Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of physicians. In October 1959, at the age of 17, he began his university education at University College, Oxford, where he received a first-class BA degree in physics. In October 1962, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where, in March 1966, he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology. In 1963, at age 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease that gradually, over decades, paralysed him. After the loss of his speech, he communicated through a speech-generating device initially through use of a handheld switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. Hawking's scientific works included a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Initially, Hawking radiation was controversial. By the late 1970s, and following the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a major breakthrough in theoretical physics. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he discussed his theories and cosmology in general. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. He died in 2018 at the age of 76, having lived more than 50 years following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease.
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a popular-science book on cosmology (the study of the universe) by British physicist Stephen Hawking. It was first published in 1988.
Hawking wrote the book for nonspecialist readers with no prior knowledge of scientific theories.
These observations have confirmed many of Professor Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book, including the recent discoveries of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which probed back in time to within 300,000 years of the universe's beginning and revealed wrinkles in the fabric of space-time that he had projected.
Eager to bring to his original text the new knowledge revealed by these observations, as well as his own recent research, Professor Hawking has prepared a new introduction to the book, written an entirely new chapter on wormholes and time travel, and updated the chapters throughout.
There's nothing like the contemplation of the universe for making one feel simultaneously awe struck and incredibly insignificant.
Kind of random, but I loved Hawking's frequent use of the exclamation mark. For example::
"However, when an antiparticle and a particle meet, they annihilate each other. So if you meet your antiself, don't shake hands - you would both vanish in a great flash of light!" and "The supermassive black hole has a star orbiting it at about 2 percent the speed of light, faster than the average speed of an electron orbiting the nucleus in an atom!"
His pure excitement regarding the subject matter and specific points being made is almost palpable. I wanted to yell "Preach it, Mr. Hawking! Science is awesome!"
I also learned, much to my surprise, that the world apparently doesn't revolve around me.
5/5 Y s茅 que se me acumulan las rese帽as de nuevo 鈥�. Vamos con esta pues:
Este libro fue publicado por Stephen Hawking y Leonard Mlodinow en 2005 y es un resumen corregido y depurado, incluyendo por ejemplo los avances ligados a la teor铆a de cuerdas, de su exitosa y popular "Historia del tiempo", escrita por Stephen Hawking en 1988, un a帽o antes de ser galardonado con el Premio Pr铆ncipe de Asturias de la Concordia en 1989, y que disfrut茅 como muchos de vosotros. En 2010 public贸 "El gran dise帽o", en la misma l铆nea que la que estoy rese帽ando ahora y que le铆 el pasado a帽o, aunque me pareci贸 un poco inferior a esta.
Para los que le谩is una edici贸n digital, como es mi caso, os recomiendo la versi贸n en epub por la calidad de los gr谩ficos, sobre todo si dispon茅is de un soporte que os permita verlos a todo color. Por supuesto, siempre queda abierta la opci贸n f铆sica ilustrada.
En realidad, si compar谩is con "Historia del tiempo", ver茅is que hay muchas coincidencias, pero se aprecia el esfuerzo en resumir y corregir los pasajes que resultaban m谩s tediosos y poco rigurosos en aqu茅lla y, en cualquier caso, es un disfrute volver a leer esta obra, que ofrece de una manera bastante divulgativa los 煤ltimos avances de la f铆sica y la astronom铆a en la b煤squeda de una teor铆a unificada del universo o, como se busca en la "Gu铆a del autoestopista gal谩ctico", de una respuesta a la pregunta 煤ltima sobre la vida, el universo y todo. Precisamente, de este libro he obtenido una posible respuesta a ese 42 que conoc茅is los lectores de la Gu铆a, como comparaci贸n de las fuerzas electromagn茅tica y gravitatoria.
Y es que las 5 estrellas, y mi mayor admiraci贸n, se conceden por la capacidad de ofrecer al gran p煤blico un ensayo divulgativo, cuyo sustrato cient铆fico es complicad铆simo y, aunque en ocasiones de manera un poco tediosa, se ofrece de manera que puede seguirse y comprenderse en gran parte. Por supuesto, mi respeto y admiraci贸n por el gran Stephen Hawking, ya desaparecido, van tambi茅n aparejadas.
