I have not read many science books in my life but Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” is a book that has been on my list for a while. Once I started, I finished it within a week. The topics in the book range from broad scientific historical thought to specifics about black holes. Simply considering the deep theories of the universe was a reward in and of itself. Some things went over my head but this is written in a way that makes an average guy like myself wanting to learn more. In his chapter on the expanding universe, Hawking explains the open universe theory and the closed universe theory that interested me greatly. In the open universe theory, our universe begins from the Big Bang with the expanding mass of radiation and matter to proto-galaxies on to galaxies that begin to move apart so far that they finally extinguish themselves into an ambiguous end. On the other hand, in the closed theory of the universe we go from the Big Bang to galaxies reaching their maximum separation from each other then apocalyptically begin to move towards each other to coalesce and finally fall into the Big Crunch. I liked how Hawking highlighted the work of great pioneering scientists in the past like Sir James Chadwick, Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei and many more. The chapter on Black Holes and onwards compelled me to think more deeply about time and my place in it. In the illustrated edition I read, there is an excellent figure of the stages of a black hole being formed. Just meditating on a star collapsing under its own gravitational pressure, then imploding as it falls deeper into its own gravity well then forming an event horizon and ultimately a singularity horrified me but fascinated me just as much. Hawking has a way of explaining complex topics to graspable concepts in this book. For example, “The event horizon, the boundary of the region of space-time from which it is not possible to escape, acts rather like a one-way membrane around the black holes.” This book contains so many great scientific insights that I was clueless on beforehand. Now I could hold a semi-intelligent conversation with someone on space-time, relativity, thermodynamics etc. The goal should always be to gain more knowledge in areas where you are unfamiliar. This book pushed me out of my comfort zone which is when learning is achieving its’ finest objective. I would highly recommend this book to be put on your reading list and its’ contents to be considered deeply.
Written by Michael McPhail
Young Stephen Hawking
Brains and Brawn 