On the Origin of Time

Title: On the Origin of Time – Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory
Author: Thomas Hertog
Publisher: Penguin 2024 (First published 2023)
ISBN: 9781804991121
Pages: 313

Stephen Hawking was the face of physics for nearly three decades. His achievements in theoretical physics, especially the finding that black holes do emit radiation contrary to popular belief, was a game-changer in astrophysics. All of these in the face of a severely debilitating physical illness helped Hawking reach the level of an icon of resilience and hope. His best seller ‘A Brief History of Time’ was as legendary a work on popular science as its author was among physicists. People thought he would rest on his laurels since there was so much of it, but Hawking had other ideas. This book contains his research on the cosmos towards the end of his life long after he lost the whatever little power of muscles for electronic communication. Twenty years of the author’s conversations with Hawking are faithfully and truly woven into this narrative. The thrust of the story is on his so called final theory of the universe’s origin. Thomas Hertog is an internationally renowned cosmologist who was for many years a close collaborator of Stephen Hawking. He is currently professor of theoretical physics at the University of Leuven, where he studies the quantum nature of the big bang. He lives in Belgium.

A problem with cosmology is its inability to handle and explain the moment of origin. In spite of many theories elaborating on how ‘something came out of nothing’, they are unable to fulfil the basic criteria of a scientific theory on testability and falsifiability. Esoteric terms like quantum fluctuations of the void are thrown hither and thither, but the sad fact is that this aspect of physics – the exact point of origin – is still shrouded in mystery and conjecture, just like a religious myth. To add to the confusion and stoke the arsenal of religionists, Hawking and other writers toy with the concept of the appearance of design in the origin of the cosmos because it turned out in the future to be an ideal place for life in general and human life in particular. The book begins with the recollection of a talk with Hawking in which he commented that the universe appears ‘designed’. Most physicists believe that the universe’s delicately crafted architecture follows from an elegant mathematical principle at the core of the theory of everything. Then the universe’s apparent design would seem like a lucky accident of objective and impersonal nature. The author then contrasts the appearance of design at the root of things in physics and biology. This unnecessary exercise only serves to lure the attention of creationists and nothing more. Darwinism offers a thoroughly evolutionary understanding of the appearance of design in the living world. Physics and cosmology, on the other hand, have looked to the nature of timeless mathematical laws. Not history or evolution but timeless mathematical beauty is thought to rule at the deep bottom level of physics.

Even though the creation myth was part and parcel of the cultural milieu of every human society, the concept of a definite origin for the cosmos did not enter scientific thought till the last century. It was only when the expansion of the universe was established that scientists extrapolated it backwards in time to reach the starting point. Georges Lemaitre proposed a primeval atom which expanded to become the universe. The seed of big bang was sown then and interestingly Lemaitre was also a priest. He maintained that science and religion do not overlap. What happened to the primeval atom later is the realm of science while questions such as who created it or what went before it, is the subject matter of metaphysics and religion. Half a century later, Pope John Paul II claimed that every scientific hypothesis on the origin of the world such as the primeval atom or the big bang leaves open the problem of the beginnings of the universe. Science itself cannot resolve such a question which requires ‘revelation from god’. This remark was made in connection with the 1981 conference held in Vatican organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences convened to enhance the mutual understanding between science and religion. At this meeting, Hawking declared that the universe had no boundary and no definite moment of creation. Some curious facts about the universe’s expansion are also mentioned in the book which emerged recently from observations. We live in a hesitating universe, meaning the expansion rate was slow at first, but its period of hesitation ended a few billion years ago and is now expanding more rapidly. This was predicted by Lemaitre but contested by Einstein. Recent researches has proved Lemaitre right. A lot more has to be learned about the universe as well. 70 per cent of the universe consists of dark energy and 25 per cent with dark matter which do not interact with ordinary matter, which we are familiar with. Even according to the little chunk we know, it is difficult to explain strangely coincidental occurrences without resorting to concepts in quantum theory. The hot and slightly colder spots in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation is very essential for the formation of galaxies and life. Inflationary theory states that these spots are primeval quantum fuzz, magnified and writ large across the cosmic sky.