Para terminar, os ofrezco la cita con la que empieza el pen煤ltimo cap铆tulo, dedicado a la b煤squeda de una teor铆a unificadora (y que coincide exactamente con la aparecida en "Historia del tiempo"), y que recuerda, salvando obviamente las distancias, a la b煤squeda del Santo Grial en la literatura art煤rica:
"... ser铆a muy dif铆cil construir en un solo paso una teor铆a unificada completa de todo lo que ocurre en el universo. En cambio, hemos progresado descubriendo teor铆as parciales que describen un dominio limitado de fen贸menos y despreciando otros efectos o aproxim谩ndolos mediante algunos par谩metros num茅ricos ... La b煤squeda de tal teor铆a se conoce como unificaci贸n de la f铆sica".
En resumen, totalmente recomendable para los que teng谩is inquietudes astron贸micas.
Stephen Hawking es un f铆sico te贸rico cuya hip贸tesis sobre el tiempo, los agujeros negros y el espacio han constituido la forma en que actualmente pensamos en el universo. Su brillantez logra un dramatismo, debido a que su mente habita un cuerpo que se ha consumido por varios a帽os a causa de una esclerosis lateral amiotr贸fica, la cual ha sido una enfermedad que lo ha dejado impedido para moverse o hablar, excepto un par de dedos que los utiliza con su computadora para relacionarse con el mundo.
Hawking, uno de los f铆sicos te贸ricos m谩s brillantes de la historia, escribi贸 el cl谩sico moderno 鈥淯na breve historia del tiempo鈥� para ayudar a los no cient铆ficos a comprender las preguntas fundamentales de la f铆sica y de nuestra existencia: 驴de d贸nde viene el universo? 驴C贸mo y por qu茅 empez贸? 驴Va a llegar a su fin, y si es as铆, 驴c贸mo?
Hawking intenta hacer frente a estas preguntas (y donde podr铆amos buscar respuestas) con un m铆nimo de jerga t茅cnica. Entre los temas cubiertos con gracia son la gravedad, los agujeros negros, el Big Bang, la naturaleza del tiempo y la b煤squeda de los f铆sicos para una gran teor铆a unificadora.
En la mente de Dios
Esta es la ciencia profunda; los conceptos son tan grandes (o tan peque帽os) que causan v茅rtigo mental, mientras se lee, uno no puede dejar de maravillarse con la capacidad de Hawking para sintetizar este tema dif铆cil para las personas no acostumbradas a pensar en cosas como dimensiones alternas. El viaje, sin duda, vale la pena recorrerlo porque, como dice Hawking, la recompensa de entender el universo puede ser una visi贸n de 鈥淟a mente de Dios鈥�.
Aconsejo a todas aquellas personas que como yo tienen una especial curiosidad por conocer y entender el universo de parte de la mente m谩s brillante de nuestro tiempo.
Tremendo libro para quienes somos aficionados a la astronom铆a, tuvieron que pasar mas de 50 a帽os para encontrar una explicaci贸n sencilla que permitiera a cualquier persona comprender los misterios del universo.
En muy entretenido y te atrapa aunque con el pasar de las paginas se va poniendo un poco mas compilado, pero no te preocupes si no entiendes todo es natural ya que es mucha informaci贸n valiosa.
Cuando Einstein escribi贸 la teor铆a de la relatividad la entend铆a el y otra persona mas, imaginen cuando por fin sea posible explicar la teor铆a del todo que unifica la relatividad, la gravedad y la cu谩ntica, quiz谩s deber谩 pasar medio siglo para que alguien escriba un libro y lo pueda explicar con palabras sencillas para los aficionados a esta ciencia!
A must-have volume for readers of popular science!
The title says it all and is probably the best summary of this exciting and entirely accessible popular physics book. A BRIEFER HISTORY OF TIME is both an update on and a more succinct, briefer version of Hawking's best-selling original work, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. In a whirlwind review of man's scientific exploration of the working of the universe, Hawking and his co-author Mlodinow summarize our knowledge of the evolution of the universe from its earliest beginnings to today and bring a curious reader up to date on the state of the theories that, for now at least, best describe such complex, mystifying cosmological material as dark matter, black holes, worm holes, the difficulties of combining quantum mechanics and general relativity into a single mathematical formulation, string theory and even the possibility, however remote, of time travel.
