Brief Answers to the Big Questions

English language

Published April 11, 2018

ISBN:
978-1-9848-1919-2
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3 stars (2 reviews)

Stephen Hawking was recognized as one of the greatest minds of our time and a figure of inspiration after defying his ALS diagnosis at age twenty-one. He is known for both his breakthroughs in theoretical physics as well as his ability to make complex concepts accessible for all, and was beloved for his mischievous sense of humor. At the time of his death, Hawking was working on a final project: a book compiling his answers to the "big" questions that he was so often posed--questions that ranged beyond his academic field.

Within these pages, he provides his personal views on our biggest challenges as a human race, and where we, as a planet, are heading next. Each section will be introduced by a leading thinker offering his or her own insight into Professor Hawking's contribution to our understanding.

5 editions

'We take death to reach a star' Vincent van Gogh

4 stars

This book made me really quite emotional. To hear Hawkin talk about AI (which is now more prominent than ever), the development into a multi-planetary species (which we are now closer to than ever), and fusion power (which has had recent and vast breakthroughs) without being here to witness their developments in rather upsetting. Steven Hawkin died in 2018, I was just fourteen years old. Weirdly, though, I remember crying a lot. I had heard lots about Hawkin, seen him on the news, and really enjoyed listening to the small news segments that would show clips of him talking. Five years later - and during the afterword to this short book - I found myself crying again. There is something so beautiful about Steven Hawkin's life and I find his story deeply inspiring. I am so grateful for the impact that he had on this world

Review of 'Kurze Antworten auf große Fragen' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

The title promises "brief answers", and the (German) blurb claims said answers are "accessible and clear". Unfortunately, the answer are neither brief nor accessible.

The book is a compilation of texts from Hawking, begun during his lifetime and finished posthumously. The patchwork nature of the book shows, unfortunately, as several thoughts or explanations (such as about the dangers of artificial intelligence or the components of DNA) are repeated multiple times throughout the book. Overall, much of the writing seems incoherent, with sudden, unexpected tangents to different topics. Many times, Hawking's "brief" answers go on for well over 20 or even 30 pages, and I am left thinking that the answer could have been summarised within 10, had it not been for several off-topic passages.

The answers themselves are hardly suitable for the kind of layman the marketing suggests they were written for. Complex theories and concepts are presented with little …