And probably even pasadena. [laughing] thank you. My pleasure. Thank you everyone for joining us for the savings event. My name is kim sutton and and a host of tonight event. Before we begin i want to encourage you all to check out our lineup of upcoming Virtual Events by visiting powells. Com. When affirming Upcoming Events were looking for to is Tiffany Cross in conversation with about her new book say it lighter, black voters, white narratives and saving our democracy. Thats next friday the 18th. As a plea for member to follow us on twitter, facebook and instagram. Tonight we honor to welcome Leonard Mlodinow and rob paulsen. Leonard received his phd in theoretical physics from university of california at berkeley come wasnt alexander fellow at the Max Planck Institute and was on the faculty of telephone institute of technology. His previous books include bestsellers the grand design, and a briefer history of time both with Stephen Hawking can subliminal which was a winner of the literary science writing award, and what of the worldviews with Deepak Chopra as well as elastic window, rainbow and upright thinkers. He joins us this evening for a conversation about his new book Stephen Hawking a memoir of friendship and physics one of the most influential physicists of our time Stephen Hawking touched the lives of millions. Recall usually two decades as his collaborator and friend, lend it brings his complex man into focus in unique and deeply personal portrayal. He puts us in the room as hocking indulges his passion for white and cori come shares his feelings and grapples with the deep questions of philosophy and physics. Mlodinow deeply affecting account of friendship teaches us not just about the nature and practice of physics also about life and the Human Capacity to overcome daunting obstacles. Mlodinow is doing to conversation today by voice actor rob paulsen who is been a voice actor for nearly three decades and is the voice of pinky from pinky and the brain, Raffaello Donatelli from teenage mutant ninja turtles, and carl from jimmy neutron he has won any network, a peabody award and three in the awards for his voice acting. His memoir voice lessons was released last year ironically a method uses his voice work on itself with throat cancer but he has thankfully recovered and is now the spokesperson for the oral head and neck Cancer Awareness program. This evenings event will include a q a. Please use a q a button at the bottom of your screen if youd like to ask a question. If someone has tapped a question youd like to to have the answer to please a vote that particulr question by clicking the thumbs up button. Most importantly please consider supporting leonard and felt the fragility of copy of his new book. A link to purchase the book will be shared in the chat in a couple of minutes. Leonard, robin, such a pleasure to welcome you both. Thank you for joining us. Great pleasure. Thank you. Well said. As a armchair physicist who some a mix of living doing essentially what got me trouble in high school, i can tell you that this is a marvelous book and so thank you very much leonard letting the lower your standards with respect to speakers. Thanks for having the onboard. Thanks for doing this, rob. I look for to the discuion. My pleasure. Not the usual dry physics. Full disclosure, your fabulous really handsome genius child nikolai helps me with my own social media marketing, and the apple didnt fall farrom the tree, my friend. Hes a delightful bright smart limit and im grateful to have my life so thank you. Well done. Just in case there are folks who are watching who are transfixed but may not be aware of Stephen Hawking, as others, could you briefly explain to us what Stephen Hawkins place is in physics come in history of physics . Well, stephen went to school in the 60s, so i went to oxrd first and then went to graduatechool at cambridge. Thats where he fell ill. He had a revelation after that whene felt tell which was before he was kind o a goof off. Due to his illss he found a purpose in life, some kind of meaning in his life. He decided youant to dedicate his last years to answering som fundamental questions about our existence. It was basically why are we here . I give a get request how to the universe get your . Why is it the wayt is . Those in the questions people are asking very much in the 1960s. The systems come he didnt even ask haightashbury in berkeley [talking over each other] and the areas he chose to study to address those questions were first one is very obvio, the Early Universe, beginning of the universe and the other is a black hole. Less obvious. But n many people interested in those areasither back in because people felt you couldnt ever observed those. Physics was anxperimental sites and people thought you cant go back to theeginning of the universe and we will never find the black hole. So why study them theoretically . It turned out as a footnote that as Technology Advanced we can study those things. We know that very famous picture from just a fewears ago of a black coal effect it seemed like we would never get there. There were some people who working on it but in a con physicist Richard Simons descption he said there were a bunch of dopes that were going to the comfort of thatade his blood well because it was so frustrating withhe quality of the research. So it was that kind of area stephen walked in. Stephen, with his yearning to answer these action special questions startedtudying in the 1960s and made great progress studying the universe and the black hole through einstein general theoryf relativity. Its important out he did not apply quantum theory to that so it just took einstein theory of he made great progress of understanding the Early Universe and black hes. Later in the 1970s he soad to apply quantum theory and made some very exciting advances. He realize that you cant ignore quantum tory in those areas as people have been doing. He found rests. The sum total of all this in his work aer that was he took his field of cosmology, the study of the early unirse, a black holes which is related to that, and he took from a backwater nothing kilometer one ofhe hottest fields inhysics. In