Hertog describes the development of many hypotheses in physics that deal with cosmological concepts and the role Stephen Hawking played in developing or modifying them. Hawking was bold, adventurous and ready to do a lot of intuition-driven practice of physics. This characterized much of Hawking’s later work, which is after the publication of Brief History. The paradoxes of the life cycle of black holes and with our place in the multiverse are the two vexing and hotly debated physics puzzles of the last decades. Hawking found that black holes emit some radiation and will eventually go into a void, destroying all information that had previously entered into it. But quantum theory states that this is impossible. Hawking’s clever attempts to rid the origin theories of a singularity at the very beginning are described in detail. The no-boundary hypothesis of Hartle and Hawking are illustrated, even though it is still very complicated to comprehend. The time dimension warps into one of space in the beginning of the cosmos. In this way, the singularity at big bang is conveniently taken out of the picture, but this looks more like a metaphysical somersault. This is also an approach towards developing a clear view of quantum gravity. In short, the theory holds that ‘once upon a time, there was no time’, because the time dimension is changed into one of space. The role of an observer in a quantum experiment is very critical as sometimes the effects fail to materialize in reality if there is nobody or nothing to observe it. In a quantum universe like ours, a tangible physical reality emerges from a whole horizon of possibilities by means of a continual process of questioning and observing. Now comes Hawking’s final theory. It offers a different explanation of the assertion that the universe originated in a big bang from nothingness. He held that nothingness at the beginning is nothing like the emptiness of a vacuum, but a much more profound epistemic horizon involving no space, no time and no physical laws. The origin of time is the limit of what can be said about our past, not just the beginning of all that is. This he calls the top-down approach (p.257).

The first decade of this century was a golden period for cosmology books in which quite a good number of titles abundantly ‘infotained’ the audience. Most of them talked about the quest for a grand general theory of physics that would unify the four fundamental forces of strong and weak nuclear forces, gravity and electromagnetism. The general consensus was that string theory would one day become ripe enough to explain it all. The second decade was not so prolific after all with very few good books coming our way and this book steps into the role of updating people about the fortunes of the fabled string theory at present. It now seems that the theory has not been able to live up to the expectations. The fundamental structure of string theory remains somewhat elusive. If you were to ask a number of theorists, you are likely to get a range of different answers. String theorists have mostly had to supplant input from experiments with mathematical research. Over the years, the community has developed its own intricate checks and balances system to judge progress, baked mostly on criteria to do with mathematical consistency of the framework. Unlike the Einstein equations of general relativity or the Schrodinger or Dirac equations of quantum theory, a single agreed upon master equation that encapsulates the kernel of string theory has yet to be found. Many predictions offered by the theory are not testable in the short or medium term because of the very high energy levels required. This has put the research at a dead end. This is the impression readers get regarding the string theory.

The book is extremely unappealing to read for general and lay readers for whom completely reading this would be a test of endurance and steadfastness. I don’t use the word ‘boring’, only because I am being charitable. Several diagrams are included in the work, but they fail to enhance comprehensibility and the book lacks the ability to inform lay readers. Many chapters are highly abstract and not described with the general reader in mind. This tome is rather a tribute to Stephen Hawking who was the teacher, philosopher and mentor of the author for many years, rather than serving as a herald of new developments in the field. Even Hawking’s final theory is not very convincing and appear to be only a philosophical conjecture of possibilities rather than a snapshot of reality. It is felt that this idea many not go much further.

The book is not recommended for ordinary readers.

