The last time I read his book, I was a freshman in university. I enjoyed the read, however there were concepts I did not fully understand at the time. When I read it a few weeks back, many of these concepts made better sense. As a university graduate, I read the book from a philosophical perspective, and came to some new conclusions.
It is widely known during the early Twentieth Century, that Physics were alive with debate, with the world's greatest minds attempting to craft a Unified Theory. This theory was meant to combine the theories and observations witnessed in both relativity and quantum mechanics. Relativity usually is observed and applied to the very large, while quantum mechanics is based on the observations of atoms, and atomic particles -- the very small. The major premise of quantum mechanics is called the Uncertainty Principle. That is to say, that it is possible to know the momentum of an atomic particle (an electron, for example), but not know its' position. Conversely, you may be able to know the position of said particle, but will not know its' momentum. This introduces a "randomness" to the theory. That being said, there are scores of scientists out there who find randomness in the universe a little unsettling. Einstein was once quoted "God does not play dice", referring to the uncertainty principle. I once agreed with this statement, feeling that everything in the observable universe could be explained empirically (example: A causes B) At my age, I have started to wonder if this randomness is an integral part of the universe.
For all you who have seen the movie Contact, or read Carl Sagan's novel, you will know the protagonist, Elanor Arroway goes on an incredible journey to another planet, however does bring home any proof of her journey. Arroway, a scientist who believes in proof with empirical data, ends up having an experience she cannot explain, nor was she able to prove the validity of her journey to those who question her scientific integrity. This experience, of course changes her life, once she realizes that not everything in the observable universe can be quantified, explained by a causality principle (i.e. A causes B), or otherwise approximated by a mathematical formula.
Post-modern thought has been the greatest contribution to the physical sciences in the last half-century. I don't have time to discuss post-modern thought in today's posting, as people have written books on the subject. Essentially, what I will say is that post-modern thought is subjective. Data is data, and nothing more. It is the interpretation of the data which allows us, the scientists and philosophers to make assumptions and explanations of the observable Universe.
I have recently come to an understanding that though us human beings are of a curious sort, and that we wish to explain where we came from, or why we are here, what our fate may come to be, it is just simply too complicated. It is beyond our human understanding. Certain phenomena may be observable and explained, but we will never be able to understand the Big Kahuna. Stephen Hawking's most powerful argument in his book was his final statement:
"However, if we do discover a complete [unified] theory, it should in time be understandable in the broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we would know the mind of God."
These are profound words. Many theologians and philosophers have argued that it is not possible for a human to understand the mind of God. I would be inclined to say to understand the mind of God is to be one. If this were true, this would put too much power into the hands of us mortals. We have already harnessed to power of the atom; we have learned to manipulate genes, to create new species of plants in animal that are resistant to disease. Animals, and even human embryos are being cloned, largely for the purpose of stem-cell research. Man is already well adept at playing God. Take this a step further, and we can imagine man would then have to power to create, manipulate, and destroy the universe. It would be safest if man was incapable of having such power -- and perhaps He has blatantly kept that ability from us.
The universe if full of awe and wonder. So is the future.