It's simply a given that someone who is interested in physics would find such material interesting and exciting. So it remains only to say that the achievement in writing such a fine book is to make the material accessible to mere mortal readers whose intellect simply can't compete with the likes of Stephen Hawking. With a wonderful combination of text and enlightening accompanying illustrations, A BRIEFER HISTORY OF TIME easily clears that standard and deserves a place in any interested reader's popular science library.
In 'A Briefer History of Time,' the authors have been successful in making good on their promise to deliver a simplified version of original book, to provide the general reader with some understanding of the universe.
In this well laid out book, reader is guided through the major scientific theories that are in existence today. Relativity, Curved Space, and Quantum Gravity are given much weight and the strengths and weaknesses of each are presented with very clear examples.
Though a longtime student of physics might find the content to be simple, it is certainly the excellent for the non-scientist, who I believe are the intended audience of this book.
"A complete, consistent, unified theory is the only first step: out goal is a complete understanding of the events around us, and of our own existence."
This is a very good book about moddern day physics. It answers a lot of the questions of the universe in a clear and concise fassion, so the laiman has no problem understanding. I highly recommend this book.
An exceptionally good, concise look at physics for the layman. The explanations were just super. Simple, yet not stupidly so for me with my high school & Sunday supplement level of education on the subject. There are some tough concepts to understand. For instance, wave-particle duality is pretty weird, so be prepared to stop the book & think about what he says at times. Maybe even repeat his explanation. I found most became fairly clear, even time travel, but maybe not string theory. That still seems a bit far out to me. (I've read that it might not be the correct path after all & now they're just ditching time completely since it might not exist at some levels.) And, I'm still not sold on such huge quantities of dark matter.
He did a great job debunking determinism & many of the older theories of the universe, but gently. He showed how they were stepping stones towards refining what we know today & things that we're still struggling to understand. He points out how the educational & social systems suffer from a lot of lag which I struggled with in school due to the contradictions with newer theories. My teachers made little sense in distinguishing between them & they never showed the growth nearly as well. He really is a genius to be able to dumb down such a complex subject so well. He looks forward to the day when we all understand the refinements of Einstein's equations & their consequences well enough that they're second nature. If everyone were to read & understand this book, we would.
Best of all, he makes it clear that many of the theories I was taught might be wrong in extremes, but are perfectly acceptable in my observable, living universe, so I don't feel like a complete idiot. Time varies with the observer, but the fractions of a second difference that my GPS uses are of intellectual interest only. I know the the rough basics of how the gadget works, so it isn't magic & that's all that really matters. Whew!
I was a bit surprised at his references to god since I thought he was an atheist. Apparently this was his way to explain in terms that he thought most people would understand. I found this on the web: Hawking now explained: "What I meant by 'we would know the mind of God' is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God. Which there isn't. I'm an atheist." He added: "Religion believes in miracles, but these aren't compatible with science." That makes more sense.
After listening to this, I'm glad I read it rather than . I don't need any more detail & doubt I could integrate an equation any more since I've had no need of anything beyond logic, simple algebra, & Euclidean geometry since I got out of school. (I haven't even bothered with trig since I find geometric constructions quicker & more accurate for woodworking.) Use it or lose it. I lost it & don't really miss it, but it also means I'm not going to be one of those ferreting out the secrets of the universe we are still struggling with. They're interesting, but of no practical value to me and, as he points out, science has progressed so much that no one can understand it all any more. So, this was a nice glance at a very interesting, if odd area.
If you're thinking of reading A Brief History of Time, read this first. At least if you're a total civilian, which I am.
My son and I read this together. We did have to hit the Internet pretty hard a few times to get clarification on some critical points; but all in all, this is a well-written, accessible introduction to some pretty heady stuff.
