Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’

Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’
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Updated 12 June 2025
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Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’

Book Review: ‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’
  • Final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos

Stephen Hawking’s “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of science’s most profound mysteries, offering insights into the origins of the universe and humanity’s place within it. 

Published in 2018, this final work by the renowned physicist combines complex scientific ideas with accessible explanations, making it a must-read for anyone curious about the cosmos. 

Hawking begins by addressing how the universe came into existence. He explains that the laws of physics are sufficient to describe the universe’s origins, suggesting that it could arise from a state of nothingness due to the balance of positive and negative energy. 

By linking this to the nature of time, which began alongside the universe itself, he offers a perspective grounded in scientific reasoning. 

The book also delves into the evolution of the universe and the evidence supporting it. Hawking discusses how the redshift of light from distant galaxies confirms the universe’s expansion, while the cosmic microwave background radiation provides a glimpse into its dense, hot beginnings. 

Through the anthropic principle, he demonstrates how the unique conditions of our universe make life possible, underscoring how rare such conditions are. 

Hawking also considers the possibility of extraterrestrial life, suggesting that while life may exist elsewhere, intelligent civilizations are unlikely to be nearby or at the same stage of development. He cautions against attempts to communicate with alien life, warning that such interactions could pose risks to humanity. 

One of the book’s most intriguing sections explores black holes. Hawking examines their immense density, the singularity at their core, and the paradox of information loss. He explains how black holes might release information as they evaporate, preserving the fundamental laws of physics. 

Beyond its scientific insights, the book is a call to action. Hawking urges readers to prioritize scientific progress, safeguard the planet, and prepare for the challenges of the future. 

Though some sections may challenge non-experts, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” remains accessible, inspiring, and deeply insightful — a fitting conclusion to Hawking’s extraordinary legacy. 
 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Stoic Mindset’

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Updated 12 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Stoic Mindset’

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  • Tuitert’s narrative begins with his own crucible: the pressure-cooker world of elite athletics, where injuries and setbacks threatened his career

Author: Mark Tuitert

Olympic champion speed skater Mark Tuitert merges ancient philosophy with modern resilience in “The Stoic Mindset,” published in 2024.

The guide transcends typical self-help tropes, offering strategies to transform adversity into strength through the principles of Stoicism. 

This ancient philosophy provides a tool kit for staying calm, focused, and strong in the face of life’s chaos. Emerging in Ancient Greece and later popularized in Rome, it is less about dusty theories and more about how to live well.

Tuitert’s narrative begins with his own crucible: the pressure-cooker world of elite athletics, where injuries and setbacks threatened his career. His discovery of Stoicism became his mental armor. The book meticulously unpacks core tenets, focusing on actionable responses, reframing obstacles as opportunities, and cultivating “amor fati” (love of fate). 

What resonates most is Tuitert’s rejection of passive acceptance. Instead, he advocates active resilience, using journaling, mindfulness, and preemptive adversity training to fortify mental agility.

His chapter on failure dissects how embracing vulnerability fuels growth, illustrated by his comeback from a career-threatening injury to clinch gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Tuitert’s prose is refreshingly pragmatic. He avoids academic jargon, grounding Seneca and Marcus Aurelius’ wisdom in relatable anecdotes — from navigating corporate burnout to parenting challenges. His emphasis on practice over theory stands out as well. 

Some may criticize the athletic parallels as niche, but Tuitert universalizes them deftly.

While examining Tuitert’s practical Stoicism, I happened to contrast his Olympic-forged resilience with Nietzsche’s fiery critique of Stoic detachment, revealing how one stabilizes storms while the other ignites revolutions.

I found that Tuitert seeks mastery through emotional discipline, whereas Nietzsche champions vitality through embracing chaos.

In an era of digital overload and anxiety, “The Stoic Mindset” is a tactical manifesto for clarity.

Tuitert’s genius lies in making a 2,000-year-old philosophy feel urgently contemporary, proving that true victory is not avoiding storms but learning to dance in the rain.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Following the Bend’

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Updated 12 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Following the Bend’

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  • In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades

Author: ELLEN WOHL 

When we look at a river, either up close or while flying over a river valley, what are we really seeing? “Following the Bend” takes readers on a majestic journey by water to find answers, along the way shedding light on the key concepts of modern river science, from hydrology and water chemistry to stream and wetland ecology.

In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades.

 


What We Are Reading Today: The West: The History of an Idea

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Updated 11 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The West: The History of an Idea

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  • The need for the use of the term “the West” emerged to avoid the confusing or unwanted consequences of the use of “Europe”

Author: Georgios Varouxakis

How did “the West” come to be used as a collective self-designation signaling political and cultural commonality? When did “Westerners” begin to refer to themselves in this way? Was the idea handed down from the ancient Greeks, or coined by 19th-century imperialists? 

Neither, writes Georgios Varouxakis in “The West,” his ambitious and fascinating genealogy of the idea. “The West” was not used by Plato, Cicero, Locke, Mill, or other canonized figures of what we today call the Western tradition. It was not first wielded by empire-builders.

It gradually emerged as of the 1820s and was then, Varouxakis shows, decisively promoted in the 1840s by the French philosopher Auguste Comte (whose political project, incidentally, was passionately anti-imperialist). 

The need for the use of the term “the West” emerged to avoid the confusing or unwanted consequences of the use of “Europe.” The two overlapped, but were not identical, with the West used to  differentiate from certain “others” within Europe as well as to include the Americas.

 


Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise
Updated 11 July 2025
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Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

Book Review: The AI-Centered Enterprise

What lies beyond ChatGPT for businesses?

In The AI-Centered Enterprise: Reshaping Organizations with Context-Aware AI, authors Ram Bala, Natarajan Balasubramanian and Amit Joshi argue that the next leap in artificial intelligence is not about flashy prompts, but rather perception, reasoning, and organizational transformation.

The book, published earlier this year, introduces the concept of “context-aware AI,” systems that do not just process information but understand it in real-time business scenarios.

These are tools that adjust to their environment, collaborate across teams, and make decisions with nuance; a significant step forward from today’s mostly predictive systems.

The authors, all professors and practitioners in the AI and analytics space, offer a clear roadmap for businesses to prepare.

Their proposed model, the “3Cs” — “Calibrate, Clarify, Channelize” — breaks down how leaders can align AI tools with company values, ensure teams understand how to use them, and direct efforts where they will have the most impact.

For readers in Saudi Arabia, where AI is central to Vision 2030 initiative, this book can serve as a strategic lens.

While it does not focus on the region, its practical insights are useful for decision-makers looking to scale AI responsibly across sectors such as healthcare, logistics, and government services.

More guidebook than manifesto, “The AI-Centered Enterprise” avoids jargon and balances case studies with actionable ideas.

It will not dazzle readers chasing science-fiction futures, but it is a timely read for professionals who want to lead, not just react, in the age of intelligent systems.
 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’
Updated 10 July 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Wild Orcas’

Author:  Hanne Strager & Catherine Denardo

Of the world’s iconic predatory species, orcas are among the most fearsome. Their awesome physical power combined with their cooperative hunting skills and ability to problem-solve make them uniquely efficient killers. Yet orcas also celebrate births, grieve losses, and maintain lifelong family bonds. This stunningly illustrated book draws on five decades of field research and cutting-edge science to provide an incomparable look at the biology, natural history, culture, and conservation of these awe-inspiring marine animals.