Publisher's Weekly Summary
Three central questions of philosophy and science: Why is there something rather than nothing? Why do we exist? Why this particular set of laws and not some other? No one can make a discussion of such matters as compulsively readable as the celebrated University of Cambridge cosmologist Hawking (A Brief History of Time).
Along with Caltech physicist Mlodinow (The Drunkard's Walk), Hawking deftly mixes cutting-edge physics to answer those key questions. For instance, why do we exist? Earth occupies a "Goldilocks Zone" in space: just the perfect distance from a not-too-hot star, with just the right elements to allow life to evolve. On a larger scale, in order to explain the universe, the authors write, "we need to know not only how the universe behaves, but why."
While no single theory exists yet, scientists are approaching that goal with what is called "M-theory," a collection of overlapping theories (including string theory) that fill in many (but not all) the blank spots in quantum physics; this collection is known as the "Grand Unified Field Theories." This may all finally explain the mystery of the universe's creation without recourse to a divine creator.
This is an amazingly concise, clear, and intriguing overview of where we stand when it comes to divining the secrets of the universe.
First Impressions
This is easily one of the most intriguing (and challenging) books I've read in a long time. Hawking and Mlodinow wean the reader early on by keeping the heavy material sparse; while at first one may suspect that this was done to better acclimate the reader to the material, I believe that it has more to do with setting the groundwork for the required heavy reading of the later chapters.
This is not a book written by physicists for physicists, but rather, by physicists for a general reading audience. That being said, unless you have an interest in physics, the big bang, particle formation, quantum mechanics, and theoretical physics, you are unlikely to enjoy this text.
It is important to keep in mind that both authors are scientists and not writers. Do not expect seamless works of prose, or gorgeous turn-of-phrases (although the occasional passage will undoubtedly resonate with beauty). The text is written in a very progressive and scientific manner. This is not much of a burden for the reader, apart from the middle to the third quarter of the book which sometimes lags drearily--unless you find digresses on statistics fascinating, which I do not.
As to be expected, there is a great deal of text devoted to fascinating scientific concepts--path integral formulations (particularly the sum over histories interpretation), the double-slit experiment, probability amplitude, the planck constant and more abound. Keep in mind that the technical subjects of the writing are not the exceptions to the text, but rather, the groundwork for their unifying theory in later chapters.
The champion of this book is a still blossoming extension of string theory within theoretical physics known as M-theory.While the authors do their best to explain this in a manner that the unscientific layreader may understand, I will admit to scratching my head and having to reread a few of the more technical sections on several occasions in order to gain a better understanding.
Final Thoughts
Once Hawking and Mlodinow get to the point they provide a strong argument for how the universe can appear out of nothing, even though common bodies in our solar system (such as stars or black holes) cannot. I am not going to explain how this is possible (I would fail even if I tried). This is one of those books that you have to read for yourself.
While M-theory is still hotly contested, Hawking admits this and even goes so far as to confess that more work is required before his theories may be validated. As this man has a great track record with his predictions (see: Hawking radiation), I look forward to seeing future research and experimentation concerning M-theory validate his claims once again.
As many of you may already expect, believers will not become unbelievers by reading this book. While the authors present a convincing argument for a universe with no need of a deity, believers will no doubt be unmoved. But for all of the non-believers out there, and for everyone enticed by scientific inquiry, this is bound to get you thinking about the big questions.
I'd like to leave you now with one of my favourite excerpts from the book. Until next time, readers.
"Quantum physics tells us that no matter how thorough our observation of the present, the (observed) past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities. The universe, according to quantum physics, has no single past, or history."