I would recommend having the basics of atomic structure and the life cycles of stars under your belt before giving this a go. Also, it really helped my son and me to resign ourselves to not being able to visualize certain concepts. Wave-particle duality is just plain weird, and I think it helps to do the best you can and ultimately just go with it, rather than struggling to fit this contradictory idea into a conventional kind of "making sense."
And now: on to The Illustrated A Brief History of Time (expanded and updated edition)!
Tambi茅n pueden ver mis comentarios en mi canal de youtube
La estructura del libro es la de una cronolog铆a. Va desde los primeros descubrimientos sobre nuestro universo hasta las teor铆as m谩s complejas, es por ello que, inicia remont谩ndose a las ideas de Arist贸teles y Ptolomeo que instauraron el modelo inicial de nuestro sistema solar con la tierra en el centro, y que luego fue refutado por Cop茅rnico que pens贸 en el sol como el cuerpo central. Esta teor铆a helioc茅ntrica no fue tomada en consideraci贸n hasta que Galileo y Kepler la apoyaron y confirmaron un siglo despu茅s.
As铆, a partir de peque帽os hitos en la historia de los descubrimientos de la f铆sica, saltando a trav茅s de grandes extensiones de tiempo hasta que uno nuevo complementa o mejora el anterior, van apareciendo cient铆ficos cuyos aportes han sido claves para el actual desarrollo de la f铆sica moderna. Entre ellos, Isaac Newton que con la publicaci贸n de Principia Mathematica sienta las bases de la mec谩nica cl谩sica la cual se pod铆a aplicar tanto al comportamiento de los planetas en el espacio como de los objetos sobre la Tierra.
Luego de Newton, el siguiente hito lo marca Albert Einstein quien a trav茅s de su poderosa imaginaci贸n logr贸 revolucionar la f铆sica al proponer que el tiempo no es absoluto, y que cada persona tiene un tiempo espec铆fico que est谩 铆ntimamente ligado al espacio, as铆 naci贸 la relatividad especial, la cual a pesar de la impresi贸n que gener贸 ten铆a algunas discrepancias que Einstein finalmente enmend贸 diez a帽os despu茅s con la definitiva Relatividad general.
Al llegar a este punto, el lector ya tiene una base de conocimiento suficiente para comprender conceptos m谩s complejos, as铆 los autores se adentran en explicaciones sobre la curvatura del espacio tiempo, la expansi贸n del universo, el efecto de la gravedad sobre el paso del tiempo, agujeros negros, viajes al futuro y al pasado. Todos explicados de la forma m谩s simple posible pero siempre desde la rigurosidad matem谩tica y f铆sica, donde n煤meros y formulas aparecen inevitablemente, pero solo para explicar lo que las palabras no pueden.
Y luego de la relatividad general, cuando se pensaba que el universo era de tipo determinista, es decir, que si llegaramos a entender sus leyes se podr铆an predecir los actos de todo, incluyendo el de los hombres, aparece la mec谩nica cu谩ntica que afirma que no podemos predecir un acontecimiento futuro. A trav茅s de la instauraci贸n del principio de incertidumbre se postula que no podemos determinar el comportamiento futuro de una part铆cula si primero no se conoce su condici贸n inicial, la cual es imposible de definir. Pero s铆 se pueden discernir todos los posibles recorridos de la part铆cula desde un punto A hacia uno B y la probabilidad de cu谩l puede ser m谩s recurrente. Aunque no predice un solo resultado certero, nos presenta una gama de posibilidades alternas.
