The Grand Design
Stephen Hawking · Leonard Mlodinow
Sep 2010 · Bantam
4.2star
119 reviews
Ebook
208
Pages
About this ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A whirlwind tour of fundamental physics and cosmology.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Fascinating . . . a wealth of ideas [that] leave us with a clearer understanding of modern physics in all its invigorating complexity.”—Los Angeles Times
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation? In The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most illuminating scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity.
According to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history. The authors explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the early universe and show how quantum theory predicts the “multiverse”—the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature. They conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing our universe that is currently the only viable candidate for a “theory of everything”: the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, which, if confirmed, would represent the ultimate triumph of human reason.
A succinct, startling, and lavishly illustrated guide to discoveries that are altering our understanding and threatening some of our most cherished belief systems, The Grand Design is a book that will inform—and provoke—like no other.
“Fascinating . . . a wealth of ideas [that] leave us with a clearer understanding of modern physics in all its invigorating complexity.”—Los Angeles Times
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation? In The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most illuminating scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity.
According to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history. The authors explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the early universe and show how quantum theory predicts the “multiverse”—the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature. They conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing our universe that is currently the only viable candidate for a “theory of everything”: the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, which, if confirmed, would represent the ultimate triumph of human reason.
A succinct, startling, and lavishly illustrated guide to discoveries that are altering our understanding and threatening some of our most cherished belief systems, The Grand Design is a book that will inform—and provoke—like no other.
Ratings and reviews
4.2
119 reviews
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
July 10, 2012
I get the explanations. I really do. They are the reasons I read this book, to learn, to gain knowledge. However if the explanation doesn't actually start till the last 50 pages and everything else is just leading up to it as one giant buildup...it doesn't work. I was expecting something along the lines of a "Physics of the Impossible" for how the actual universe is made up. Maybe I shouldn't have had such preconceived notions
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
January 11, 2011
Stephen Hawking has done a wonderful job providing a concise blueprint for the history of the universe as it is currently understood. The book's ability explain the various theories in easy to understand language, while not insulting the reader's intelligence, must have taken a great deal of care and time, to whichLeonard Mlodinow surely deserves a great deal of credit. I came away from the reading having a greater understanding of theories to which I have long help interest, but did not have the technical expertise to grasp. That having changed, I'm now more able to resolve my place in the universe, and take pride in it. For that, I have nothing but thanks to Mr. Hawking.
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
stephen hawking has expressed a desire to understand the uiverse yet he expects others to accept his explanation of it
it is capable of caring for us all and explaing itself as well
the stubborness of Dr Hawking is gone on too long
we need to stand up to him and ask him to finally accept the Creator's work and the gift of the universe he made for us
relativity only got us closer to the truth in mathematical terms
for deeper origins string theory explains where particles come from and how we can get them again
the higgs particle had a set of strings which are in charge of generating it
mass, which we have, and energy which we survive on are folded together in equations we use
any particle can be accessed with the correct string conjuring and for that one must learn to play the strings and accept what they make
it is that easy and math is usable by anyone regardless of class or title
hawking is just a subject of the queens and having left the country for my own long ago i tire of the hawking process
do you want to know it or remake it in your own subjects realm
in the interim, others are working on it as the Creator has instructed and demanded that we do
the gift of the universe is just that, a gift from the Creator to the recipient, life on Earth in a solar system in a galaxy in the Universe
for those who work on it it is the greatest work we have ever had the pleasure of doing for their is no nobler thing than to care for one's home and hearth no matter how big it is
About the author
Stephen Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years and the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the presidential Medal of Freedom. His books for the general reader include My Brief History, the classic A Brief History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, and, with Leonard Mlodinow, A Briefer History of Time and The Grand Design. Stephen Hawking died in 2018.
Leonard Mlodinow is a physicist at Caltech and the bestselling author of The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives, Euclid’s Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace, and Feynman’s Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life. He also wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation. He lives in South Pasadena, California.
Leonard Mlodinow is a physicist at Caltech and the bestselling author of The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules our Lives, Euclid’s Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace, and Feynman’s Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life. He also wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation. He lives in South Pasadena, California.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.