Stephen Hawking

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

I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.

It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.

I was not a good student. I did not spend much time at college; I was too busy enjoying myself.

The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic but technological-technologies that flowed directly from advances in basic science. Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein: TIME's Person of the Century.

In my opinion, there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind.

The cyclic universe theory predicts no gravitational waves from the early universe.

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.

One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem.

If the total energy of the universe must always remain zero, and it costs energy to create a body, how can a whole universe be created from nothing?

Quiet people have the loudest minds.

One can't predict the weather more than a few days in advance.

Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain lurking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space.

We could call order by the name of God, but it would be an impersonal God. There's not much personal about the laws of physics.

I don't believe that the ultimate theory will come by steady work along existing lines. We need something new. We can't predict what that will be or when we will find it because if we knew that, we would have found it already!

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.

In real time, the universe has a beginning and an end at singularities that form a boundary to space-time and at which the laws of science break down.

I have experimental evidence that time travel is not possible.

The rate of progress is so rapid that what one learns at school or university is always a bit out of date. Only a few people can keep up with the rapidly advancing frontier of knowledge, and they have to devote their whole time to it and specialize in a small area. The rest of the population has little idea of the advances that are being made or the excitement they are generating.

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

Cambridge is one of the best universities in the world, especially in my field.