En este punto se afirma que el universo actualmente es explicado mediante dos teor铆as: la relatividad general que define el comportamiento de los objetos macro, desde planetas a simples objetos sobre la tierra como piedras, y la mec谩nica cu谩ntica que explica el comportamiento de part铆culas microsc贸picas, esta 煤ltima es la base de toda la nueva tecnolog铆a que usamos diariamente. A partir de estas dos grandes formas de entender el cosmos, se explica la necesidad de una teor铆a unificada, que logre unir la relatividad general y la mec谩nica cu谩ntica. Para ello, la fuerza gravitatoria, la fuerza electromagn茅tica, la fuerza nuclear d茅bil y la fuerza nuclear fuerte deber铆an poder entenderse bajo una misma teor铆a f铆sica, el problema es que la gravedad es la 煤nica de todas las fuerzas que est谩 regida por una teor铆a que no es cu谩ntica y, por lo tanto, los esfuerzos de los f铆sicos est谩n enfocados en descubrir una teor铆a cu谩ntica de la gravedad. Combinar la relatividad general con el principio de incertidumbre resulta una tarea muy dificultosa porque el vac铆o del espacio no deber铆a estar vac铆o, sino lleno de pares de part铆culas y antipart铆culas, para ello se propuso una soluci贸n, y as铆 naci贸 la supergravedad que se crey贸 hasta hace alg煤n tiempo la mejor soluci贸n para la unificaci贸n. Hasta que se pens贸 de otra manera, y las part铆culas fundamentales ya no se ven como un punto definido en el espacio, sino que al vibrar forman ondas y a partir de ellas cuerdas. Ya no son puntos en el espacio, son cuerdas. Y as铆 naci贸 la actual teor铆a de cuerdas.
Synopsis of a century of science. Not quite the depth I was looking for, following up some Great Courses on related topics, but I think it might be a very good intro to basic astrophysics/cosmology for younger readers or those adults wanting a place to start catching up to a fast-moving field of study.
I really need to learn more about quantum stuff. Much of it came up as a science after my school days, and a lot of pop sci routes around it with brief hand-waving while pursuing more approachable topics.
Wow and wow. I am not by nature a science person. The largely-repressed memories I have of high school chemistry still make me feel a little ill. But this, friends, is more like reading poetry than it is like reading a textbook. I am officially in awe of Stephen Hawking - the man can actually make you feel about subatomic particles and forces of nature. It's nothing short of amazing, really. I don't pretend to understand 99% of what the book discusses beyond an extremely superficial level, but I was moved by the beauty and grandeur Hawking breathes into his subject. Don't be put off, fellow arts majors. This is a phenomenal book.
Not even gonna pretend like I understood half of what I just read. And that's not because this was too dense for the layman. It's because this layman is too dense. However, I did pick up a scrap or two of new knowledge (new for me, of course). It's always nice to correct a little of my errant elementary science.
"Zaman谋n Daha K谋sa Tarihi", "Zaman谋n K谋sa Tarihi" adl谋 kitab谋n daha anla艧谋l谋r 枚zeti gibi d眉艧眉n眉lebilir. Fazladan birka莽 konu ba艧l谋臒谋 eklenmi艧. Kitapta zaman yolculu臒u yapman谋n neden m眉mk眉n olabilece臒i g眉zel anlat谋lm谋艧. Solucan delikleri, zamanda yolculuk, galaksiler aras谋 yolculuk gibi ilgi 莽ekici konulara anla艧谋l谋r cevaplar verilmi艧. Hawking, ge莽mi艧e ve gelece臒e yolculu臒un m眉mk眉n oldu臒unu anlat谋yor; ama hemen ard谋ndan "E臒er ge莽mi艧e yolculuk yapmak m眉mk眉nse, neden gelecekten biri geriye gelip, bunu nas谋l yapt谋臒谋n谋 bize anlatm谋yor?" sorusunu sorarak ge莽mi艧e-gelece臒e yolculuk 艧眉phesini dile getiriyor. 陌yi okumalar...
Once again more accessible designed time travel from original models to the hypothetical future
Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.
