8 Shocking Things We Learned from Stephen Hawking's Book (The Grand Design)

Mother Nature Network ^ | November 4, 2010 | Live Science

[Diana in Wisconsin]

This stuff makes my head hurt if I think about it for too long, but I thought some of you might enjoy it! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Andromeda Island Universe

[E. Pluribus Unum]

According to Hawking and Mlodinow, one consequence of the theory of quantum mechanics is that events in the past that were not directly observed did not happen...

Does this mean Obama was never born, since there is no evidence of it?

[getitright]

“” one consequence of the theory of quantum mechanics is that events in the past that were not directly observed did not happen in a definite way.””

This is also called the Bart Simpson theory. “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove a thing.”

[woofie]

This stuff does not answer my questions about what my wife did with the money

[MEGoody]

8 Shocking Things We Learned from Stephen Hawking's Book

For the most part, the only thing we learned is Hawking's theories. Some may be shocked by them. I must say, I was a little shocked to learn that Hawking thinks gravity can create something out of nothing.

[defal33]

Heh..heh!

[hoyt-clagwell]

I just bought the book this week. Very interesting so far.

I’ll try to find and post a video some astronomers made recently which shows how large the universe really is-that is the KNOWN universe they have found so far. My brain hurt just trying to conceptulize(sic) the huge numbers they were talking about.

[ken21]

hugh ross makes more sense.

[re_nortex]

One of the most talked-about assertions in the whole book is that we don't need the idea of God to explain what sparked the creation of the universe.

As far as I'm concerned, that makes everything else of no value. The hubris of Hawking is astounding. He also said:

There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, compared to science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.

Stephen Hawking may indeed possess a great deal of intelligence and have an impressive educational credentials but it's clear that he utterly lacks wisdom for "The fool has said in his heart, There is no God." (Psalm 14:1).

[Zuben Elgenubi]

I, for one, suffer from Hawking Fatigue. I must be a bully.

[the_Watchman]

Typically, people reporting on scientific works simplify things to the point of absurdity. I suspect that that is what has occurred with this:

“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing,” they write. “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.”

This is meaningless circular reasoning. I hope Hawkings and his friend were trying to assert something deeper.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging...

[mad_as_he$$]

Well first of all Hawking is wrong. Lights to not “emit” photons. Lights absorb “darkons”. There is no such thing as photons.

http://wearcam.org/theory_of_darkness.html

[BlueDragon]

Does this mean Obama was never born, since there is no evidence of it?

I'm sure his mother noticed, at the time...

A better question could be;

Who was the first "observer"? How could matter have become organized at all, if there was no one there to help set it in it's fixed state?

Obviously, taken to the extreme, the idea must be amiss, fanciful fishbowl thinking/observing. Or else one could answer; God was there.

Along those lines, still seriously but put another way, perhaps more limited in scope;

How could one measure the charge of a field while immersed in the same field?

[Question Liberal Authority]

events in the past that were not directly observed did not happen in a definite way. Instead they happened in all possible ways.

Awesome! If I understand the theory correctly, that means I've slept with every woman who ever existed, using every possible position, except for the ones I actually did sleep with, provided that I was being videotaped at the time.

[Question Liberal Authority]

A 1-watt night-light emits a billion billion photons each second.

We're going to need them, too. If Al Gore has his way.

[Sacajaweau]

The old tree in the forest.....

Wow...Hawking is just so profound!!

I simply can't stand him. He's one of those people who, when I hear him speak, I think....."Whatever".

[achilles2000]

Hawking, like some other scientists before him, has left his discipline and is wandering off into metaphysics. If the summary is accurate, he isn’t very good. Nevertheless, his metaphysical views will be taken as profound because they issue from someone the media adores.

Perhaps the title of the book ought to have been “Hawking Discovers Aristotle”.

[MHGinTN]

Indeed, Hawking can account for so much, but he has yet to explain how the universe contsains information derived from randomness. But then, even Stephen cannot explain the ridiculous.