호킹의 의견과 같은 생각이 이 책에 나온다: 빅뱅 이전에는 공간이 없었듯이 시간도 없었다.
... If space began at the Big Bang, if space was created, maybe the same was true for time. Neither space nor time existed "prior" to the Big Bang; in fact, in this picture the word prior has no meaning. The question of what happened before time began is meaningless, because there was no before. It is like asking, What happens if you put two objects closer together than zero distance? What happens if you cool a classical object below absolute zero, so that its motion is slower than no motion at all? These questions can't be answered, because they make no sense. (pp. 132-133)