Hawking can confidently be described as one of the founding fathers of a modern and reader-friendly approach to writing non-fiction books, whose comprehensible and accessible presentation is at least as important as scientific correctness. At a time when elitist and for lay people, entirely tricky works for the profiling of academic high-flyers had boomed, he began with the development of today unparalleled seeking works. The present volume is the shortened form of the "Short History of Time." Despite the maxim of the focus on better comprehension, this was much more complex and provided with sometimes difficult to understand illustrations. And so far the attempt of a balancing act between the satisfaction of the needs of interested specialists and already familiar with the subjects readers. Besides, less and with a greater focus on intelligibility than in the predecessor, drawings and sketches were selected. With this narrow band, the pendulum is finally turning in the direction of accessibility and will indeed often be cited by aspiring scientists as one of the triggering explosives for their career choices. No less than a quick sweep of the entire evolutionary history of cosmology is presented precisely. From the flat disk to quantum gravity, the main features and theoretical explanatory models are explained vividly. Starting with the ideas of the universe and the emergence of our worldview, which seems from the present point of view, very occult. Such as the three turtles as bearers of the earth and similar oddities, the round of points of view on the nature of scientific theories include, in explanation of relativity theory, the curved space, quantum gravity, big bang, black holes, expanding the universe, wormholes and finally lead to time travel. The complexity increases with the advancement of reading time and discoveries and theories. Despite the illustrative virtuoso skills Hawkins, towards the end due to the lack of additional explanations to improve clarity, the severity of the reading increases again. Which does not come as a surprise with theories that are mainly based on hypotheses and are utterly irreconcilable with our idea of three dimensions in which we live? Why the author, despite his extraordinary scholarly reputation, repeatedly infers references to a reference to God, is puzzling due to the otherwise reliable knowledge transfer. Especially a prominent cult figure like Hawking should understand the importance of maintaining scientific integrity by rigidly separating philosophical and theological themes. Does this just give him an excuse for critique in an otherwise flawless work that is not necessary? Towards the end of the work, the author's enthusiasm for a not yet discovered, possible, all-encompassing theory of the universe becomes noticeable, whose philosophical cornerstones are explained. Even if the idea of bringing all humanity to a higher level after overcoming this hurdle is proof of the noble ideals, but unfortunately also unrealistic dreams of a genius living in an ivory tower.
Nochmals zug盲nglicher gestaltete Zeitreise von Urmodellen bis in die hypothetische Zukunft
Hawking kann getrost als einer der Gr眉nderv盲ter einer modernen und leserfreundlichen Herangehensweise beim Schreiben von Sachb眉chern bezeichnet werden, dem die verst盲ndliche und zug盲ngliche Darstellung mindestens genau so wichtig ist wie die wissenschaftliche Korrektheit. Zu einer Zeit, in der elit盲re und f眉r Laien absolut unverst盲ndliche Werke zur Profilierung von akademischen H枚henfliegern Hochkonjunktur hatten, begann er mit der Erarbeitung bis heute ihresgleichen suchender Werke. Der vorliegende Band ist die nochmals verk眉rzte Form der 鈥濳urzen Geschichte der Zeit鈥�. Diese war trotz der Maxime des Fokus auf bessere Verst盲ndlichkeit wesentlich komplexer und mit mitunter schwer verst盲ndlichen Illustrationen versehen. Und insofern der Versuch eines Spagats zwischen der Befriedigung der Bed眉rfnisse von interessierten Fachunkundigen und bereits mit den Themen vertrauten Lesern. Es wurden zudem weniger und unter gr枚脽erer Einbeziehung des Fokus auf Verst盲ndlichkeit ausgew盲hlte Zeichnungen und Skizzen als im Vorg盲nger ausgew盲hlt. Mit diesem schmalen Band schl盲gt das Pendel endg眉ltig in Richtung der Zug盲nglichkeit aus und wird bestimmt noch h盲ufig von angehenden Wissenschaftlern als einer der ausl枚senden Z眉ndstoffe f眉r ihre Berufswahl genannt werden. Nicht weniger als ein Schnelldurchlauf der gesamten Entwicklungsgeschichte der Kosmologie wird pr盲zise dargestellt. Von der flachen Scheibe bis zur Quantengravitation werden die wesentlichen Eckpunkte und theoretischen Erkl盲rungsmodelle anschaulich erl盲utert. Beginnend mit