Rating: 2 Star

It’s All About Muhammad

Title: It’s All About Muhammad – A Biography of the World’s Most Notorious Prophet
Author: F W Burleigh
Publisher: Zenga Books, 2014 (First)
ISBN: 9780996046930
Pages: 554

As the title implies, this is an explosive book for the believer as well as non-believer but its relevance cannot be doubted. It is an unabashed criticism and the onus is now on the believers to come out refuting the claims in this book. The world is wracked by Islamist violence on an unprecedented scale in its history. This book claims that every thirty minutes or so, a murder is happening somewhere in the world committed by jihadis, of people who refuse to pronounce the first pillar of Islam – the kalima (p.12). This book was published in 2014, but its continued significance is attested by the Pahalgam terror incident in Kashmir two months ago where terrorists gunned down 26 Hindu male tourists in front of their wives for refusing to, or more probably, being ignorant of the kalima. In fact, this gory incident was a reason to read this book in order to understand why the jihadis go on such bloody rampages for the last fourteen centuries. This book asserts that Islam was imposed by violence, because it has no other way to sustain itself. This is claimed to be a biography of Prophet Muhammad compiled from original sources. It is not clear whether the author has used the Arabic versions or later translations. The author’s name, F W Burleigh, is evidently a pseudonym as no search on the Internet could extract any info on his identity (I believe the author to be a male). He claims that he had examined 20,000 pages of original Islamic texts for the research of this book. He was motivated by the 9/11 attack to delve deeper into the question of why hard-line Muslims resort to such violent measures.

His life and times are well chronicled by early Islamic writers and biographers and an extensive corpus of literature is available on this topic. It also surveys the socio-religious milieu of pre-Islamic Mecca. The town was the centrepiece of Arabian polytheism which housed the temple of moon worship by importing a human-like statue of the Nabatean moon good Hubal. This temple was without a roof and had a rectangular wall about the height of a single storey building. The walls were often breached by flash floods and the Meccans rebuilt it with a raised platform and roof and named it ‘the cube’, that is, kaba. There were people protesting against various aspects of the religion and a polytheistic apostate named Zayd ibn Amr believed in an idealized Abrahamic religion founded on belief in one true god and total submission to it. Meccans drove Zayd out of the town and he took up residence in a cave on Mount Hira. He used to come to the town at night and had discussions with Muhammad and other people who shared his interests.

Paganism is inherently tolerant. So it is with some astonishment that we read about why the Meccans drove him and his disciples away from the town. The narrowness of the new religion’s dogma was offensive to the Meccans who were traditionally tolerant of everyone’s god concept. Our protagonist ridiculed their idols and statues; he condemned each and every polytheist to the fires of hell. This was in no way acceptable to the Meccans who tolerated everything except intolerance. He performed his prayer routines in the open in front of their temple as a challenge at which the Meccans seethed in anger, but they could do nothing about it because such freedom was granted to everyone by default. Allah was one of the gods the Meccans worshipped. What was different in the new religion was its repudiation of all other deities. He branded the people of Mecca as idol worshippers whereas none of them disputed the existence of a supreme deity. They thought that the idols were only representations of higher powers and not the powers themselves. While most of his own Hashemite clan rejected him in the early stages, they supported him against any harm by other groups as a show of clan loyalty. This tribal affinity prevented the Meccans from dealing a severe personal assault. The new religion used the Meccans’ customs such as providing safe passage in specific months to good advantage even though they had little respect for the traditions. He was exploiting their openness and tolerance. The temple was open to worship for anybody to worship whatever they wished but he tolerated only his own idea of god. This was a bone of contention with the Meccans.

He and his companions were forced to leave Mecca as their lives were at risk. Yathrib (present day Medina) was the preferred destination because the Khazraj and Aws tribes which resided there were more receptive to monotheism. They had exposure to the Jewish faith who constituted nearly half of the population. Prophets guided the Jewish religion. Besides, the warring tribes in Yathrib needed a strong leader to unify them. Polytheism was weak there and no communal worship was in place. After the alliance with the Yathrib tribes was sealed, revelations were received to fight for the cause since peaceful proselytization could not make much impact. Once the group relocated to the new desert oasis, there began plunder of caravans and he claimed a fifth of the booty which made him and many of his followers rich beyond their wildest dreams. The victory at the battle of Badar gave them confidence to take on his enemies in Yathrib. All criticism was silenced; several poets who mocked him in verse were assassinated. After the base was secured, hostile tribes in Arabia were targeted. Heavenly sex or terrestrial booty was promised to the loyal fanatics who fought on his side. If they did not fall in line, the threat of perpetual hellfire was an effective clincher.

