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The Grand Design. Stephen Hawking and Leonard BOOK REVIEW Talk about metaphysics, in general, religion uses isolated episodes/items and science, in particular, many of us from science to convince the gullible (including SHaLM) believe that what we about their respective Gods. Igniting ob- observe in day-to-day life is governed by jects by the slight of hand while chanting certain laws (The laws of nature – as hymns, and similar antics by religious SHaLM put it) and ‘thumb-rules’. As this mystic is a popular example here. nature and the Universe are said to be the David A Shiang, in his treatise ‘God products of ‘God’ or ‘the designer supe- does not play dice’, takes on ‘entropy’ rior to HumInt’, studying or formulating proving that S = 0, interpreting the same the laws of nature is like trying to under- as there never was any disorder, repre- stand the ‘psyche’ of God, thereby be- senting one approach or school of having like the psychologist. Tinkering thought in Metaphysics4. SHaLM, on the nature as per these laws for the better- other hand begin at the very beginning of ment of human life is acting like the psy- the Universe and the associated ‘Big chiatrist. Bang’, whence, while discussing the the- Putting in a layman perspective, a psy- ory of everything, taking the aid of chiatrist is one who defines what is nor- Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle say The Grand Design. Stephen Hawking mal and what is abnormal, as far as Space is never empty existing in a state and Leonard Mlodinow. Bantam Books, human behaviour is concerned. Psychia- of minimum energy called vacuum (see New York. 2010. 208 pp. Price: US$ 28. trists’ other duties include treating ab- note 1). By the time they discuss ‘The normality, and if possible, to bring the grand design’ in the final chapter, the au- Explaining science to the layman is a affected person into the realm of normal thors claim to answer a series of ques- task in itself and is typically referred to perspective. If the number of incurable tions without ‘invoking any divine as popular science. Stephen Hawking, a cases is more, a redefining of normality beings’. Then, SHaLM do a volte-face in living legend of our times, ‘reigns su- is done, appropriate measures taken. saying the ‘energy of empty space’ and preme’ in the field of ‘popular science’, Similarly, whenever an exception arises ‘continuous world’ would remain con- be it either through television shows or to the laws of nature or to the thumb stant. Agreed… They also add these enti- through authoring various books on sci- rules, they are either discarded or modi- ties are ‘independent of time and ence. Presented here is a review of one fied to include the exceptions. Some- position’, which means either they do not of his recent books The Grand Design, times, we try to come up with alternative want to invoke the ‘uncertainty princi- co-authored along with another expert of set of laws and thumb rules; and in the ple’ or they reached a point wherein ‘in- popular science Leonard Mlodinow. At process perhaps even rewrite the texts. voking the divine beings’ becomes an this stage, one must keep in mind that The person who rewrites the laws of na- obligation if not mandatory. Put simply, one of the aims of metaphysics is to ture and thumb rules is our next Aris- at this point of ‘energy of empty space’, prove or disprove the presence of God, totle, Galileo or Newton..., until the next i.e. vacuum, as described by SHaLM, the and thereby explain scientifically the exception is discovered or invented. value of every parameter should theoreti- origin of this Universe. Then the whole process repeats. Put sim- cally equal zero: time = zero, position = Imagine an hour-glass in such a way ply, the first instance of an exception oc- zero (independent of time and position? that the top half is a mirror image of the curring to our laws of nature is in itself Why?) And S = zero (no chaos)4. Ideo- bottom. Let the top half represent ‘relig- an indication for the presence of a ‘de- logically wrong? Given the fact that the ion (theists)’ and the bottom half ‘sci- signer superior to human intelligence science of theology and metaphysics, per ence (atheists)’. The point where these (HumInt)’. se, rely not only on scientific observa- two halves touch, for the present, let’s tions, but also on logical arguments, for The element of conflict ceases when call it as ‘God’ or ‘a supreme designer’ once we may not be wrong. Why discard a person realizes that ‘I’, the ob- or a ‘designer superior to human intelli- these parameters of time, position and server, am the observed3. gence (HumInt)’. This point is best de- chaos. In