den Vorstellungen vom Universum und der Entstehung unseres Weltbilds, die vom heutigen Gesichtspunkt aus 眉beraus okkult wirkt. Wie etwa die 3 Schildkr枚ten als Tr盲ger der Erde und 盲hnliche Skurrilit盲ten, zieht sich der Reigen der Anschauungspunkte 眉ber das Wesen wissenschaftlicher Theorien, um in Erkl盲rung von Relativit盲tstheorie, dem gekr眉mmten Raum, Quantengravitation, Urknall, schwarzen L枚chern, expandierendem Universum, Wurml枚chern und schlie脽lich Zeitreisen zu m眉nden. Die Komplexit盲t steigt mit dem Voranschreiten der Lesezeit und den Entdeckungen und Theorien an. Wobei trotz der virtuosen Veranschaulichungskompetenz Hawkins gegen Ende hin aufgrund des Mangels an zus盲tzlichen Erkl盲rungen zur besseren Verst盲ndlichkeit der Schweregrad der Lekt眉re nochmals ansteigt. Was bei gr枚脽tenteils auf Hypothesen fu脽enden und mit unserer Vorstellung von 3 Dimensionen, in denen wir immerhin leben, absolut nicht in Einklang zu bringenden und instinktiv als unm枚glich erachteten Theorien, die aufgrund ihrer scheinbaren Unvereinbarkeit mit den subjektiv gef眉hlt richtigen Naturgesetzen Ungl盲ubigkeit sch眉ren, auch nicht verwunderlich ist. Warum der Autor, seinem au脽erordentlichen wissenschaftlichen Ruf zum Trotz, immer wieder Anspielungen auf einen Gottesbezug einflie脽en l盲sst, ist aufgrund der ansonsten wohl fundierten Wissensvermittlung r盲tselhaft. Gerade einer prominenten Kultfigur wie Hawking sollte die Bedeutung der Wahrung von wissenschaftlicher Seriosit盲t durch rigide Trennung von philosophischen und theologischen Themen klar sein. Liefert er doch gerade dadurch in einem ansonsten einwandfreien Werk einen Vorwand zur Kritik, der wirklich nicht notwendig w盲re. Gegen Ende des Werks wird die Begeisterung des Autors f眉r eine noch nicht gefundene, m枚gliche allfassende Theorie des Universums merklich, deren philosophische Eckpunkte erkl盲rt werden. Auch wenn die Vorstellung, nach 脺berwindung dieser H眉rde die gesamte Menschheit dadurch auf eine h枚here Ebene zu bringen, ein Beleg sowohl f眉r die noblen Ideale, aber leider auch gleichzeitig unrealistischen Tr盲ume eines im Elfenbeinturm lebenden Genies ist.
In an attempt to prove to some recent mega-brainiac friends (not that they asked me) that I was capable of some limited understanding of physics, I picked up this slim volume. The result: my brain hurts, I learned a few things, and I humbly submit that I will stay in the humanities. Although I think I got most of it, I nonetheless find it hard to accept certain things. I need some time-travel pills, as I am queasy. A lot of this material I learned in school or absorbed over time in media (and Star Trek), though the advance of years washed away much of it, but this book was easy enough for a proto-geek like myself (that is like a cro-magnon scientist compared to the smarts of people I know) to have some limited understanding and to enjoy, though there are still sections that are blank in my mind. Did I read them? I am not sure. I think Hawking is just playing with me, like a mega-brain cat swatting around an insignificant cricket. Luckily, I don't think he plans on crushing me. And it was somewhat comforting to understand that, like me, the universe is still expanding. I was disheartened to learn we cannot achieve light-speed. Now, I think I will return to previously scheduled fiction (maybe some fantasy).
"A briefer history of time" is briefer and simpler version of "A brief history of time". However I wish explanations to some theories made sense to me. I still feel unfullfilled about string theory and multi dimensions.
In addition, the language was a bit dry, or so I thought. After Carl Sagan's flowing poetry-like language, I am unimpreed by Stephen Hawking. Still humor wasn't absent. Apart from those, I liked this book. Got good deal of information and understanding of theories. After reading science themed books, especially ones dealing with cosmos, you can't help but feel smaller and meaningless. However it also fuels your curiosity about universe and science. I really like popular science books and how they are great ways to understand science and even got even deeper. 3.5鈽�
I began watching Neil Degrasse Tyson's Cosmos last year and it rekindled my interest in learning about physics and astronomy. It began when I watched Carl Sagan's Cosmos, which I loved. So Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time caught my eye. While I excelled in other subjects, my physics teacher in school didn't exactly make the topic interesting so I was never really good at it. No enthusiasm engendered there. When I learned that there was a Briefer History of Time, I opted for that one because of my relative ignorance in the subject.
