Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Universe in a Nutshell
Comment: The definition of science is "observation of data to form hypothesis." Stephen Hawkins is a "theoretical physicist." Theory is not science. He has some very interesting ideas, yes. He is an incredibly gifted individual, yes. However, his ideas are based on mathematics - not physical data. - conceptual "data." There are times in his book where he correctly states that his ideas are only theories. He then goes on, in the majority of the work, to use words such as "proven," "proved," etc. He may mean that the numbers work out, but the context may cloud the "theoretical" nature of this work. He sometimes states his ideas are proven without mentioning that his proof is "in the numbers" on paper - not in the actual, physical world.
There are times when he shuns scientific rules (such as the laws of thermodynamics) for the benefit of reaching the desired goal. At other times he holds these very same rules up as unalterable - when it benefits his desired goal.
The author's ideas are based on assumptions (theory). He sometimes gives a number of results of his ideas. The author then chooses the favorable result and uses it to build more on his theories. This is a repeated cycle in the book. How many times can assumed favorable conditions be used to make up more assumed favorable conditions without losing a grasp on what is factual?
Such a situation occurs when he makes a factual statement that time must have a shape. Prior to this statement, he has been in the theoretical world and then makes an astounding discovery and states it as fact!
Mathematics is what a great deal of the author's ideas are based upon. It is said that it is mathematically impossible for a bee to be able to fly. Equations can, sometimes, lead to beneficial knowledge - and have in the past. But predicted results (mathematically) are not always perfect and do not always pan out in reality, Ask people who spend ime in a lab how how many times "textbook answers" are reproduced perfectly in their experiments - not very often.
It is interesting that this book takes some religious viewpoints - such as time being created - ie. it was not always existent . The author attempts to come up with a theory for this same belief through means of what is called science - but actually is the theoretical process aforementioned.
I am glad there are people out there taking stabs at this area of "science." But, as in the fairy tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes," we must be careful not to blindly attribute credence to an idea, brand it as fact, accept it as such, and then use this to build upon for even more "factual" ideas.
Overall a good read - just be careful to remember that power and peers do not dictate when clothes are actually present.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic DEEP read
Comment: A fasinating book, which is very well written, although the physics are a bit deep. If you like to think about why the world exhists and how, this one is for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Formatted, Yet Somewhat Redundant
Comment: If you've never read Stephen Hawking, the diagrams in this book will certainly help you to understand the concepts Hawking presents with greater clarity. Nevertheless, if you are a seasoned Hawking reader you won't find much new material here. I do think the average reader will benefit more from this book than some of Hawking's earlier works. The diagrams alone are worth the price. So if you're really struggling, but really want to understand these concepts, pick up this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How does each electron pass through two slits at the same time? It must move discontinuously...
Comment: It is a pity that Hawking only used several pages to explain the mysterious quantum world. Especially, his explanation of Feynman's path integral approach was misleading. The paths in Feynman's approach are not classical continuous paths at all, as Hawking depicted in his book. They are also quantum states.
However, Hawking's claim that each single electron must pass through two slits at the same time is right. But how does a single electron pass through two slits at the same time? Here Hawking preferred many worlds/many histories theory. In fact, it seems evident that the single electron can only pass through the two slits at the same time in a discontinuous way. Therefore, its motion must be not continuous but discontinuous. Such discontinuous motion is imaginable and comprehensible. It has actually been lucidly expounded in a recent book Quantum Motion - Unveiling the Mysterious Quantum World. A more popular introduction God Does Play Dice with the Universe can be found at my name, i.e. [...]
Once we realize that motion is discontinuous and random in reality, we may finally understand the mysterious quantum world, where an electron can pass through two slits at the same time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and easy to read
Comment: I have been interested in astrophysics since I was a kid, and Stephen Hawking 's theories have always been of huge interest to me. I feel that his summary of his as well as other scientists' theories past and present are put forth in a relatively easy-to-read way that could be enjoyable even to someone who has no background on astrophysics.
