He created a universe which operates according to a set of principles which can be deduced by men, which God also follows. Therefore, he states that if men can find and understand a Grand Unified Theory, men can "know the mind of God" (175). Hawking applies this definition of a good theory to all the theories he discusses; he is consistent.
Hawking supports his contention that men can understand the forces which direct the workings of the universe by presenting the recent discoveries in physics and quantum mechanics in a nonmathematical format. He begins the book with an overview of the ancient and absurd theories of how the solar system and the universe began and operate. His descriptions are good at this point. He uses illustrations which can be visualized and may be humorous. Such as the theory that the earth is held up by a string of giant tortoises (1). These types of asides help keep the nonscientific readers interest. The thought that the earth is the center of the universe is now understood to be false, but is more believable.
Galileo and Newton began the development of the modern ideas of motion (16). Galileo found that the weight of an object does not affect how fast it falls. Newton built upon the measurements taken, by Galileo, to formulate his laws of motion. Throughout history, men have built upon the discoveries other men have made before them. Hawking's goal, of not using mathematical equations to represent concepts, makes the language and sentence structure more complex than might have been necessary with the use of simple equations. The description of Newton's laws could have been augmented, by the equations, for those readers with the mathematical knowledge to understand them. The symbolic language, of math, is often simpler and more concise than descriptive examples in english. Hawking's real world examples of Newton's laws are good. Most people can identify with how different weights and s...