Quotes By Stephen Hawking

One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem.

Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.

It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.

Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales.

The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.

I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.

If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans.

I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.

There is no unique picture of reality.

It is generally recognised that women are better than men at languages, personal relations and multi-tasking, 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.

Among physicists, I'm respected I hope.

I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space.

People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.

Why are we here? Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead.

Philosophers have not kept up with modern developments in science. Particularly physics.

There are grounds for cautious optimism that we may now be near the end ofthe search for the ultimate laws of nature.

God not only plays dice, but also sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.

Using e-mail, I can communicate with scientists all over the world.

There is a real danger that computers will develop intelligence and take over. We urgently need to develop direct connections to the brain so that computers can add to human intelligence rather than be in opposition.

There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet.

In Britain, like most of the developed world, stem-cell research is regarded as a great opportunity. America will be left behind if it doesn't change policy.

To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.

If we do discover a complete theory, it should be in time understandable in broad principle by everyone. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people be able to take part in the discussion of why we and the universe exist.

The media need superheroes in science just as in every sphere of life, but there is really a continuous range of abilities with no clear dividing line.

Evolution has ensured that our brains just aren't equipped to visualise 11 dimensions directly. However, from a purely mathematical point of view it's just as easy to think in 11 dimensions, as it is to think in three or four.

It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.

My work and my family are very important to me.

Observations indicate that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate. It will expand forever, getting emptier and darker.

The radiation left over from the Big Bang is the same as that in your microwave oven but very much less powerful. It would heat your pizza only to minus 271.3*C - not much good for defrosting the pizza, let alone cooking it.

With genetic engineering, we will be able to increase the complexity of our DNA, and improve the human race. But it will be a slow process, because one will have to wait about 18 years to see the effect of changes to the genetic code.