How Did It All Begin?

by Stephen W. Hawking

' Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet '

How did it all begin?

Is there a God?

Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen Hawking expanded our understanding of the universe and unravelled some of its greatest mysteries. In How Did It All Begin? the world famous cosmologist and bestselling author of A Brief History of Time explores the fundamental questions of our existence.

'A brilliant mind' Daily Telegraph


Brief Answers, Big this stunning paperback series offers electrifying essays from one of the greatest minds of our age, taken from the original text of the No. 1 bestselling Brief Answers to the Big Questions.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Physics

68 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.
Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of physicians. In October 1959, at the age of 17, he began his university education at University College, Oxford, where he received a first-class BA degree in physics. In October 1962, he began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where, in March 1966, he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology. In 1963, at age 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease that gradually, over decades, paralysed him. After the loss of his speech, he communicated through a speech-generating device initially through use of a handheld switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.
Hawking's scientific works included a collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Initially, Hawking radiation was controversial. By the late 1970s, and following the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a major breakthrough in theoretical physics. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was a vigorous supporter of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of popular science in which he discussed his theories and cosmology in general. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. He died in 2018 at the age of 76, having lived more than 50 years following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease.

Reviews

[Liam Mulvaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did it All Begin? by Dr Stephen Hawking is suitable material one should read when questioning God's purpose in their life. It should also be read when you are ready to acknowledge science. This book contains two essays about what scientists believe about the Universe. Naturally, god is mentioned, and the laws of physics challenge the almighty's purpose. It is scary, mainly to people who blindly stroll the road of faith.

I'll say this, though...

Some of us want our lives to continue after death, or we want to believe in a higher power/ or existence. Most think we are like eggs hatching out of our mortal flesh, evolving into omnipotence. We can blame it on our ego and have cardinal wishes that are equally perverse or unique. How can life be so meaningful if it is just random events occurring? Why is there no magic in our life? A white-bearded fellow with rock-hard muscles who creates life or a maternity figure with legs spread birthing the Universe. Is deity there, or is it just another figment of our imagination? Do you wish to stay in the shadow of your gods for all eternity? Is eternal happiness possible? Like others, I was pessimistic to begin with. And like them, I harboured faith and experienced the absence of it. And then there were days I had perpetual hope that I'll find my faith someday again.

But people realise how random it is when you get a straightforward explanation of a proton and have scientists apply a similar concept to the Universe. It came from nothing. And therefore, it does not expect anything. I'm sorry, but the universe doesn't know you are here. I refused it at first, but it makes you wonder. Next to Nothing, things like how random the size of your jolly is and the sudden realisation that it's not deity who cursed you with a smaller version but that it was just science's way of saying random randomness, you can either go mad with grief or carry on.

With the enlightenment that I was spawned from nothing, I am nothing; I have a hard pill to swallow. I ask whether I have a purpose or lack it. Does nothing change my life? No. I am lucky to be here, hearing the rain while I write this. I am fortunate to see the moon and stars at night and have different conversations with people daily. I have a purpose because there are people in my life whom I love not because god told me to but because I want to. From nothing, I want to make something out of it.

In the end, realising that I came from nothing and was just a creature made of stardust and that someday I'll again be part of the earth; my choice is to continue smiling, reading books, travelling, and building stuff. I want to work and accomplish things. Should that be enough to make us unique and memorable with just one life? Randomness and you. Out of all the odds and complicated math used to describe the unbreakable laws of nature, you were required by nature to be here. My choice is to enjoy nothing, make a life out of it, and be grateful while my life lasts.

Thanks for this, Stephen. It opened my eyes, and I will enjoy life (from nothing) as I was supposed to.

5/5

[Aksel Reitevold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veldig bra bok!! Hawking forklarer ting så forståelig og jeg føler at han snakker direkte til meg! Han skriver så mye spennende i denne boka. Først om hvordan universet oppstod og så blander han også inn temaet om gud sin eksistens. Det var kjempespennende å lese om fr! Nå vil jeg lese flere av Hawkings bøker. Og den var så kort også så det var deilig. Følte fr at jeg lærte masse av denne boka og der er nice😛😝😜🤪😋

[Odin Sommerseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen is a genius and it shows how much he has spent his time calculating and pushing string theory nearer completion. I like his humbleness in his summary of the beginning of it all. He doesn't disprove the concept of God unlike the direction media has trying to force him in, but instead gives his honest opinion in a scientific thoughtprocess for both the begining and end of the universe through self-explainatory analogies. I liked the way he explains the three ingredients for a universe(matter,energy and space) and brought up that because of Einstein's equation E=mc2 , that it can be narrowed down to two ingredients because matter and energy is two parts of kind of the same thing.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book is a basic (though well-written) explanation of the Big Bang and how the theory evolved. I liked how Hawking put it in simple yet philosophical terms, but since I was already familiar with it, I didn't get much from it.

The second section deals with Hawking's view on the existence of God. Although I disagree with the idea that "No one created the universe and no one directs our faith", it was nonetheless interesting to hear his perspective on the matter.

[Anton Kristensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Stephen Hawking sums up his explanation of how he, and many other scientists, believe all came to be. It covers the history of science. It also explores, in depth, hard questions, which most people would find impossible to answer. I believe this to be perfect for everyone wanting to gain the light wisdom of Mr. Hawking and, again, others too, ideas. P.S. it's a very short read. You should be able to finish it in a day or two.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me trying to wrap my head around this book - few notes:

First: Light tells us a whole lot about the story of the universe.

