书名：Brief Answers to the Big Questions大问题的简答

作者：Stephen Hawking
出版社名称：Bantam
出版时间：2018
语种：英文
ISBN：9781984819192
商品尺寸：14.5 x 2.3 x 20.8 cm
包装：精装
页数：208

上帝存在吗？一切是如何起源的？我们可以预知未来吗？黑洞里面是什么？宇宙中有其他智慧生物吗？我们会继续存在于地球吗？我们的未来会是什么样？我们需要去宇宙中探寻新空间吗？时间旅行可能吗？

自1988年《时间简史》一书问世后，无数的读者给霍金写信并询问了许多问题，在他去世前不久，他开始编撰10个常被问及的“基本问题”的答案，在新书Brief Answers to the Big Questions《大问题的简答》中给出了明确的答复：上帝是不存在的，人也没有来世，当然也没有天堂。

除了这10个“基本问题”以外，书中还披露了霍金关于人为操纵DNA是非常危险的警告，他预言：基因工程将会创造出一个新的人种，从而毁灭其他人类。

这个新人种被霍金称为“超人”（Superhumans），他担心如果有钱人有机会改变孩子的DNA的话，那么经此催生出的新人种可能会表现出更高的智力、更长的寿命和对疾病更强的抵抗力，从而给“未经改善的人”带来危机。

霍金的女儿露西表示：《大问题的简答》是霍金“深爱”的创作。“我们将这本书视作父亲传奇的一部分，集合了他的思想、幽默、理论和文采于一书。”

霍金的版权代理科比也表示：“这本书中的问题的灵感是霍金博士收到的来自全球各地数以千计的来信，这是他对我们这个时代的大问题的回答。他将毕生的智慧与思想都注入了答案中。”

The world-famous cosmologist and #1 bestselling author of A Brief History of Time leaves us with his final thoughts on the biggest questions facing humankind.
Stephen Hawking was the most renowned scientist since Einstein, known both for his groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology and for his mischievous sense of humor. He educated millions of readers about the origins of the universe and the nature of black holes, and inspired millions more by defying a terrifying early prognosis of ALS, which originally gave him only two years to live. In later life he could communicate only by using a few facial muscles, but he continued to advance his field and serve as a revered voice on social and humanitarian issues.
Hawking not only unraveled some of the universe’s greatest mysteries but also believed science could be used to fix problems here on Earth. Now, as we face immense challenges on our planet—from climate change to the development of artificial intelligence—he turns his attention to the most urgent issues facing us.
Will humanity survive? Should we colonize space? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Hawking addresses in this wide-ranging, passionately argued final book from one of the greatest minds in history.
Featuring a foreword by Eddie Redmayne, who won an Oscar playing Stephen Hawking, an introduction by Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne, and an afterword from Hawking’s daughter, Lucy, Brief Answers to the Big Questions is a brilliant last message to the world.

Review
“It’s a book every thinking person worried about humanity’s future should read… Hawking’s parting gift to humanity.”—NPR
 
“[Hawking is] a symbol of the soaring power of the human mind.”—The Washington Post
 
“Hawking’s final message to readers… is a hopeful one.”—CNN
 
“[Brief Answers to the Big Questions offers] brisk, lucid peeks into the future of science and of humanity.”—The Wall Street Journal
 
“Hawking pulls no punches on subjects like machines taking over, the biggest threat to Earth, and the possibilities of intelligent life in space.”—Quartz
 
“Brief Answers is effortlessly instructive, absorbing, up to the minute and—where it matters—witty.”—The Guardian
 
“This beautiful little book is a fitting last twinkle from a new star in the firmament above.”—The Telegraph

Brief Answers to the Big Questions《大问题的简答》记录了霍金对于宇宙诞生、黑洞、外星智慧生命、神的存在、人工智能的利与弊等问题的看法。全书分为四部分，讨论了四个大问题：

我们为什么在这里？
我们能继续生存吗？
科技会拯救人类还是毁灭人类？
人类如何持续繁荣？

The final book from Professor Stephen Hawking, the bestselling author of A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME and arguably the most famous scientist of our age, BRIEF ANSWERS TO THE BIG QUESTIONS is a profound, accessible and timely reflection on the biggest questions in science.

史蒂芬·威廉·霍金（Stephen William Hawking），英国知名物理学家和宇宙学家。肌肉萎缩性侧索硬化症患者，全身瘫痪，不能发音。霍金的主要研究领域是宇宙论和黑洞，证明了广义相对论的奇性定理和黑洞面积定理，提出了黑洞蒸发现象和无边界的霍金宇宙模型，在统一20世纪物理学的两大基础理论——爱因斯坦创立的相对论和普朗克创立的量子力学方面走出了重要一步。霍金是继牛顿和爱因斯坦之后杰出的物理学家之一，被世人誉为“宇宙之王”。2018年3月，霍金逝世，享年76岁。霍金遗作Brief Answers to the Big Questions《大问题的简答》于同年10月面世，这也是霍金在去世之前写作的zui后一本书。

Stephen Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge for thirty years and the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His books for the general reader include My Brief History, the classic A Brief History of Time, the essay collection Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, and, with Leonard Mlodinow, A Briefer History of Time and The Grand Design. He also co-authored a series of children’s books with his daughter, beginning with George’s Secret Key to the Universe. Stephen Hawking died in 2018.

Foreword: Eddie Redmayne

An Introduction: Kip Thorne

Why we must ask the big questions
1. Is there a God?
2. How did it all begin?
3. Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
4. Can we predict the future?
5. What is inside a black hole?
6. Is time travel possible?
7. Will we survive on Earth?
8. Should we colonise space?
9. Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
10. How do we shape the future?

Afterword: Lucy Hawking
Acknowledgements
Index

People have always wanted answers to the big questions. Where did we come from? How did the universe begin? What is the meaning and design behind it all? Is there anyone out there? The creation accounts of the past now seem less relevant and credible. They have been replaced by a variety of what can only be called superstitions, ranging from New Age to Star Trek. But real science can be far stranger than science fiction, and much more satisfying. 

I am a scientist. And a scientist with a deep fascination with physics, cosmology, the universe and the future of humanity. I was brought up by my parents to have an unwavering curiosity and, like my father, to research and try to answer the many questions that science asks us. I have spent my life travelling across the universe, inside my mind. Through theoretical physics, I have sought to answer some of the great questions. At one point, I thought I would see the end of physics as we know it, but now I think the wonder of discovery will continue long after I am gone. We are close to some of these answers, but we are not there yet. 

The problem is, most people believe that real science is too difficult and complicated for them to understand. But I don’t think this is the case. To do research on the fundamental laws that govern the universe would require a commitment of time that most people don’t have; the world would soon grind to a halt if we all tried to do theoretical physics. But most people can understand and appreciate the basic ideas if they are presented in a clear way without equations, which I believe is possible and which is something I have enjoyed trying to do throughout my life. 

It has been a glorious time to be alive and doing research in theoretical physics. Our picture of the universe has changed a great deal in the last fifty years, and I’m happy if I have made a contribution. One of the great revelations of the space age has been the perspective it has given humanity on ourselves. When we see the Earth from space, we see ourselves as a whole. We see the unity, and not the divisions. It is such a simple image with a compelling message; one planet, one human race.

I want to add my voice to those who demand why we must ask the big questions immediate action on the key challenges for our global community. I hope that going forward, even when I am no longer here, people with power can show creativity, courage and leadership. Let them rise to the challenge of the sustainable development goals, and act, not out of self-interest, but out of common interest. I am very aware of the preciousness of time. Seize the moment. Act now.