The consolidation and empowerment of his reign in Yathrib is explained in quite some detail. The string of assassinations and expulsion of Qaynuqa Jews brought about a rapid expansion of his religion and it included much of the non-Jewish population of Yathrib. The book provides a graphical description of the massacre of Qurayza Jews in which 900 men and grown up boys who surrendered were beheaded five or six at a time and dumped into a trench dug nearby for that purpose. The author claims that this was exactly what the ISIS did in Iraq and Syria and concludes that terror was a convincing missionary. Boys were killed if they had reached puberty. If there was any doubt about their age, they were checked for pubic hair. If so, they too were beheaded. Men with clothes worth preserving were forced to remove them so that some of them died naked (p.311). Their women and children were forced to watch this ordeal and were then sold into slavery. He was ferocious than any of his opponents and overwhelmed them until his very name caused fear. Though his enemies were able to inflict occasional setbacks on him, they ultimately saw the embrace of his religion as the only refuge from the pain and misery he was able to impose on them. Thus his religion grew. Proactive attacks on enemies, real or imagined, were carried out through numerous raids, forceful conversions, fundraising through plunder and spreading terror. He invited the people to convert to his religion. If they refused, he proclaimed them guilty of turning their back on truth. They were then subject to god’s punishment; attacking them was rendering divine justice (p.380). The book contains a vivid description of the brutal interrogation of the leader of Khybar Jews named Kinana regarding the places where he had hidden his wealth.

Burleigh makes a character sketch of our protagonist which has some positive and mostly negative aspects. He is alleged to possess some psychiatric problems and is claimed to have gained control of anxiety disorder by ‘elaborating and practising a complex prayer ritual marked by repetition and precise, time-consuming body movements. He is also said to be a control freak. Creating rules was fundamental to his controlling nature and he never passed up an opportunity to create laws about matters as they arose, no matter how trivial. It also went into areas he did not comprehend fully. For instance, he prohibited intercalation of the Arabian calendar which added a month every three years to keep the lunar calendar in sync with the solar cycle and seasons. With this omission, the Muslim calendar began to slip the sun by eleven days each year. This act was contrary in spirit to what Gregory XIII did nearly a millennium later. His family life is treated in a gentle manner throughout the book and a chapter titled menage-a-quatorze is reserved for a detailed analysis which is surprisingly devoid of harsh recriminations. Such allegations are reserved for the personality assessment. Very harsh terms like epileptic psychopath, deluded mass murderer, revelations were hallucinations, etc. are included in the book. At the same time, some qualities are also indicated. He is said to be a creative genius, masterful at reading his audience, gift of eloquence, astute leadership, make others die for him, ability to convince people he had the truth etc. He is also credited to have created a trans-tribal super tribe of believers.

The book is claimed to be entirely based on the original literature of the religion. If the readers find the protagonist of this biography disturbing, it is asserted to be because what is written about him in the original literature is disturbing. The lay followers of the religion are obliged to follow the protagonist’s practice and they are violent to non-believers because he was so. Burleigh declares this book an antidote to what the protagonist created and to facilitate the ‘the aggressive, relentless and unapologetic exposure of the truth about him, particularly through dramatization in film’ (p.477). The book contains several illustrations of the protagonist contrary to the dictates of the religion not to personify him in any way and also as committing or superintending violent acts. The author advocates the production of a movie depicting these events. If such a movie is ever produced, it would be the ultimate expose of the religion and is sure to produce a violent backlash all over the world. Probably, it could be distributed only in the electronic format but would spread to every corner of the globe like wild fire. The book is dedicated to Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film director who was assassinated in 2004 in Amsterdam by a Muslim who resented his film Submission, Part 1 which criticized the treatment of women in Islam.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star