Stephen Hawking

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

My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is, and why it exists at all.

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

I want to know why the universe exists, why there is something greater than nothing.

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.

I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective.

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

Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

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

I believe in universal health care. And I am not afraid to say so.

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.

We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.

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

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.

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

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.

Maybe I don't have the most common kind of motor neuron disease which usually kills in two or three years.

The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations directly in the abstract.

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

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

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.

Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.

Among physicists, I'm respected I hope.

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

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.

You can't regulate every lab in the world.

Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.

I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined and that we can do nothing to change it look before they cross the road.

I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would provide an inexhaustible supply of energy without pollution or global warming.

I don't want to write an autobiography because I would become public property with no privacy left.

There is no unique picture of reality.

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.

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.

People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.

I enjoy all forms of music - pop classical and opera.

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

Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.

Science is not only a disciple of reason but also one of romance and passion.

The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?

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

Even if there is only one possible unified theory it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?

God not only plays dice, he also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers, that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.

Nothing cannot exist forever.

All my adult life people have been helping me.

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

Women. They are a complete mystery.

One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem.

Theology is unnecessary.

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.

My work and my family are very important to me.

We should seek the greatest value of our action.

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.

I think the brain is essentially a computer and consciousness is like a computer program. It will cease to run when the computer is turned off. Theoretically it could be re-created on a neural network but that would be very difficult as it would require all one's memories.

No one can resist the idea of a crippled genius.

I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.

Although September 11 was horrible it didn't threaten the survival of the human race like nuclear weapons do.

Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.

Not only does God play dice but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.

Obviously because of my disability I need assistance. But I have always tried to overcome the limitations of my condition and lead as full a life as possible. I have traveled the world from the Antarctic to zero gravity.