The Grand Design
by Stephen Hawking
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A tour of history’s great scientists with images and video
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Spoiler:
Crediting Isaac Newton with taking the first steps toward exploring a “grand design,” the video opens by discussing recent excitement over the Higgs boson subatomic particle, then takes us back 350 years to Newton. It then embarks on a roundup of history’s great scientists, from James Clark Maxwell (who connected electricity, magnetism and light in a series of 4 equations that Hawking considered one of the greatest discoveries in the history of science), to Einstein to Richard Feynman and String Theory.
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Hawking’s theories about life’s meaning with images and video
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The video’s narrator opens with “the simulation theory,” the idea that we are all just brains in a jar and that our sensory input is being provided to us by a supercomputer. He explains “best fit models,” or theories that regular people and scientists come up with to best explain the reality that we perceive. He says the human brain is marvelous in that it can not only perceive a 3D model of reality, but can superimpose meaning onto it. Hawking concluded that the meaning of life is what we choose it to be.
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Hawking narrates over video and images for Discovery UK
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Hawking uses the game of tennis to explain the laws of Nature. He reminds us of more dated explanations, such as that disabled people like him were thought to be living under a curse or suffering some kind of divine punishment. In tennis, the laws of man determine the rules of the game, but the laws of Nature dictate what will happen to the ball when it is hit. And unlike the laws of man, the laws of Nature can never be broken, which is what makes them so powerful.
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Other books by Stephen Hawking
Publications
The Guardian: Hawking and Mlodinow's new theory is about life, the universe and everything – except God
The Wall Street Journal: The 'Why?' Questions, Chapter and Multiverse
Los Angeles Times: Book review: ‘The Grand Design’ by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
The Guardian: The Grand Design: New Answers to the Ultimate Questions of Life by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
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"Could there be someone watching our Earth right now, also wondering if they are alone or not? For the very first time, we have the technology to investigate."
"The universe is vast and varied, daily forcing scientists to confront, accommodate, measure, and analyze the diversity of all that’s out there."
"Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious."
"Perhaps among the other universes in the multiverse, there is a new home for us."
"We are part of a great cosmic web, connected to everything else in the universe."
"The power and beauty of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them. In other words, after the laws of physics, everything else is opinion."
"Every atom you possess has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to becoming you."
"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."
"The most important thing I have learned from space travel is that we are all in this together. We all have a responsibility to take care of our planet and to treat each other with kindness and respect."
"The best thing you can do is choose to be in a profession that allows you to become the best version of yourself."