Memorable Passage

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking


"A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on.” “You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles all the way down!” Most people would find the picture of our universe as an infinite tower of tortoises rather ridiculous, but why do we think we know better? What do we know about the universe, and how do we know it? Where did the universe come from, and where is it going? Did the universe have a beginning, and if so, what happened before then? What is the nature of time? Will it ever come to an end? Can we go back in time? Recent breakthroughs in physics, made possible in part by fantastic new technologies, suggest answers to some of these longstanding questions. Someday these answers may seem as obvious to us as the earth orbiting the sun – or perhaps as ridiculous as a tower of tortoises. Only time (whatever that may be) will tell."

I’ve been a fan of Stephen Hawking since I was young. I believe that this paragraph, from his brilliant book, A Brief History of Time, has something memorable for everyone who has the courage to give it a chance. I was so terrified when I first took a look at this paperback. I didn’t think I was smart enough to understand the things he wrote about, my self-confidence was that low. I couldn’t bring myself to believe in my intelligence enough to really look forward to reading it, but once I’d started, I couldn’t stop. He answers so many questions that I’d been asking myself for years. The things he writes about blows my mind, and this paragraph itself does the same. This is, however, the first words written in his book. Many would say that it is not the most profound or the most interesting, but I think it is real genius. How many books can start out with something like this? His ideas, which he talks about casually and with wit, have changed my life and my view of the world in general. I admire Hawking, he has found the strength and bravery to live a full life despite the physical setbacks he faces. He is truly an inspiration, and his knowledge, which he has been gracious enough to share with the world, has opened up new doors in my mind and allows me to think in ways I never could before. And this paragraph represents all his book has done for me.