The voices / 115 fragments

Stephen Hawking

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01Undated

The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can't believe the whole universe exists for our benefit. That would be like saying that you would disappear if I closed my eyes.

Stephen Hawking / quote

02Undated

. . .a scientific theory is just a mathematical model we make to describe our observations: it exists only in our minds. So it is meaningless to ask: which is real, "real" or "imaginary" time? It is simply a matter of which is the more useful description.

Stephen Hawking / quote

03Undated

However bad life may seem, where there is life, there is hope.

Stephen Hawking / quote

04Undated

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change

Stephen Hawking / quote

05Undated

There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. (...) However bad life may seem (...) While there’s life, there is hope.

Stephen Hawking / quote

06Undated

My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a b

Stephen Hawking / quote

07Undated

The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once though…things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up – there’s a way out.

Stephen Hawking / quote

08Undated

It is generally recognized that women are better than men at languages, personal relations and multitasking, but less good at map-reading and spatial awareness. It is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that women might be less good at mathematics and physics. It is not politically correct to say such things....But it cannot be denied that there are differences between men and women. Of course, these are differences between the averages only. There are wide variations about the mean.

Stephen Hawking / quote

09Undated

t is generally recognized that women are better than men at languages, personal relations and multitasking, but less good at map-reading and spatial awareness. It is therefore not unreasonable to suppose that women might be less good at mathematics and physics. It is not politically correct to say such things....But it cannot be denied that there are differences between men and women. Of course, these are differences between the averages only. There are wide variations about the mean.

Stephen Hawking / quote

10Undated

We got through all of Genesis and part of Exodus before I left. One of the main things I was taught from this was not to begin a sentence with And. I pointed out that most sentences in the Bible began with And, but I was told that English had changed since the time of King James. In that case, I argued, why make us read the Bible? But it was in vain. Robert Graves was very keen on the symbolism and mysticism in the Bible at that time.

Stephen Hawking / quote

11Undated

I swear to use my scientific knowledge for the good of Humanity. I promise never to harm any person in my search for enlightenment.I shall be courageous and careful in my quest for greater knowledge about the mysteries that surround us. I shall not use scientific knowledge for my own personal gain or give it to those who seek to destroy the wonderful planet on which we live.If I break this oath, may the beauty and wonder of the Universe forever remain hidden from me.

Stephen Hawking / quote

12Undated

We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet,

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13Undated

My advice to any heartbroken young girl is to pay close attention to the study of theoretical physics. Because one day there may well be proof of multiple universes. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that somewhere outside of our own universe lies another different universe. And in that universe, Zayn is still in One Direction.

Stephen Hawking / quote

14Undated

What place, then, for a creator?

Stephen Hawking / quote

15Undated

I believe in the possible. I believe, small though we are, insignificant though we may be, we can reach a full understanding of the universe. You were right when you said you felt small, looking up at all that up there. We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things.

Stephen Hawking / quote

16Undated

…only in the few universes that are like ours would intelligent beings develop and ask the question: “Why is the universe the way we see it?” The answer is then simple: If it had been any different, we would not be here!

Stephen Hawking / quote

17Undated

Stephen Hawking said that his quest is simply "trying to understand the mind of God".

Stephen Hawking / quote

18Undated

Today will still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.

Stephen Hawking / quote

19Undated

Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this.

Stephen Hawking / quote

20Undated

Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.

Stephen Hawking / quote

21Undated

Time and space are finite in extent, but they don't have any boundary or edge. They would be like the surface of the earth, but with two more dimensions.

Stephen Hawking / quote

22Undated

God abhors a naked singularity.

Stephen Hawking / quote

23Undated

There should be no boundary to human endeavor.

Stephen Hawking / quote

24Undated

I like physics, but I love cartoons.

Stephen Hawking / quote