Brief Answers to the Big Questions

Stephen Hawking believed that it is possible to explain the basic ideas behind the discoveries in modern science in simple plain English, without equations, so that the general public, the majority of whom have meager education in the sciences, can comprehend. These include the esoteric fields of modern physics and astrophysics, The success of his bestselling book “A Brief History of Time”, seems to lend support to this belief. It is, however, questionable how many who bought the book actually finish reading it and how many would admit that certain portions of the book are simply difficult to understand, despite the remarkable effort of the author.What is indisputable is the clear, lucid, and occasionally humorous style which makes “A Brief History of Time” so attractive. He brought the same style to “Brief Answers to Big Questions”, his last book, published the year he died. There are 10 big questions chosen by Stephen. In my opinion, despite Stephen’s superlative skills in explaining ideas without equations, the answers to several big questions are difficult to comprehend to those readers who did not major in physics, including this reviewer who has a PhD in electrical engineering. These are:- What is inside a black hole?- Can we predict the future?- Is time travel possible?The answers to the other big questions, which are among the biggest and most intriguing (Is there a God? Will we survive on Earth? Should we colonize space?) are easy to read and comprehensible. They contain keen observations, thoughtful warnings, humorous utterances, as well as serious advice to humankind. Below are examples in each category:Keen Observations:1..“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.”2. In January 2018, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the doomsday clock to two minutes to midnight. Hawking felt compelled to point out that such an alarming warning was prompted at least in part by the election of Donald Trump.3. “We spend a great deal of time studying history, which, let’s face it, is mostly the history of stupidity”.Serious Warnings:1. “But we need to be wary of answering back to messages from intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe until we have developed a bit further”.2. “Meeting a more advanced civilization, at our present stage, might be a bit like the original inhabitants of America meeting Columbus – and I don’t think they thought they were better off for it”.Humorous Utterances:1. “I was born exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo, and I would like to think that this coincidence has had a bearing on how my scientific life has turned out. However, I estimate that about 200,000 other babies were also born that day. I don’t know whether any of them were later interested in astronomy”.2. “Yet the discovery of the New World made a profound difference to the Old. Just think, we wouldn’t have had the Big Mac or KFC”.Fans of science fiction movies will be glad to know that Stephen was one of them. Star Trek, Interstellar, 2001 A Space Odessey, Back to the Future, and even Terminator were mentioned in the book. When there was a connection between a movie and a topic discussed in the book, Stephen would point it out. For example, he mentioned that the concept of alternative histories was central to Back to the Future.Let me finish with two serious advice to humankind by Stephen Hawking and his answer to the biggest question “Is there a God?”1. “Our future is a race between the growing power of our technology and the wisdom with which we use it. Let’s make sure that wisdom wins”.2. “Be brave, be curious, be determined, overcome the odds. It can be done”3. “We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that there is no God. I think belief in an afterlife is just wishful thinking…We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful.”Coming from a severely disabled person living on borrowed time, these statements are nothing short of remarkable. .Coming from a seriously disabled person living on borrowed time, the second advice is nothing short of remarkable.

Hawking delves into deep questions without talking down to the layperson. I found this book captivating and fascinating!

Not five stars because I do not agree with Hawking’s scientific view of spirituality. However, the book on its own merit is well worth the read.

First off, if you have no preconceived notions about Creationism, Evolution, and you are open minded to another possibility, proven through scientific theory and proven facts. and more importantly, if you are curious as to where we came from. Then this is the book for you. I have no college background but Professor Hawking explains it all in very down to earth LAYMAN'S LANGUAGE. Here was a man that fate and life took away almost all his abilities. All he had left was his mind and his eyesight. Technology gave him the means to communicate with all of us and with his amazing power of thought and reasoning he explained so many things with the help of others and their scientific research. Steven we miss you and there there will never be another like you. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us who will read and truly understand what you are trying to teach & show us. This is an amazing book and a must read for the true open minded curious person.

