We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.
Stephen HawkingRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hawking suggests that contact with extraterrestrial beings could lead to negative consequences for humanity, similar to the impact of European colonization.
In this quote, Stephen Hawking draws a parallel between the potential arrival of aliens on Earth and the historical impact of Columbus's arrival in the Americas on indigenous populations. He warns that just as the Native Americans faced devastating consequences from colonization—including loss of land, culture, and lives—humanity may also suffer if we encounter more advanced civilizations. This thought-provoking statement invites reflection on the ethical implications of seeking contact with extraterrestrial life and the responsibilities we hold towards our own species and others.
Themes
AliensColonizationNative AmericansConsequencesTechnology
In practice
Example use cases
During a science discussion, this quote could be referenced to spark debate about the morality of space exploration.
More from Stephen Hawking
All quotes →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.
Stephen HawkingRead
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.
Stephen HawkingRead
I was not a good student. I did not spend much time at college; I was too busy enjoying myself.
Stephen HawkingRead
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.
Stephen HawkingRead
In my opinion, there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind.
Stephen HawkingRead
Similar quotes
They say that a kingdom is like a pyramid: the king on top and the people below. But in this country, it's upside down.
Bhumibol AdulyadejRead
The perfect man uses his mind as a mirror. It grasps nothing. It regrets nothing. It receives but does not keep.
ZhuangziRead
The main vice of capitalism is the uneven distribution of prosperity. The main vice of socialism is the even distribution of misery.
Winston ChurchillRead
As we live our precarious lives on the brink of the void, constantly coming closer to a state of nonbeing, we are all too often aware of our fragitlity.
Iris MurdochRead
There are many, many nouns for the act of looking - a glance, a glimpse, a peep - but there's no noun for the act of listening. In general, we don't think primarily about sound. So I have a different perspective on the world; I can construct soundscapes that have an effect on people, but they don't know why. It's a sort of subterfuge.
Walter MurchRead
Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead