”—from its changing definition to the changing attitudes toward it as it concerns our experience of the world, cementing its (sometimes unfortunately confounding) malleability.
He gives credit where it’s due, and illuminates various problems with a variety of widely accepted theories, at least where lay people are concerned. The background of a variety of figures from Albert Einstein to Isaac Newton—by the way, I was completely unaware of the feud between him and Leibniz, and it was incredible to read the absolute pettiness of the former in the concluding pages—also help to further shine light on how the world seems to be upended constantly even when convinced that we are nearing “certainty”. The purpose and meaning of scientific theories, the true definition of a “theory”, brings a sense of futility, at the same time as curiosity and thrill.
His writing can veer toward cheesiness in its attempts at humor, but it’s all good-natured enthusiasm that I appreciate. He’s at his most intriguing when he takes up ideas of God or a creator in general and their ontological and scientific caveats. It’s impossible to disregard such notions when the debate concerns such mindbogglingly “perfect” conditions for sentient life at the “beginning of time”, assuming there is one. The marriage of science and philosophy is all too pertinent here (and brings to mind Hawking’s disparaging comments on philosophy in modern times).
This book was written in 1988, so I’m sure quite a few things have changed since its publication; however, as an introduction to cosmology, it does well to reveal what an extraordinary man Mr. Hawking was, with his dedication to making such expansive concepts accessible to the public, his academic work notwithstanding.
Underneath his aura of expertise, Mr. Hawking welcomes error and revision of seemingly unquestionable theories in light of new evidence and observations. It’s riveting to read the trajectory of the history of what we know as “time”—from its changing definition to the changing attitudes toward it as it concerns our experience of the world, cementing its (sometimes unfortunately confounding) malleability.
He gives credit where it’s due, and illuminates various problems with a variety of widely accepted theories, at least where lay people are concerned. The background of a variety of figures from Albert Einstein to Isaac Newton—by the way, I was completely unaware of the feud between him and Leibniz, and it was incredible to read the absolute pettiness of the former in the concluding pages—also help to further shine light on how the world seems to be upended constantly even when convinced that we are nearing “certainty”. The purpose and meaning of scientific theories, the true definition of a “theory”, brings a sense of futility, at the same time as curiosity and thrill.
His writing can veer toward cheesiness in its attempts at humor, but it’s all good-natured enthusiasm that I appreciate. He’s at his most intriguing when he takes up ideas of God or a creator in general and their ontological and scientific caveats. It’s impossible to disregard such notions when the debate concerns such mindbogglingly “perfect” conditions for sentient life at the “beginning of time”, assuming there is one. The marriage of science and philosophy is all too pertinent here (and brings to mind Hawking’s disparaging comments on philosophy in modern times).
This book was written in 1988, so I’m sure quite a few things have changed since its publication; however, as an introduction to cosmology, it does well to reveal what an extraordinary man Mr. Hawking was, with his dedication to making such expansive concepts accessible to the public, his academic work notwithstanding.