hisombining of general relativity quantum theory he was a pioneer in really what is probably come in loong forward is the holy grail of physics, which is uniting the thirdf grappling with quantum three. Theory. By including that he was a pine and made great steps into how we can think about that. We still havent de it, and he lifted the study of black holes to make anotherespectable but very popular. My goodness. Sorry for the long awer. No, in fact, you are rht and we now know stephen had a terrific movie made about it which i think they may have won an oscar. My suspicion having grown up, the physicists when i grew up was like most, albert einstein. Have a feeling that w stephen essentially thought of as like the next physicist rockstar . Was he another einstein . He was not another einstein. He was kind of rolled his eyes and smiled wn people said that. Who wants to have that are to live up to . Thats a pretty high bar. Even einstein for most of his group wasnt an einstein. Einstein had most of his major discoveries theirst 15 years of his career. Stephen was aeader, one of the best of his generation, one of the leade of his generation. I dont think we should be trying to qntify that but i think thats a good song description of him and one that he would agree with. Right. If im not mistaken, einstein came up with his energy equals mass times the speed of lightsquared theory at 25. Yes. That was the consequence, interesting people misunderstand how physics works. You dont sit there and get a brilliant idea tha he equals mc squared and then tell other people and say that make sense. Special relatively and that was based on certain principles particular the speed of light is co because that was something that was implied by worng 1860s. Investigating that in building a theory of austing newtons law to take into account he developed theory special rotelle one of the consequences when things he discovered lighting of the three is oh, my gosh come his theory o the equals mc square. It became its own sort of a metaphor for cool stuff. I remember we are theame page ae and opening of the Twilight Zone had that equals mc squared and it became that was back in the 1920s, wasnt. Was able t notice but i was entertained at the last supper. Jesus, what a party. I know this because thats all i have to say left expert you are a b boy. Follow the leader. Hats right. I know this because of her the book. How did you first meet stephen . While, he read my first two books and one was called useless window about kurt states and what he really means and how over the centuries the idea developed, how its usedn physics and that was a very actually important topic for stephen. Then he read my second book which was search for beauty in physics and in life and that was in the more about my relaonship with the great [inaudible] while i was at caltech in my 20s. He liked those books and is oking for someone to write with. I think he wanted someone with a sense of humor and someone whos writing his life. Most of the one some who understood physics. I guess he decided i fit that. When did i just get a call from an agent, Stephen Hawking called. That happened. This is a bizarre question, but would you like to write a book . Are you kidding me . I can say again, having read the book, i make my living in the funny busess. You do have an excellent sense of humor, leonard, and he comes across beautifully in the book. It truly does. You mentioned the sort of dryness the physics, like you have found a way and clearly mr. Hocking had a wicked sense of humor, too, and you were ableo translate that to the reader. It really is that t effect i i know you begin working with stephen when he was sort of in his fullblown sclerosis, lou gehrigs disease. What surprised you witnessing firsthand how stephen worked . Was anything that made you go, this is pretty remarkable . In addition to the fact he was doing what he was doing and his physical state well, its really fascinating. Again, i dont want to get too long with this answer but its your book, man. Physics, synthesis can be looked at in two differe ways. One is algebraically with equations, or analysis, mathematical term. Of the weight is geometrically. You have to understand all but most of what most people do is done usi equations. Stephen obviously cant do that. He cant, couldnt write, couldnt move. He did have an amazing memory where he cld do some that way, just like a grand masr chess player, 20 people blindfolded. He was not quick honesty but remember each ge and what to do and always listen in on. I cant play one ge of chess. These guys have something. He did have that ability but are still difficult for tm and put them at a disadvantage, as opposedo the physicist who could write downheir equations. Whitey did which really surprised me, i didnt learn for a while but he learned a new way of doing physics. He did this in in a geometric approach present equatns approach. He worked on his own language of geometry to treat the problems he was treating so he could solve problems and get ideas and analyze situations that were of terest to h. He had to use pictures. Light beings and particle beams of black holes of all this and hes analyzing how they look and how theyre interacting using pictures, using geometric relationship in his head. His friend said tt was his superpower. Because he could, by doing that, not only wase avoiding his handic of not writing equations but he actuall had a new ale to look at things that other physicist didnt have that allowed him to make discoveries and iights of the physicist didnt because it didnt he that approach. He managed to take the disability entered into an advanced. In the book you cite how we hear people who are sightless, find a way to really enhance their sense of hearing or smell or taste but whatever. Do you feel ultimately that, r maybe even stephen witt suggested this. Do you feel ultimately his debilitating illness endedp being something that actually heed him in his discipline . He told me that it did. He told me that, first as it mentioned a geek them meaning and purpose. Physics is a very hard subject. U have to put in. Long hours all alone. Californias