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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/product_reviews/pr_id/113837-A-Brief-History-of-Time
ASIN: 0553380168
ID #113837
A Brief History of Time   (Rated: E)
Product Type: Book
Reviewer: Jaeyne of the Free Fab Five
Review Rated: 13+
Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
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Well, that was humbling.

I'm not sure if I'm smarter or dumber now - and I kind of felt like that through the whole book - just when I thought I was grasping a concept....nope. I had to keep going back and referencing the beginning chapters to even begin to understand the complexities. That's not Hawking's fault. It's complex stuff. Hawking did a great job trying to bring it to my level of understanding.

My struggles are not a reason for you not to read this book. I rated it five stars for a reason. Hawking was not just a genius in his field, he is a genius in bringing this down to the most accessible level possible. If he can make me understand the basics of wormholes and four dimensions and string theory and an ever-expanding universe, so what if I had to go back and reference the previous chapter(s)?

I'm sure I've forgotten most of what I read already, but the pieces I retained are really fascinating and inspired me to do a little more reading. I will never fully understand string theory, and I don't need to.

I found it interesting that Hawking spend a good deal of time on philosophy and theology in the midst of all this. He takes a much softer approach to the subject than say, Bill Nye (though I love Uncle Bill, don't get me wrong). There will be people on both sides of the spectrum that will take exception to his approach, but I found it to be reasonable and even-handed.

I expected this book to much drier than it was, but Hawking's love of the subject combined with his personality and great sense of humour kept me turning the pages (sometimes backwards, but turning them nonetheless). He's really fun to read, and some of his antics were delightfully funny.

He liked to make bets. He lost a lot. Hilarity ensued. (Though the stories were brief and lacked much detail, the way he laid down the information - left you with the perfect scene every time).

Also nestled among all the science was some interesting history about other scientist (for example, Newton was a gold-star jackass), how and why scientists retract their theories and the benefit of being wrong, the pitfalls of refusing to admit errors, and some conversations with the Vatican.

So yes, this is dense material, but it is presently as lightly as possible and it certainly made me take pause and want to understand. That's the calling card of a great teacher, and the world is poorer for the loss of Hawking.
Created Dec 06, 2018 at 9:26pm • Submit your own review...
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