The Grand Design

　　本商品為The Grand Design完整版有聲CD，內含四片CD，朗讀時間約5小時。

　　有關宇宙與生命起源的根本問題，向來歸屬於哲學範疇，如今卻已成為科學家、哲學家與神學家百家爭鳴之領域。在這本最新力作之中，霍金與曼羅迪諾對於宇宙最深奧的祕密，提出科學上最新的想法。他們用的不是深奧難懂的專業術語，而是以簡單明瞭的方式娓娓道來。

　　根據量子理論，兩位作者在《大設計》中指出，宇宙並非只有單一的存在或單一歷史，而是每個可能的歷史都同時存在。將這種想法運用在宇宙整體上， 對於傳統的因果觀念就產生了懷疑。而霍金和曼羅迪諾依「由上而下」的宇宙學研究法指出，從過去沒有確切的形式這點看來，說明了人們經由觀察創造歷史，而並 非歷史創造我們的觀點。他們進一步解釋，我們本身是宇宙初生之際量子起伏的產物，並且提出量子理論如何預測了「眾宇宙」的存在，亦即這個宇宙只是眾多的宇 宙之一；所有的宇宙都是從無中自然生出，各自擁有不同的自然法則。

　　在本書中，霍金與曼羅迪諾挑戰了傳統對真實的概念，也只有「與模型相關」的理論能夠找到最真的真實。最後，他們對於M理論進行徹底與生動的分析；M理論是解釋支配人類與宇宙法則的理論，也是目前唯一有望成為完整的「萬物理論」之理論。

　　這本書筆力簡潔且內容豐富，提出科學上有力的發現與證據，勢將改變人類對宇宙的認知，甚至動搖到不可動搖的信仰體制。《大設計》為我們帶來的衝擊與啟發，將會是前所未有的。

　　本書中譯本《大設計》由「大塊文化」出版。

　　THE FIRST MAJOR WORK IN NEARLY A DECADE BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT THINKERS—A MARVELOUSLY CONCISE BOOK WITH NEW ANSWERS TO THE ULTIMATE QUESTIONS OF LIFE.

　　When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of reality? Why are the laws of nature so finely tuned as to allow for the existence of beings like ourselves? And, finally, is the apparent “grand design” of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation?

　　The most fundamental questions about the origins of the universe and of life itself, once the province of philosophy, now occupy the territory where scientists, philosophers, and theologians meet—if only to disagree. In their new book, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most recent scientific thinking about the mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by both brilliance and simplicity.

　　In The Grand Design they explain that according to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history, but rather that every possible history of the universe exists simultaneously. When applied to the universe as a whole, this idea calls into question the very notion of cause and effect. But the “top-down” approach to cosmology that Hawking and

　　Mlodinow describe would say that the fact that the past takes no definite form means that we create history by observing it, rather than that history creates us. The authors further explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe, and show how quantum theory predicts the “multiverse”—the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature.

　　Along the way Hawking and Mlodinow question the conventional concept of reality, posing a “model-dependent” theory of reality as the best we can hope to find. And they conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing us and our universe that is currently the only viable candidate for a complete “theory of everything.” If confirmed, they write, it will be the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, and the ultimate triumph of human reason.

　　A succinct, startling, and lavishly illustrated guide to discoveries that are altering our understanding and threatening some of our most cherished belief systems, The Grand Design is a book that will inform—and provoke—like no other.

作者簡介

史蒂芬．霍金(Stephen Hawking)

　　擔任劍橋大學數學系盧卡斯講座教授達三十餘年，獲獎無數並贏得總統自由獎章。其科普著作有《時間簡史》、《黑洞與新生宇宙文集》、《胡桃裡的宇宙》，以及《時間簡史普及版》。

雷納．曼羅迪諾(Leonard Mlodinow)

　　加州理工學院的物理學家，也是暢銷書作家，著有《醉漢走路──機率如何左右你我的命運和機會》(The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives)、《歐幾里得之窗──從平行線到超空間的幾何學故事》(Euclid’s Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace)、《費曼的彩虹：物理大師的最後24堂課》(Feynman’s Rainbow)，並合著《時間簡史》普及版。他也為第二代星艦奇航影集編劇，目前定居於南加帕薩迪娜巿。