Introducing Stephen Hawking by j.p. mcevoy

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

Breve guía introductoria al trabajo de Stephen Hawking, con especial énfasis en su vida. Las partes complicadas (que son muchas) de los trabajos de hawking han sido no solo extirpadas, sino reseccionadas con un buen trozo de materia sana alrededor, quedando en el texto solo breves pinceladas que no llegan a explicarse bien, por miedo a que algún concepto complicado se les cuele en el libro. La verdad es que en la parte puramente divulgativa lo han dejado cojo. El hecho de que SH fuera capaz de tener una vida (científica y personal) tan fructífera cuando los médicos le dieron en su juventud un par de años de vida ocupa muchas más páginas. No está mal lo que hay, pero sabe a poco si lo que buscamos es una introducción a su trabajo.

0 0 Reply

SG3

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

I didn't expect that I would've truly, truly enjoyed this book! I had several of the introducing series and this one definitely will stay on the top list. The writer and illustrator didn't only talk about Hawking's life per se, but also the basics of Newton Laws and Einstein's contribution in physics, as well as some other scientists who was working on similar topic!

I've been learning physics since middle school but this is the first time that I came to truly appreciate the beauty of it. Also, he was made a Fellow to the Royal Society when he was only 32 years old! 32! In the world of scientists and researchers that is VERY YOUNG. Very young indeed.

Thanks to this book I have appreciated this man a lot more than a cool theoretical physicist who is known for his work on black hole. His amazing mind connected one law of physics to another beautifully.

The author himself received a PhD in Physics, so truly understood what he was writing. Love this book. Loove this book.

0 0 Reply

trex19

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

A beautiful read. While very light (can be easily read in an afternoon while enjoying the wonderful pictures), it doesn't shy away from the concepts it has to explain in order to understand the Professor's legacy.

Every concept shown is first introduced in its historical context: where were we before? What did we know? And which ideas were floating in the air? It moves from the beginning of the XXth Century, when science was believed to be finished, to the atomic revolution during WWII, introducing Oppenheimer and Wheeler as well as their rivalry. It moves to the sixties, to Hawking, to Penrose... Every character is, as should be, put in their corresponding context.

Once the context is well understood, the author makes a pause. He explains the topic at hand, be it the formation and death of stars, thermal radiation or general relativity as well as it can be done without delving into the math. Of course, this may sometimes become, as some other critics have mentioned, hand-wavy and unrigurous: what do they mean by "Imaginary time", for example? However, it must be understood that cosmology, like General Relativity, is born from mathematics, and the concepts often come from mind-bogging abstractions that can't be possibly explained in a (very entertaining, beautifully written) comic book.

But, as I said, the author performs as smoothly as he possibly could have when dealing with such a topic. All in all, a very good read.

0 0 Reply

davidgvidal

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

The book makes for a nice reading at leisure. It suites complete beginers to physics or people with no science background as they get to follow the creation of a genius in view of the theories he proposes. Following the line of theories that make our present understanding of the cosmos today is a great journey put into the book with astonishing clarity and ease.
Even people with a physics background will find the development of the story interesting and the graphics just makes it better.

0 0 Reply

rmanne

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

I still don't understand quantum physics, black holes, and space. Maybe a leeetle bit more, but not really. oh well.

0 0 Reply

Eza09

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

الكتاب مهم لكن الترجمة سيئة رغم أن نسختي هي الطبعة الثانية المنقحة

0 0 Reply

Vanvonhunter

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 16,2025

Not a bad insight into Hawking's work and its importance, but even though it's badged as "For Beginners", there were a few complex concepts and terms in this book with which I wasn't familiar, and will probably need another book to get my head around them!

0 0 Reply