We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.
Stephen HawkingRead
As scientists, we step on the shoulders of science, building on the work that has come before us - aiming to inspire a new generation of young scientists to continue once we are gone.
Interpretation
Scientists build upon previous knowledge to inspire future generations.
In this quote, Stephen Hawking emphasizes the collaborative nature of scientific progress. Scientists stand on the foundation laid by their predecessors, using past discoveries as a stepping stone to further knowledge and innovation, ultimately inspiring young minds to carry on this legacy after their departure.
In practice
During a graduation speech for science students, to emphasize the importance of building on previous knowledge.
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.
Everything was so new - the whole idea of going into space was new and daring. There were no textbooks, so we had to write them.
For centuries, magicians have intuitively taken advantage of the inner workings of our brains.
People make their own fates, and if enough of us make our fate to be space explorers, perhaps we can actually get some space exploration done.
So we find that the three possible solutions of the great problem of increasing human energy are answered by the three words: food, peace, work... Their scientific meaning and purpose now clear to me: food to increase the mass, peace to diminish the retarding force, and work to increase the force accelerating human movement.
Mathematics is the tool specially suited for dealing with abstract concepts of any kind and there is no limit to its power in this field.
It was the late Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar who, by founding the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, made it possible for the scientific aspirations of my early years to continue burning brightly.
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