other words, why only one di- fined by the Edward Harrison line: No In the hour-glass imagined earlier, relig- mension, when as per the popular scien- cosmologist knows exactly what is Uni- ion is always at the top, with huge tific opinion we live in at least a three- verse, and no theologian knows exactly amounts of mythology, isolated episodes dimensional world? Despite this, lets’ what is God1. and anecdotes from the same being bor- call this ‘empty space’ as ‘point zero’, if Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodi- rowed by science. Compare this to the not ‘event horizon’ (not the popular sci-fi now (SHaLM) in their book, The Grand sand in the hour-glass. Volumes have movie please). Are the authors biting Design summarize the entire physics of been written by people all over the world more than they can chew? Or is this the the present day2. And in this process, trying to prove either the absence of God present state of science, in the sense that they bring out the positive side of the or the presence of a designer superior to when we include every aspect, it starts same, while highlighting the drawbacks HumInt. The approach as to ‘how’ may disintegrating on its own or becomes in the current understanding of the Uni- vary. In reality, this process of proving self-contradictory? In other words, are verse. One way, this book is best described the presence or absence of God is liter- we being observed? Needless-to-say, in as explaining science/summarizing sci- ally not different from various religions the chapters preceding, an interesting ence to the layman. On the other hand, it that are in vogue today which believe in summary of science is presented leading is subtle metaphysics. existence of God. Invert the hour-glass, to a crescendo in chapters on ‘The theory CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 113, NO. 2, 25 JULY 2017 335 BOOK REVIEW of everything’ and ‘Choosing our uni- of Conway’s ‘Game of Life’, takes away new hope’, a run for its money. Am I verse’ of The Grand Design. the punch from the entire arguments pre- trespassing Chinese mythology when I sented earlier in their book. Needless-to- say three-legged Sun-crows traverse the Idea of nothingness or Shunyata: say, the rules of Conway’s ‘Game of sky and ten suns are included in the fa- Zero, a number that denotes the Life’ appear to be loosely based on game bles? Is mythology taking an upper hand presence of an absence5. of chess and some principles of immune- for once? Nevertheless, this concept of Despite the above mentioned major computing. Earth being part of a binary or a multi- drawback of Metaphysics, SHaLM does star system is worth giving a thought for Any sufficiently advanced technology a commendable job in generating a slice the drawbacks of physics mentioned in is indistinguishable from magic of the psyche of ... God or the superior The Grand Design. – Arthur C. Clarke intelligence (supint). They also accept In spite of all these, The Grand Design another major drawback of present-day Science fiction (SciFi) has aided ‘real is one book that must be in the personal physics. Laws and thumb rules in physics science’ in technological advances, in the library of every literate person, as it of- are essentially developed based on what sense that many concepts presented in fers a one-time snapshot of present-day is visible in the ‘human visible spectrum Sci-Fi precede their actual development physics. And SHaLM continue to reign of light’. And an alien that has capability and acceptance in science. As an exam- supreme among all those scientists who to see in ‘X-rays’ or in any other wave- ple, the concept of submarine was origi- successfully brought ‘science’ to the length, may be a supint or has a better nally presented in Jules Verne’s ‘twenty layman through ‘the grand design’. This usage in airports. In this regard, I am thousand leagues under sea’. In recent article would be incomplete without a sa- tempted to bring to the attention of the times, Issac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ar- lute to the cartoons and photographs that readers an item which appeared in one of thur C Clarke, Carl Sagan, Michael are included in the book. Some of them the Indian national dailies, in the Rip- Crichton and others have taken Sci-Fi to are ‘simply brilliant’, just as the book ley’s Believe it or not column, that indi- unprecedented heights. Garnish this with is... viduals who have their eye lenses Hollywood making the written Sci-Fi as surgically removed achieve the ability to visible; the distinction between real sci- Notes 6 see some UV light . Add to this the Echo- ence and Sci-Fi becomes blurred.
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