growing right now, so was oregon but in an old time when it is not, you want to go outside and take a walk but instead you stay home. You wanto see your family or friends but no, you worked 12 hours a day for months every day me just to finish your work. The first thing different is it gave him that drive, to answer these questions. But so that w like if you think of the meaning, giving the focu eliminating distractions eliminatingistractions and though i am to focus so long and so hard with a big advantage to them. Even apa from his geometric thinking. He would not have done as well if he had not had that disability. Thats interesting especially you being celebrated a profic author. I have written one book and i had a gentleman help me. The physicists go through what a layperson would call a bite of block that is to say, when you are working on a theory or youre working on something your poulating, you have your own premises you a working on, do you find you can go through Writers Block . You mention you are alone. Are the points at which is a im stuck, i jus thats why i i wrotehe book. Not just for physics but for his personal lif i dont like the analogy o an phics or about stephen. I wrote the book to really expose how we do psics but also how he lived h life every day. What was his lifelike. Yes physicist dont just like in the movies, you dont look into a fireplace in the answer comes, boom. We would all be physicist. Coming up with great theories. But its very difficult. And yes, richard had very long periods of nonproductity and he thought teaching satan because in those times he was still teaching his courses and he would count on tching and that would fulfill him and take at this time. Becausees waiting for some idea. This happens both while youre doing a problem in between problems. Between problems you sitting there going okay, i just wrote a par or maybe ten papers and maybe on one topic with three topics, i had a lot of ideas but ive run out of ideas for i have done all the papers i had topic or what should it work on now . Sometime just something in the back of your head you are curious about and you just bought and sometimes you dont. Physicist, is sitting there le a writer w does notebook to write next. While youre doing about you all some minor crisis like that beuse you are going okay, need to get from here to there to answer the question im trying to answern this research, and you go, i think this is how you figure it out. Note. You keep biting her head against walls. You go a day or monthome some promising direction and it doesnt work. Then you finally get to a point sometimes we have no more ideas. You have gotten to a certain point in your research, you know what you want to show or you have an idea what for you wanto with i at the math isnt working at. So its full of very frustrating and difficult times. Stephen spent, he drove his wifes crazy because when he hit that wall, he would turn wagner up really, really super loud s it annoyed anybody in the house but it would drown o the rest ofhe world are him and he would spend d after day after day so focus on getting past that. Spirit good gracious. That by the way the thing that it sounds like that was part of your mission was to forack of better word humanize stephen are making relatable. And you absolutely nailed that. There were certainly things that no one would know having not been close to him, but you utterly made in somebody that you became your friend, often with the usual frustrations that people have with other people. Was there a point at which your work with stephen, the fact that he was wheelchairbound and was nonverbal that was like not a big deal, it was basically stephen has a different shirt on today, that it really was not an issue, you got used to it . Hats a gooduestion, rob, and theres so much inhe development in the book. The answer is yes. When i first got there to wk with himo cambridge to his office, i felt bad for him becae you could see what discomfort he was in. Not necessarily he was in pretty should have been. Things happening to him like a bead of sweat going down his forehead that had to wipe away. You remember tha story. I do, and that is one o the seminal moments of the book because it is the sort of thing thate can all relate to immediately, and you just take your hand and you go like this. But the way in which you describe your empathy, your, all, my god, that was drive me nuts, or if my nose was peachy. Doesn matter if you are muhammad ali,tephen hawking, Leonard Mlodinow or rob paulsen or a guy on the street. The things we all take for granted that all of a sudden it was a central focus of this world class physicist, the way he described that was really remarkab and very impactful. Thank you. I couldnt understand how he goes to his daysithout being able to do that, and at first i fe sorry for him a lot. But as i got to know that i realized no, dont feel sorry for him. He actuay was quite inspiring to me by the way he handled those things. He changed the way he thought so that its not that had sweat dripping down or in fitchburg bedtime and hes seping and he wants to turn but has to wait for someone to turn in and all these oth obstacles and tortures the rest of us with experience in that condition. He learned not to remedy them not to mind then. He took control of his mind and his feelings and you learn not to let them bother him. Thats just amazing. Thats like the greeks had philosophy which is happiness, true happiness and lasting happiness comes from only within you. Its not from the things you accomplish, material goods or any other person. All that can be taken away and subject to many things beyond your control. Selfsatisfaction and its how you feel about yourself and what and your own min stephen really did that. Once i realized that that was what was going on, i didnt feel sorry for you anymore and yes, it was a person with a handicap but also a person with reddish hair, blue eyes and other traits of his. We interacted, i interacted with and without even thinking about that. Thats what i was mentioning earlier is you really do describe his utter humanity, and you touch on something quite important