Hawking’s Big 10

Re: Hawking answers the 10 Big Questions, Oct. 17

No one needs me to confirm the brilliance of the late Stephen Hawking. However, his answer to “How did it all (that is, the universe) begin?” is really no answer at all. “In a big bang,” Hawking responded. But this clearly begs the question, “How did the processes that allowed the Big Bang come into existence in the first place.” Not that the origin of the universe was an appropriate question for Hawking in the first place. Does anyone really think that scientists will ever be able to explain how something was created from nothing? Alex MacMillan, Kingston, Ont.