Stephen Hawking fools people using massive words instead of mathematics.

[yrreg]

Here is a question I put in Yahoo Answers:

• Can Stephen Hawking use mathematical symbols to prove God is not necessary for the universe to begin to exist?

Stephen Hawking, great mathematician scientist, in his new book, The Grand Design, says that God is not necessary for the universe to begin to exist. He uses a massive lot of words to draw that conclusion. Can he just use mathematical symbols to come to the same conclusion instead of using so many words in his new book, The Grand Design? That will save mathematicians plenty of time and trouble to get to his point, and decide whether he makes sense at all in mathematics, or he is plainly into sleight of hand with words and fooling people.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101102141044AAOwidI

As I said earlier in another thread in this board, I am not a mathematician, here.

Just the same I can think and I believe that I can see foolery when I see it and think about it.

What do you mathematicians here say about my question?

You see, unless I am mistaken, astrophysicists use just mathematics to infer to the existence of dark matter and dark energy, so why doesn't Stephen Hawking just use mathematics in his speculation that the universe does not need God to come into existence, instead of employing so many many many words?



Yrreg

 

[Studiot]

Why should he?

 

[Dembadon]

Why should he?

I agree with Studiot.

yrreg, I'm don't think the title of this thread is appropriate. Not only is it ambiguous, but it appears as if you're implicitly attempting to discredit his work with an incredibly weak argument.

... Just the same I can think and I believe that I can see foolery when I see it and think about it.

I find it a bit silly that you're taking him to task for not explaining something in a language about which you know very little. The mathematics involved would be meaningless to you. How would you claim that there's "foolery" involved if you were to be shown the mathematics?

Edit: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=hawking-vs-god". String theory and M-theory involve a great deal of mathematics, none of which the general population would understand. Why would he publish a book most people wouldn't be able to follow?

 

[CRGreathouse]

You seem to have confused mathematics and metaphysics.

 

[Integral]

Suppose he were able to express it mathematically, would that help you understand what he is saying?

I doubt it.

Fact is, there is no way to bridge the physical to the metaphysical mathematically. You are just going to have to attempt to understand his verbal logic.

 

[zomgwtf]

Suppose he were able to express it mathematically, would that help you understand what he is saying?

I doubt it.

Fact is, there is no way to bridge the physical to the metaphysical mathematically. You are just going to have to attempt to understand his verbal logic.

Precisely what I was thinking.

I find it somewhat arrogant to question Hawking conclusions or ideas based on mathematics when the person questioning admittedly doesn't really know anything in mathematics.

 

[Max™]

You see, unless I am mistaken, astrophysicists use just mathematics to infer to the existence of dark matter and dark energy

No, the math is used to determine how much matter is required to produce the lensing seen in images like this, galaxy rotation curves, and so forth.

The fact that the hot intergalactic gases "splashed" together when these clusters passed through each other, but the galaxies themselves (which are fairly sparse by comparison) carried onwards along with something extra. We can see that the light from objects on the far side of the clusters is distorted, we can see that there is not enough visible material there to cause that distortion, so we can infer that there is something massive and dark there.

 

[yrreg]

Although I will not be able to read the mathematics involved in coming to the conclusion mathematically that the universe does not need God to come into existence, I can ask mathematicians to tell me if Stephen Hawking is doing correct and useful and productive mathematics, should he have the daring to go into mathematical exposition of his idea that the universe does not need God to come into existence, instead he goes into massive volume of words, which to my observation is to engage in sleight of had with words.



Yrreg

 

[Upisoft]

Although I will not be able to read the mathematics involved in coming to the conclusion mathematically that the universe does not need God to come into existence, I can ask mathematicians to tell me if Stephen Hawking is doing correct and useful and productive mathematics, should he have the daring to go into mathematical exposition of his idea that the universe does not need God to come into existence, instead he goes into massive volume of words, which to my observation is to engage in sleight of had with words.

Yrreg

Ask this question using mathematics. You will get mathematical answer.

 

[Gokul43201]

... instead he goes into massive volume of words, which to my observation is to engage in sleight of had with words.

All his pop sci books (Brief History, Blackholes, Nutshell, etc.) involve massive volumes of words. Do you believe he is bluffing about everything in them as well? Or is your skepticism restricted only to the things that you disagree with?

 

[zomgwtf]

Although I will not be able to read the mathematics involved in coming to the conclusion mathematically that the universe does not need God to come into existence, I can ask mathematicians to tell me if Stephen Hawking is doing correct and useful and productive mathematics, should he have the daring to go into mathematical exposition of his idea that the universe does not need God to come into existence, instead he goes into massive volume of words, which to my observation is to engage in sleight of had with words.



Yrreg

Hawking isn't even a mathematician. He is a physicist and a cosmologist. Even if he were the question you pose isn't a mathematical one. As has been challenged to you ask the question in mathematics I'm sure someone will answer you.

 

[Evo]

The OP is meaningless. Closed.