Mixed Plate
Book Report: A Brief History of Time
(Semi-OT)
A
Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
by Stephen Hawking (1988)
Cruising a White Elephant sale in January (2004), I happened on this
gem. Heard a lot about this book, but never had the opportunity to
read it (or even buy it) until now. All I can say is wow! All those
high-level physics classes that I took nearly 20 years ago (a long
time ago; or short in cosmic terms) never was so succinctly and clearly
explained in layman's terms (i.e. no Calculus) like this book. It's
amazing how these physicists have been pulling these equations and
theories together in hopes of defining the universe, some targeting
a grand unification theory (or set of theories). From gravity to space
and time, to black holes and strings to 10-dimensional existence--it's
all covered here and wrapped together fairly cohesively. The concepts
get so "cosmic" that they delve into philosophical and religious ramifications
of human existence. I used to think that science and religion were
mutually exclusive, but at least in Stephen Hawking's brilliant mind,
they may eventually be shown to be one and the same.
"Of course, we surfers always understood the relationship
between light, waves and particles." --Neal
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