The Grand Design
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Book Description
Unabridged CD edition of this controversial new theory on the origins of the universe from the world's best known scientist.
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In the last thirty years of his life Albert Einstein searched for a unified theory - a theory which could describe all the forces of nature in a single framework. But the time was not right for such a discovery in Einstein's day.
Neither was the time right when, in 1988, Professor Stephen Hawking wrote A Brief History of Time in which he took us on a journey through classical physics, Einstein's theory of relativity, quantum physics and string theory in order to explain the universe that we live in. He concluded, like Einstein, that science may soon arrive at the long sought after 'Theory of Everything'.
In this groundbreaking new work, Professor Hawking and renowned science writer Leonard Mlodinow have drawn on forty years of Hawking's own research and a recent series of extraordinary astronomical observations and theoretical breakthroughs to reveal an original and controversial theory. They convincingly argue that scientific obsession with formulating a single new model may be misplaced, and that by synthesising existing theories we may discover the key to finally understanding the universe's deepest mysteries.
Written with the clarity and lively style for which Hawking is famous, The Grand Design is an account of Hawking's quest to fuse these different strands of scientific theory. It examines the differences between past and future, explains the nature of reality and asks an all-important question: How far can we go in our search for understanding and knowledge?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book, unless your expectations are unrealistic,
This review is from: The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life (Hardcover)
There is a trend in modern writing that 'more is more'. What I like about this book is that it takes the view that 'less is more', there are no long passages of stuffing to push up the word count to make a big hefty volume that can shift at a big hefty price. Hawkins and Mlodinow say what they need to say to get their point of view across and no more. The writing is tight and difficult ideas are conveyed in an effecient way but keep it understandable to an audience of non-professional scientists.
Most of all what I liked about this book is that Hawkins made his view on god clear, in previous books (I've read) he has fudged the issue with vague references to a god of an unknown theology. This straight down the line honesty is to be commended, people uncomfortable with books that clearly express atheism should not read science books. Science above all must be honest, if a scientist speaks of the origins of the universe they must be able to express their opinion on the ultimate question with the same freedom of opinion we'd expect in a discussion about 10 dimensional space. You do not have to agree with the writer about 10 dimensional space or god, but the scientific writer must be free to discuss it honestly; the days of excommunicating Galileo should be firmly in the past. If you expect the book not to be opinionated, or be understandable to an readership with no scientific/mathematical knowledge at all, or help you with your post-graduate studies in quantum physics don't buy this book (actually don't buy any books they'll all disappoint you). For all other people with an interest in the ideas of why we are here, this is one of many books well worth putting on your reading list.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed content,
By CP "ConsiderPhlebas" (Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life (Hardcover)
"Philosophy is dead", the authors declare very early on, and then roundly prove over the next few chapters why they could have done with the services of a good philosopher. Hawking is known, of course, for his ground-breaking science, but not for his analysis of the history of knowledge or the social progress of our culture. Unfortunately, a substantial part of this book is dedicated to those topics, and makes for a short-sighted and naive read. Once the writing turns to actual science, its value greatly increases: the major elements of relativity and quantum mechanics are summed up simply and clearly, then form the basis for explanations of newer work such as M-Theory. Hawking has written better about his (and others') work, but if you're looking for the most up-to-date and/or easily read version, then this book is worth its very reasonable cover price. It's a short and superficial book, however, so if you're looking for anything in-depth you are likely to be disappointed.
74 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good summary of our current cosmological understanding,
This review is from: The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life (Hardcover)
Stephen Hawking's new book, "The Grand Design" (written together with Leonard Mlodinow), is his first popular science book for about ten years. It seems to have created quite a stir in the non-scientific press, although in reality the book is very much in line with our latest theories in cosmology. Science began with the ancient Greeks, and the book starts off with a summary of their ideas. After a gap of some 1,400 years, a scientific approach to the Universe was revived by men such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and Newton. Hawking goes on to describe the history of scientific advances since then, and introduces ideas of what is meant by reality and what constitutes a scientific theory. He introduces us to the mysteries of quantum mechanics and relativity, and explains how our understanding of the Big Bang is growing as a result of our studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation.
But the key part of the book comes when Hawking describes something called M-theory, the leading candidate for the "theory of everything" which it is hoped will unite the two (currently incompatible, but highly successful) theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Both M-theory and other strands of evidence increasingly point to the conclusion that our Universe is not, after all, the only universe. The implication of these latest theories is that there are billions - and probably an infinite number - of other universes, each with their own physical laws and physical constants. This is the theory of the Multiverse. At a stroke, the theory explains why there are features of our own Universe which make it suitable for life; this is simply because we could only ever have evolved in the tiny minority of universes with the right set of physical laws. All in all, a fascinating read. If you want to give a mind-blowing Christmas present to somebody, this is the one.
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