Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, A Commentary

Charles William Johnson

©2009-2014 Copyrighted Earth/matriX Editions

Introduction

I wrote the following review of Stephen W. Hawking's book entitled, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes [Bantam Books, New York, l988, 198pp.] around 1990. During the late Seventies and throughout the Eighties I researched the theoretical conception of spacetime/motion. Within that line of questioning, I had read Hawking's work, but did not really give it much thought after writing this review. I placed the review aside, and am only making it public now. Its publication is more a question of discipline rather than one of current debate. The 1990 critique of Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time follows.

-o-

The point that most impressed me about Stephen Hawking`s book is the initial comment by Carl Sagan in the Introduction: "We go about our daily lives understanding almost nothing of the world".(p.ix). It is more the case that we do not require a lot of the knowledge that has been produced at the everyday level of living. Yet, this is precisely what has produced the kind of societies that we have: a very obvious lack of knowledge which affects the quality of life in our societies.

In Carl Sagan`s "Introduction", he also asks "why we remember the past and not the future" (p.ix). This question has finally been addressed by Stephen Hawking himself in the conference given on "Particles, Strings and Cosmology" at the University of California, Berkeley in December of l992, where he attempted to answer "why can we remember the past, yet not the future".

"Our ability to remember past but not future also coincides with the arrow of entropy. The reason, Hawking says, is that whenever a memory is made, in either a brain or a computer, the smidgen of energy required to light up a neutron or move an electron is released as heat. Heat ---roiling, chaotic heat--- increases entropy. Memories, then, because they release heat, increases disorder, too. Entropy increases from yesterday to tomorrow. That`s why memories are made in the past ---to Hawking a more convincing explanation than the pedestrian statement that one can remember only what has already occurred." (Newsweek, January 4, 1993.

A third comment by Carl Sagan regarding Hawking`s effort to explain time and the universe is revealing: "The word God fills these pages. Hawking embarks on a quest to answer Einstein`s famous question about whether God had any choice in creating the universe. Hawking is attempting, as he explicitly states, to understand the mind of God. And this makes all the more unexpected the conclusion of the effort, at least so far: a universe with no edge in space, no beginning or end in time, and nothing for a Creator to do." (p.x).

Hawking attempts to offer answers regarding existence. The question is to understand his very concepts of space-time and movement. For these are the concepts that reality itself has pushed upon us always. It is our understanding that in as much as reality, existence, means spacetime/movement, we shall evaluate Hawking`s propositions and ideas from the perspective of spacetime/movement itself. In order to achieve this analysis, we shall delve into the theses proposed by Hawking and the concepts that he handles to prove his distinct points.

We have made a selection of some of his theses and ideas, as it will soon become evident that it is unnecessary to deal with each one; suffice it to lay bare the theoretical conception behind the handling of concepts.

Before we actually enter into the analysis of his specific theses, we should offer some points regarding our own conceptual reasoning in order that the reader might better understand the nature of our questioning Hawking`s work.

SPACETIME/MOVEMENT

Reality consists of spacetime/movement. The specific manifestations of spacetime/movement are matter-energy events. Spacetime/movement determines the existence of matter-energy; and not the other way around: matter-energy does not determine the existence of spacetime/movement

There exists only one theoretical conception of reality, in as much as there is only one reality. This reality that we know consists of spacetime/movement. The theoretical conception must reflect the terms of reality itself, which are spacetime/movement.

a.- There are not many, distinct theories of reality. There exist many different methods of reasoning about reality, whereby distinct reasons are given for the existence of reality. But, again, there is only one theoretical conception, which either apprehends or does not apprehend reality (that is, spacetime/movement) as it exists.

b.- Human beings can theoretically conceive reality in terms of spacetime/movement. Human beings relate in practice to reality in terms of spacetime/movement.

c.- Each spacetime/movement event has its own spacetime/movement coordinates. No two events of spacetime/movement can occupy the same spacetime/movement coordinates. Each spacetime/movement event is exclusive of all other spacetime/movement events.

d.- Spacetime/movement is relational to itself.

e.- Spacetime means movement; the existence of movement implies the existence of spacetime.

Upon the basis of these selected propositions regarding spacetime/movement, we shall now proceed to review Stephen Hawking`s work on the history of time. The purpose of our analysis is to emphasize the need to construct the theoretical conception of spacetime/movement in order to apprehend reality as it exists. All too often, within both the natural and social sciences, the concepts themselves become more important than reality itself. Furthermore, we are unable to conceive reality and existence in its own terms because we emphasize and play with word-concepts which hide reality more than reveal it.

The purpose of this analysis, then, is to assist us in explaining reality, and for that we must explain the concepts and the theoretical conception behind the use of word-concepts. By analyzing the use of word-cocnepts in Hawking`s own analysis, we should be able to better understand the theoretical construct that he is employing, or suggesting. With this in mind, we should be able to come closer to a better understanding of the terms of existence.

In order to deal with Hawking`s work, we shall select certain theses for analysis, since it would be far too extensive to write about each and every particular thesis. Such a selective analysis should offer the reader an insight into our analysis and propositions, as well as those of Hawking. However, we do recommend that Hawking`s work be read and studied before entering in our analysis.

Earth/matrix
Science Today

• The Temperature Scale and the
  Universal Constant for Particle Mass
  
  
• The International Temperature
  Scale 1990
  
  
• Color Scale and Temperature
  Scale Relations
  
  
• The Pluto / Sun Relationship and
  the Thermodynamic Temperature Scale
  
  
• The Inverse Fine-Structure
  Constant
  
  
• Quantum Mechanics of the Reciprocity of Light and Gravity
  
  
• Matter and Energy Disengaged
  
  
• The Astronomical Unit (AU):
  Mercury/Sun Distance
  

• Mercury as Astronomical Unit (AU), for Distance, Orbital Periodicity and Velocity
  

• The Particle Zoo
  
  
• A Multi-Gravitational Solar
  System Infinitely so...
  
  
• The Bi-Gravitational Solar System Center-Point and Barycenter
  

• By Intelligent Design:
  The 1.068 Solar Radii Constant.
  
  
• The Potential Impact of
  Asteroids on Earth
  
  
• The Moon's Librations and
  Core Diameter
  

• The Solar matriX:
  The Sun - Jupiter Barycenter
  

• The Vacuocentric Solar System Head-on View
  

• The Vacuocentric Solar System:
  Additional Commentary