- By observing the lights of galaxies, we can see they are moving further apart, meaning the universe is expanding.
- By observing the lights of galaxies, we can say that if they had been there for an infinite time, their radiation would have warmed up the universe a lot. So, they can’t have been there forever—something must have happened.

And, also there are microwaves in the universe, like fossils, proving that something big happened long ago because they have cooled down over time. So something has happened.
So, what happened?

The Big Bang!💥
Did God create the Big Bang then?
No, wait. I forgot to mention that the universe is just energy and space - energy has a positive value, space has a negative value, and together they equal zero.
So, the universe is nothing. Therefore, there’s no need for a god to create nothing!

Buuut then, what about before the Big Bang?
Well, there was no time - so no time for something to be created.
Mind-blowing! No time? Hard to imagine. But as Hawking says, looking for the time for a God to create the Big Bang is like searching for the edge of the Earth - it doesn’t exist. Again, there was no time, so no time for someone to create something. (Time in black holes also has no meaning—it essentially stops.)

So we get to the point where the universe once was very small, maybe smaller than a proton. And at this scale of size and energy, we have quantum physics!

Hmmm… Quantum physics? Wouldn’t that explain, like, a Higher Being (or Power, whatever they call it)?
Ok. Everyone talks about quantum physics now to sound smart and to reinforce any weird, metaphysical idea they have - because it’s indeed easy to use an argument no one understands just to validate your point. But no, people, quantum physics still follows natural laws. It’s not some magic word you can just drop into conversations to create a bunch of pseudoscience.

Some argue that quantum physics proves God exists because “there’s so much we don’t know, and everything is unpredictable.”
Hawking would be very upset because - no - quantum physics does not throw classical physics in the trash or eliminate the possibility of predicting events. Classical and quantum physics don’t cancel each other out; they complement each other, and both help explain the universe.

Sooo, yes, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this book. Come on, it’s physics, and I’m more of a social science kind of person. But the big lesson is that we fear the unknown, and it’s easier to assign a divine cause to what we don’t understand. That doesn’t really help, though. So even if physics isn’t my thing, I appreciate all the smart-ass people out there trying to figure out the universe, because curiosity is what pushes us forward. ✨

[Tinbete · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to mix science into my reading, but I’m still learning how science and the Christians understanding of creation are both similar and different. I strongly go against the idea that religion is just blind faith. I agree with John Lennox when he says: “Faith is not a leap in the dark; it’s the exact opposite. It’s a commitment based on evidence.”

With that in mind, I dove into Stephen Hawking’s A Brief Answers to A Big Questions. I don’t have a perfect grasp of astronomy or theoretical physics, but Hawking has a gift for explaining the universe in ways that almost anyone can follow — though it’s still tough to wrap my head around at times.

The book has two major sections: “How did it all begin?” and “Is there a God?”
In the first section, Hawking shows how science has answered some of humanity’s oldest questions. Einstein revealed how space and time are linked, and Hubble discovered that galaxies are moving apart — proof that the universe is expanding. Hawking himself became famous for his work on black holes — regions where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. But he also discovered they are not truly “black.” They slowly leak radiation and can eventually disappear. He explained the faint microwave radiation that fills the universe as the afterglow of the Big Bang.

Another big idea: Hawking argued the universe could appear from “nothing.” He suggested that the Big Bang produced both positive and negative energy. The positive side (mass and energy) and negative side (spread throughout space by the force of gravity). These balance out to zero or “nothing”, which he claims is consistent with the laws of nature.

He further explained the three basic ingredients of the universe: matter, energy, and time. And if time itself began at the Big Bang, then there was no “before” — which, Hawking argues, leaves no place for a Creator.

But here’s the challenge, raised by John Lennox: does saying “there is no before” really remove the Creator? Or does it point to a Creator who exists beyond time itself?

[Emelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This remarkable little book tackles profound questions with Stephen Hawking's signature brilliance. As a devoted fan of Hawking and his ideas, I'm drawn to absorb everything he has to offer. While I typically steer clear of delving into discussions about belief systems, the eloquence of his final essay propelled this book to a solid 5/5 for me. It masterfully articulates how, through his intricate exploration of black holes, the Big Bang, and time, Hawking presents a compelling argument against the existence of God. It's a beautifully articulated perspective that sparked profound contemplation.

Despite being a quick read, it's accessible if you possess a basic understanding of the concepts previously explored in Hawking's work. For those familiar with his ideas, the book is a captivating journey; however, newcomers might find certain sections a tad confusing.

[Jana Keir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to feel like your problems are insignificant? Read this book. I said, problems, not your life... it lends an incredible sense of wonder at how we're here on this planet, how time works and the Big Bang (with a comprehensive explanation of this). I spent a lot of time thinking about all the theories and explanations in this short little book for days afterwards.

[Markéta Zdeňková · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book at one sitting.
It is very gripping and a must read for sure.
All the questions in the book are followed by an easy to understand answers and yet they leave you with something to think about. Absolutely brilliantly written.

[prongs · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've already read this in dutch before, but i got this edition from a friend and i liked it a lot! i understood much more than i did the last time i read it, so the concepts really sunk in this time :D

[chai]

"we have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that i am extremely grateful"

[cla · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess my expectations were high and it didn't deliver for me. It's brief and may be well worth reading for others.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another nicely short but informative read. I really like his approachable style.

[Pravina Sivakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawking and his simplified explanations are what I crave more all the time. This piece of writing evidently shows you that you came from nothing and you will be part of this universe.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

great introduction into Stephen Hawking's work. Easy to read and makes you hungry for more