Summary: The Universe in a Nutshell
Comment: The definition of science is "observation of data to form hypothesis." Stephen Hawkins is a "theoretical physicist." Theory is not science. He has some very interesting ideas, yes. He is an incredibly gifted individual, yes. However, his ideas are based on mathematics - not physical data. - conceptual "data." There are times in his book where he correctly states that his ideas are only theories. He then goes on, in the majority of the work, to use words such as "proven," "proved," etc. He may mean that the numbers work out, but the context may cloud the "theoretical" nature of this work. He sometimes states his ideas are proven without mentioning that his proof is "in the numbers" on paper - not in the actual, physical world.
There are times when he shuns scientific rules (such as the laws of thermodynamics) for the benefit of reaching the desired goal. At other times he holds these very same rules up as unalterable - when it benefits his desired goal.
The author's ideas are based on assumptions (theory). He sometimes gives a number of results of his ideas. The author then chooses the favorable result and uses it to build more on his theories. This is a repeated cycle in the book. How many times can assumed favorable conditions be used to make up more assumed favorable conditions without losing a grasp on what is factual?
Such a situation occurs when he makes a factual statement that time must have a shape. Prior to this statement, he has been in the theoretical world and then makes an astounding discovery and states it as fact!
Mathematics is what a great deal of the author's ideas are based upon. It is said that it is mathematically impossible for a bee to be able to fly. Equations can, sometimes, lead to beneficial knowledge - and have in the past. But predicted results (mathematically) are not always perfect and do not always pan out in reality, Ask people who spend ime in a lab how how many times "textbook answers" are reproduced perfectly in their experiments - not very often.
It is interesting that this book takes some religious viewpoints - such as time being created - ie. it was not always existent . The author attempts to come up with a theory for this same belief through means of what is called science - but actually is the theoretical process aforementioned.
I am glad there are people out there taking stabs at this area of "science." But, as in the fairy tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes," we must be careful not to blindly attribute credence to an idea, brand it as fact, accept it as such, and then use this to build upon for even more "factual" ideas.
Overall a good read - just be careful to remember that power and peers do not dictate when clothes are actually present.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic DEEP read
Comment: A fasinating book, which is very well written, although the physics are a bit deep. If you like to think about why the world exhists and how, this one is for you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Formatted, Yet Somewhat Redundant
Comment: If you've never read Stephen Hawking, the diagrams in this book will certainly help you to understand the concepts Hawking presents with greater clarity. Nevertheless, if you are a seasoned Hawking reader you won't find much new material here. I do think the average reader will benefit more from this book than some of Hawking's earlier works. The diagrams alone are worth the price. So if you're really struggling, but really want to understand these concepts, pick up this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: How does each electron pass through two slits at the same time? It must move discontinuously...
Comment: It is a pity that Hawking only used several pages to explain the mysterious quantum world. Especially, his explanation of Feynman's path integral approach was misleading. The paths in Feynman's approach are not classical continuous paths at all, as Hawking depicted in his book. They are also quantum states.
However, Hawking's claim that each single electron must pass through two slits at the same time is right. But how does a single electron pass through two slits at the same time? Here Hawking preferred many worlds/many histories theory. In fact, it seems evident that the single electron can only pass through the two slits at the same time in a discontinuous way. Therefore, its motion must be not continuous but discontinuous. Such discontinuous motion is imaginable and comprehensible. It has actually been lucidly expounded in a recent book Quantum Motion - Unveiling the Mysterious Quantum World. A more popular introduction God Does Play Dice with the Universe can be found at my name, i.e. [...]
Once we realize that motion is discontinuous and random in reality, we may finally understand the mysterious quantum world, where an electron can pass through two slits at the same time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and easy to read
Comment: I have been interested in astrophysics since I was a kid, and Stephen Hawking 's theories have always been of huge interest to me. I feel that his summary of his as well as other scientists' theories past and present are put forth in a relatively easy-to-read way that could be enjoyable even to someone who has no background on astrophysics.