In this new book, Hertog tells us that Hawking’s final theory tries to address one of the deep mysteries of the universe, something known as the problem of cosmological fine-tuning.Ĭosmologists have realised that the more they peer at the underlying nature of the universe (for instance the strengths of fundamental forces and the masses of fundamental particles), the more the cosmos seems tuned for our existence. Intriguingly, as Hertog explains, we are all active participants in Hawking’s final theory, shaping the universe by observing it. Hertog is no passive player in this story, having been a student and collaborator of Hawking. Review: On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory – Thomas Hertog (Penguin Random House) In a new book, On The Origin of Time, Belgian physicist Thomas Hertog unravels Hawking’s final theory, which focuses upon one of the biggest questions of all – just why our universe is the way it is. Hawking continued to explore the fundamental nature of the universe until his death in 2018.

It was an international bestseller, but given the complexity of its ideas, A Brief History has been called the most unread book of all time. He burst onto the popular stage with the 1988 publication of A Brief History of Time, which presented his esoteric ideas of evaporating black holes and the birth of the universe. In the public’s mind, Stephen Hawking is a giant of 20th century science.

Stephen hawking a brief history