Stephen Hawking has died

Many years ago, I read A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen Hawking, which was published in 1988.  It's a fascinating book and got me interested in quantum physics.  Here are some of the posts I've written for this blog that relate in some way:  look at numbers 8 and 9, and see that the 9th includes a list of other related links.

Now that I accomplished that little exercise of finding some of the posts I've written about quantum physics, I realize I never read this next book, even though I wrote about it.  So I bought it for my Kindle.

Paradoxology: Spirituality in a Quantum Universe ~ by Miriam Therese Winter, 2009

This book blends science and spirituality to see whole truths that "make all things new."  Its aim is to help us realize that we who are people of faith cannot continue to practice our faith in isolation anymore.  A quantum universe is telling us that we are all connected; that the God of one is the God of all; that diversity is a blessing; that the suffering of any of earth's people or any part of the planet is a desecration to us all.  The benefit of the book is that it encourages us to look at life through a new lens that will help us see more than we have ever seen before.  It is one of those rare books on quantum science that transcends information and offers us a way of transformation.

But back to Stephen Hawking.  On the table in the lobby where I live, there's a box of cards with questions we can ask each other.  One day recently I pulled out one that said something like "If you could be assistant to anyone, who would it be?"  I immediately thought of Stephen Hawking.  He probably wouldn't have wanted me, unversed as I am about physics and quantum theory, but his thinking fascinates me.  I'll miss his ideas, and I thank him for writing so lucidly for lay readers about a field as deep as quantum physics.

The Guardian shared some of Stephen Hawking's best quotes.