I loved this book! Any fan of Hawking's work should enjoy it, for sure. I really liked the "pondering" and "musing" pace and feel. I'd recommend it to anyone.@Diane... Whenever I encounter something to which I feel the need to respond, I’m usually pretty good at keeping my emotions at bay, and I sincerely try to (and, usually do) keep my cool, put myself into the other person’s shoes and think about my rebuttals logically. Over the years I’ve always felt a little guilty because, even though I’m amicable and nice most of the time, I just feel bad when I make someone else feel bad, regardless of how correct I might feel that I am. After seeing your comment, however, I really have to say congratulations… you’ve convinced me that I really shouldn’t be so hard on myself.Pathetic? I guess our definitions are a tad juxtaposed. I've always taken that word to mean "causing or evoking pity, sympathetic sadness, or sorrow." It baffles me that you can throw the book at another human being, (one who had PLENTY of reasons to wallow in self-pity, mind you, but didn't) simply for disagreeing with you, and do so under the guise of "defending yourself," all the while implying a whine that these disagreements are an "attack" on your religion. To me, THAT is the self-pity party that fits more in line with the definition of "pathetic," wouldn't you agree? Scientific discoveries are no more responsible for attacking religion, or having a motive or agenda to remove your belief in God, than learning about gravity is responsible for children eventually coming to the conclusion that reindeer can’t fly. I’m sorry, Virginia, but we lied. I don’t know if you just simply can’t grasp how it appears to the outside world, but your comment does nothing more than make you look like a petulant toddler in a tantrum because you can’t have any ice cream, and THEN taking all of the ice cream and flushing it down the toilet to make sure no one else can have any. If the weather man conveys some data that it is probably going to rain tomorrow, do you start a revolution to rise up against the hidden agenda of meteorology to wipe the concept of picnics off the face of the Earth? Of course not, that would be ridiculous, right?Stephen Hawking was a brilliant man. He contributed so much to his field of science and had a genuine concern for the progression and well-being of humanity as a whole. I would honestly love to see your list of contributions toward bettering mankind. I have the sneaking suspicion that it would be just like mine, "pathetic." Have you actually read Hawking's work? Have you ever actually read any physics book? This is a problem in so many other areas of life and society, where someone knows “just enough to be dangerous.” You are a perfect example of this idiom in action, and your comment is perfectly indicative of someone learning what 2+2 is and then feeling they can successfully argue the elements of General or Special Relativity.You can’t berate atheists, or any nonbeliever for that matter, for being intelligent or knowledgeable about any topic, when you refuse to educate yourself with information that is freely available to, and very easily obtained by, anyone. Hearing someone whine that “you atheist’s just think that you’re sooooo smart,” gets old, really quickly. The real irony of it is that, compared to you, that statement admittedly holds some water. But as a general rule, there is nothing that you couldn’t understand yourself if you would quite simply take the time to learn about it. Instead of pointing and laughing at these ridiculous nonbelievers running around and learning stuff, I’d suggest that you push yourself way out of your comfort zone sometime and actually give it a try. You might surprise yourself.Look, all condescension aside, I know you have your beliefs. I know, from your perspective, Hawking is an expression of the things you feel are chipping away the the moral fabric of this world. You unknowingly got an honorary induction to my short list today, and with all of the misinformation I’ve seen lately, you just happened to be the lucky straw that broke the camel’s back, and for that, I’m sorry. I’m not going to change any of this, because I can’t lie and say I didn’t mean what I said, because I did. But, believe it or not, I do care about you and your position. And even though I’m an atheist, I very much want to live in a world where people can have faith and conviction about anything they want without having to prove it to the entire flippin' planet in order to feel justified in feeling the way they do, and more importantly, not condemn others for thinking differently. I’m not convinced that God exists, but if you are, then right on. I mean, I get it man, I used to be a Christian myself. You shouldn’t feel threatened by the world because it seems like it’s trying to take something away from you that you know full well cannot ever be taken from you. Let’s try to get this ship turned around and start acting like the amazing creatures we really are by helping each other move forward, instead of tearing each other down and holding up progress for the sake of making a point.The man who wrote this book did his part, now let's get out there and start doing ours. We can do this.I loved this book. Rest in peace, Stephen.

Great book which explains complex subjects in easy terminology

Em suas últimas publicações enquanto vivo, Stephen Hawking responde todas as grandes questões científicas em aberto da atualidade com sua didática singular, raramente recorrendo a argumentos técnicos, deixando a leitura ainda mais leve. Eis um livro pequeno para capturar em duas ou três tardes as grandes ideias de um dos maiores cientistas do nosso tempo que rejeitava o rótulo de gênio. Destaque para a homenagem póstuma da sua esposa no final do livro, assaz emocionante.

Si buscas respuestas de física cuántica es el libro Ideal pero también muchas de esas respuestas aplican a la vida de un simple mortal

Brief Answers to the Big Questions is an inspiring and insightful book that showcases Stephen Hawking's brilliance and ability to make complex ideas accessible to everyone. Hawking tackles some of humanity’s biggest questions—ranging from the future of artificial intelligence to the existence of God—with clarity, wit, and a deep sense of curiosity.What makes this book so impactful is not just the depth of Hawking’s knowledge, but his unwavering optimism for the future. He challenges us to think about the universe in new ways, while always keeping a focus on the importance of human progress and collaboration. His views on science, technology, and society are still incredibly relevant today, and his words serve as a reminder of how much we can achieve if we keep pushing the boundaries of what we know.For anyone who is curious about the big questions in life or who found inspiration in Hawking’s work, this book is a must-read. It’s both a tribute to his legacy and a call to keep exploring the unknown. Hawking was a true inspiration, and this book reflects that beautifully.

Well written, engaging. A genius capable of explaining big and complicated topics with simplicity!