A Brief History Of Time

I’ve been decently interested in this book for a while now and finally had the opportunity to read it after buying it used at a local book sale.

I went in blind, having no clue what is was about. In this book, Stephen Hawking, famous physicist, attempts to explain the complexities of the universe to the curious layman.

Detailing the history of time, the chapters are placed chronologically, famous scientists and their works building off each other and progressing through time as our theories of the universe seemingly come closer to the truth.

There are so many different concepts throughout the books, which I found fascinating to learn about. Although it may seem a deluge of information at first, Hawking’s skill at simplifying advanced concepts as well as providing many analogies does a swell job at conveying the ideas at hand. I have taken college classes of physics, but some principles, such as Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, or the relative progression of time based in the general theory of relativity, were put in such understandable terms, that I was amazed a simple passage could better explain to me what other teachers did over the course of weeks.

Naturally, some concepts were a bit hard to grasp, but just rereading the section a couple of times really solidified my grasp of the subject. Of course, because of how multi-faceted the universe, there is no dearth of information pouring on each page. I could see how this could seem intimidating for some, but it’s OK to not get everything. This book is meant to serve as an introduction to the many principles governing our reality and the history of theories supplanting one another as humans ever grow their collective understanding, so we think, of the world they live in. Thus, just getting a taste of these topics still instills a sense of wonder, perhaps even a need to further research what governs space-time or why our universe has not shrunk yet.

I easily devoured this book in a few days, a hibernating collection of ideas regarding physics being awakened inside my mind and growing layers of new understanding, ideas floating around in my aware consciousness, ready to translate the world in new ways to my self. I can see the world in new ways, appreciate the work people have put into trying to understand the same place we all inhabit, and enjoy expanding my knowledge of the space I inhabit.

So ye blah blah lots of science concepts that go into a good amount of detail, good for the curious about everything.

Solid, enjoyable, a quick read, I’ll give it a 5/5.