Reader’s Note
One equation, and he kept to it.
by@ivor_stackWritten 31 May 2026Read 29 May 2026
Four evenings, and I bought it new, which dates me. The constraint he set himself is the interesting thing: one equation in the whole book, on the grounds that each additional one halves the readership. Is that arithmetic sound? I have no idea. But working inside a limit like that forces decisions, and you can see him making them.
The diagrams are why it works. The light cone drawings I could follow without difficulty, partly because I have drawn worse ones professionally, and partly because he uses them consistently rather than inventing a new picture every chapter. Consistency of notation is underrated in books of this kind.
The arrow of time chapter is the one I have gone back to, twice, and I think it is the clearest short explanation of why the past and the future are different that I have come across.
Where it goes off, for me, is the last few pages. The talk about the mind of God reads like a decision taken by somebody else, and it doesn't follow from anything he has just spent his time establishing.
Eight. Short, honest about what remains unsettled, and I don't entirely believe the number of people who say they got to the end.
About this book
A Brief History of TimeStephen W. HawkingIn the Margins
A Brief History of Time reviewed by @kepler22b
dated but honest. imaginary time still loses me.7 out of 10@kepler22b
A Brief History of Time reviewed by @annotatedannie
Chapters one to four are a public service. From roughly chapter seven onward I was reading the words and taking in nothing at all, and I don't think that was entirely my fault. I finished out of stubbornness and looked up eight things afterwards.6 out of 10@annotatedannie
A Brief History of Time reviewed by @sam
Didn't follow much.7 out of 10@sam
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