Hawking and the Mind of God

by Peter Coles

Hawking and the Mind of God examines the pseudoreligious connotations of some of the key themes in Hawking's work, and how these shed light not only on the Hawking cult itself, but also on the wider issue of how scientists represent themselves in the media.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 1996

Reviews

[أحمد دعدوش · Rating 5 out of 5]

ينتقد المؤلف بأدلة مقنعة مشروع هوكنغ لاكتشاف "عقل الإله" بمحاولة وضع قانون فيزيائي واحد يفسر كل شيء، حيث يؤكد كولز أن هذا مستحيل علميا.
والفضيحة التي يكشفها لنا كولز هي أن مجلة "عالم الفيزياء" نشرت في ديسمبر 1999 نتائج استطلاع طُلب فيه من 130 من كبار فيزيائيي العالم تسمية خمسة فيزيائيين يرون أنهم أفضل من قدم إسهامات مهمة في الفيزياء، فلم يحصل هوكنغ إلا على صوت واحد مع أنه أكثر الفيزيائيين شهرة في العالم، بينما يعتبره العوام الأذكى على الإطلاق!
ينسب كولز هذه الشهرة إلى ما تلعبه وسائل الإعلام من دور في صياغة الرأي العام، ويتحدث عن ‫‏قوة الصورة‬ التي أبهرت الناس بمظهر هوكنغ المقعد على كرسي مدولب وهو يتواصل عبر حاسوب صمم خصيصاً لمحاكاة صوته بسبب المرض.

[Tvrtko Balić · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good short little book about physics with the focus on Stephen Hawking, giving background for his work. Everything is explained in layman's terms, but without being inaccurate because of it. The only problem I really have with it is that it isn't really about what it sets out to be about. Focus is given to Hawking, his life is discussed briefly in the beginning, but because of how much effort is given to covering the background of his work it really becomes just an overview of physics in general. Only four pages at the end end up being about the phenomenon of Hawking, something the reader might expect to read about here, followed by only two pages about the "mind of god" referenced in the title which turns out isn't really important at all (I'm still putting it on a religion shelf as a technicality).

[Niall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent little read, understandably a little dated, with plenty of information on Hawking, quantum theory and some of the practical and theoretical implications of Quantum theory. A good-read for anyone seeking a little extra insight into quantum theory and modern science, it's implications and even just on Hawking himself.