In the first chapters, I feared I should have chosen the Brief version instead, because it was kind of 4 Dummies and I didn't need that much explaining to understand it. I was still learning new concepts though, so it kept me going. Later on it gradually gained complexity with every passing chapter, but the preceding chapters prepare you well for them. There's a certain satisfaction in knowing you wouldn't have gotten all of what you're reading if you had skipped the preceding chapters. When you think of how you would share this with other people, you realize that it would take some time because you'd need to explain from beginning to end.
It's not an over-complicated book you have to waddle through and put down every 30 minutes to digest. The concepts are engaging enough and the path to them is easy and smooth. In the end it is not at 4 dummies, you need to have read the preceding chapters to understand it if you're new to the subject. Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow wrote this in a really enthusiastic way so as a reader you will be excited too.
Well, to summarize this, as someone who started out being pretty ignorant in physics, I'm glad I had a pleasant, fun experience out of becoming better informed on a fascinating subject, including topics like Special and General Relativity, Quantum Theory, and String Theory. I recommend it to pretty much anyone over the age of 12 who doesn't know much about these subjects. This is for beginners. If you're thinking of buying this for someone who has already been enthusiastic about this subject for a while, even if they're 13, chances are they won't get so much out of this and you should get a recommendation for the next step of depth.
鈥淩emember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don鈥檛 just give up.鈥�
My third time reading Stephen Hawking and unfortunately not my best experience. This wasn't due to the book being bad but more that for the most part, it is just going over topics and theories that are covered in the two books of his that I have previously read. That said I would still recommend reading this if you have any interest in physics or cosmology.
Popsugar Reading Challenge #24: Un libro sobre un tema que no sabes nada Me encanto este libro, y el tema me gusta bastante (aunque no sepa nada al respecto) Lo que mas me gusta es que Stephen Hawking hiciera tan accesible este tipo de informaci贸n.
Imagine you are a tiny particle, one that lived throughout the universe since the beginning of time. You witnessed the dawn of creation, and within you lie the rules with which the end can be foreseen. You are fully aware of the characteristics of space-time. Relativity & Quantum Mechanics are nothing but infant struggles to identify you and your behavior. You could even be a string! But nobody can say for sure, for only you have that knowledge. You gaze at the human race along the path of time, laughing: They still don't know. But you praise their efforts in their quest to understand it all.
Such is the magnificence of a bewildering world.
Warning: For a beginner in the field of physics, going through this book may not be an easy task. (It was not, for me) In spite of being relatively short, it requires a great deal of concentration. Nevertheless, I can assure you, it is remarkably MIND BLOWING.
A Briefer History of Time does not tell the story of creation, at least not entirely. It outlines, however, the scientific theories, observations, and discoveries by which one can try to understand how things are they way they are. Starting with the basic definition of the Scientific Theory, and ending with the dilemma of String Theories, the authors tackle some interesting topics regarding the nature of space and time, realized by a different set of theories initiated by different scientists; like Newton, Einstein, and Heisenberg, during a long course of human history. They will shed some light on the big bang, the black holes, the forces that govern the universe and its components, worm holes and even time travel!
Despite all that is known up to date, some things still remain a mystery. Don't expect the book to give you a happy, clear ending, for nowadays theories are not able to explain everything, as they are still not completely compatible. The future, however, is a head of us, and we might, one day, find the one grand ultimate theory which can unveil the curtains to the unknown.
To begin, I am not鈥�.scientifically inclined. But I would like to get a better grasp on some scientific principles, so I thought I would give this book a whirl. I didn鈥檛 grasp everything, by any means, but the book is very informative. I found it very interesting to learn how little/much physicists know about the universe, its properties, and the struggle to find natural governing laws that consistently prove true. I feel that I鈥檝e learned a great deal from this book, and will probably read it again, at some future date, to try to absorb a little more. And I鈥檓 grateful that Mr. Hawking took the time to dumb down 鈥淎 Brief History of Time鈥�, because I don鈥檛 know that I鈥檇 ever tackle that one.