Irish Examiner view: A brief mystery about 'A Brief History'  

Belatedly, we learn that the late Stephen Hawking thought he got some bits of his groundbreaking book wrong. Whoops.

We have to wait until April to discover which elements of 'A brief history of time' Stephen Hawking would have revised. But then, what's a month in the big scheme of things? Picture: David Parry/PA

One of the popular phrases of the 21st century has tripped off the tongue, mainly of politicians, with beguiling simplicity.

 “Follow the science”, we have been urged. 

But what happens when scientists change their minds? 

Probably the most successful physics book ever written was A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, which has sold in its millions since it was first published in 1988. 

Now we learn that Prof Hawking felt he got it wrong. Whoops. 

To find out how, you’ll have to read the follow-up, On the Origin of Time, which Hawking commenced with a collaborator before his death in 2018. 

It will be published in April. Just a brief moment, then, to wait for another solution to one of life’s great mysteries.