Brief Answers… collects the thoughts and writings of Stephen Hawking on 10 “big questions”. These range from matters firmly within the realm of theoretical physics – What is inside a black hole? Is time travel possible? – to far beyond, addressing the existence of God, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the survival of humanity. Theoretical physics is, of course, where Hawking made his outstanding contributions; to read the thoughts of such a mind on other matters should be stimulating.
As the publisher notes, the book was under way before Hawking’s death in March, and was completed in collaboration with his academic colleagues, his family and his estate. I’m not sure who of those people had an overall view of the volume, but I do wish it had been more tightly edited. In a collection of essays or transcripts, some repetition is understandable, but I expected a coherent set of arguments. I stumbled, then, when the same explanations and even phrases reappeared without acknowledgment that the reader had seen them previously. And there are far too many mentions of Star Trek. Clearly it was Hawking’s point of reference for a vision of humanity’s future, but we’re never told why he felt it so relevant.
Related: Stephen Hawking, an appreciation: ‘He had an unquenchable zest for life’
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