the grand design stephen hawking summary

Since it is one of 10 500 possibilities, rather than start with nothing and try to explain why our universe is what it is today, it is better to start with the universe as it exists today and work backward to validate the non-zero probabilities that it could have ended up this way.

M-theory allows for 10 500 different possible universes existing in 11 dimensions where ours has: 3 we traditionally experience, time (which like space can be navigated forward or backward), and another 7 that are curled up so small we can't perceive them. The laws of nature only determine the probabilities of various futures and pasts rather than doing so with certainty, and as such, there can be more than one simultaneous future wherein future events can affect the past. Since reality is based on sets of observations that meet expectations according to a predefined model, there can be more than one valid reality. Some view natural laws as the work of God, and for miracles to occur, exceptions have to be made to these laws however, scientific determinism implies that there are no exceptions to the laws of nature.

Allow me to take a shot at summarizing each chapter in only one sentence.Īlthough classical realism is useful for describing everyday observable behavior, and quantum physics does the same for the subatomic level, M-theory, a family of different but overlapping theories, is our best shot at understanding our existence. Recently I finished reading The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow.

The grand design stephen hawking summary