Brief Answers to the Big Questions
2018 • 232 pages
Ratings42
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings42
Average rating4.2
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A beautiful little book by a brilliant mind' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Effortlessly instructive, absorbing, up to the minute and - where it matters - witty' GUARDIAN The world-famous cosmologist and #1 bestselling author of A Brief History of Time leaves us with his final thoughts on the universe's biggest questions in this brilliant posthumous work. Is there a God? How did it all begin? Can we predict the future? What is inside a black hole? Is there other intelligent life in the universe? Will artificial intelligence outsmart us? How do we shape the future? Will we survive on Earth? Should we colonise space? Is time travel possible? Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen Hawking expanded our understanding of the universe and unravelled some of its greatest mysteries. But even as his theoretical work on black holes, imaginary time and multiple histories took his mind to the furthest reaches of space, Hawking always believed that science could also be used to fix the problems on our planet. And now, as we face potentially catastrophic changes here on Earth - from climate change to dwindling natural resources to the threat of artificial super-intelligence - Stephen Hawking turns his attention to the most urgent issues for humankind. Wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating, passionately argued, and infused with his characteristic humour, BRIEF ANSWERS TO THE BIG QUESTIONS, the final book from one of the greatest minds in history, is a personal view on the challenges we face as a human race, and where we, as a planet, are heading next. A percentage of all royalties will go to charity.
Reviews with the most likes.
“So remember 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't just give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future.”
As always, Stephen, with your intelligence, eloquence, wit and empathy, you have floored me. You will be missed. Couldn't look at your picture at the end of the book without breaking into tears.
I'd be lying if I said I understood all of this book, but it was nice to be blinded by science and leave it feeling just a little bit more clever.
Haven't read the brief history of time, so this one was Stephen's first book I read.
The book offers brief (profound nonetheless) answers to possibly the ten biggest questions we as humans could ask.
He does not waiver when conveying his thoughts about God, and just states the facts for what they are, plain old science.
Am not the only person who has admired this genius for a long long time.
I may not have understood all that he has said in his documentaries or his book, but just the fact that a human being, despite all the odds not being in his favor, has contributed to understanding the universe and is considered Newton and Einstein's peer all done in borrowed time, is a super hero.
To quote Obama, Have fun out there among the stars.
