Stephen Hawking

He was awarded the CBE in the 1982 Queens Honours List for his services to science.

In 1978, he received an honorary B.A. degree from Oxford University and a Ph.D from Cambridge , Notre Dame and New York University . He received a First Class honours degree from Oxford and a Ph.D from Cambridge.

He was born exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo.

He was awarded the Companion of Honour in the 1989 Queens Honours List for his services to science.

He has been awarded many honorary degrees and is a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

He occupies the same post, as Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, as was earlier occupied by Sir Isaac Newton.

He acquired (the incurable) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (also known as Lou Gehrig s disease) in the early 1960s. Can now barely move or talk...but can yet think. And humankind continues as beneficiary of this mans brilliance.

He appeared as guest star in a Star Trek episode, and asked the crew to make a tour of the Enterprise. When he saw the warp drive, he said "Im working on that...".

He is a big fan of "Star Trek" and the only person ever to play himself in any Star Trek film or series. He is also a fan of "Doctor Who" and "Red Dwarf" .

He has played himself in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" , "The Simpsons" , "Futurama" and "The Big Bang Theory" .

He and his first wife, Jane Wilde, had three children: Robert (b. 1967), Lucy (b. 1969) and Timothy.

He has one grandchild.

Hawking is a big fan of Marilyn Monroe. His 60th birthday celebration included an appearance by a Marilyn Monroe impersonator.

He was not a particularly good student until he started studying science in school.

Hawking has been portrayed by actors including Benedict Cumberbatch (in the 2004 TV movie Hawking) and Eddie Redmayne (in The Theory of Everything). Hawking has appeared as himself in shows including "The Big Bang Theory," "The Simpsons," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

His electronic voice was used in Pink Floyd s song "Keep Talking" from their 1994 album "The Division Bell".

He is mentioned in the song "Real Love" by Yes from their 1994 album "Talk".

He has admitted to having been quite lazy in his youth and notes that during his four years at Oxford, he did about 1000 hours of work (equating to about an hour-and-a-half for each day.) This earned him the ire of his teachers. At the end of his four years, the deans werent sure if he deserved a first-class or second-class degree, due to the quality of his work. Hawking said that a first-class degree would get him into Cambridge; otherwise hed have to stay at Oxford for his graduate work. The deans gave him a first-class degree.

Due to the American accent on his voice synthesizer, many people have no idea that he is really British. He has said he would like to replace it with a synthesizer with a British accent, but he has become so synonymous with his current one that he knows he cant.

He has an Erds-Bacon-Sabbath number of 8, which ties him with Karl Schaffer for the lowest known EBS number on the planet.

He featured in television commercials for Jaguar autos in the UK in 2016.

He is widely regarded as one of the worlds most brilliant theoretical physicists.

His ideas have transformed human understanding of the cosmos.

He provided voice work in Pink Floyds song "Talkin Hawkin", released on their final album in 2014. He previously collaborated with the band in the track "Keep Talking", released 20 years earlier.

Despite his extraordinary intellect, he is unaware of his IQ score and has no interest in finding out, expressing a dim view of people who boast about Theirs.

His birthday is two days after that of Eddie Redmayne, who played him in The Theory of Everything. When Redmayne pointed this out, saying theyre both Capricorns, Hawking replied "Im an astronomer, not an astrologist.".

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

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.

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

Some of our greatest catastrophes have been caused by people talking,and some by people not talking.

[from A Brief History of Time (1991) ] 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? 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?,[from "A Brief History of Time" (1989)] However, if we discover a,complete theory, it should in time be understandable by everyone, not,just by a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists,and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the,question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the,answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for,then we should know the mind of God.

By the age of fourteen, I knew I wanted to do Physics because it was the,most fundamental of the sciences.

Women. They are a complete mystery.

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do,and succeed at.

The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of,the human race.

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of,knowledge.

I have noticed that even those who assert that everything is predestined and that we can change nothing about it still look both ways before they cross the street,My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus. ", December 12, 2004)],When people ask me if a god created the universe, I tell them that the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the big bang, so there is no time for god to make the universe in. It’s like asking directions to the edge of the earth; The Earth is a sphere; it doesn’t have an edge; so looking for it is a futile exercise. We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is; there is no god. No one created our universe,and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization; There is probably no heaven, and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful.

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 the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful.

[In the Universe it may be that] Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare. Some would say it has yet to occur on Earth.

The downside of my celebrity is that I cannot go anywhere in the world without being recognized. It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig. The wheelchair gives me away.

The role played by time at the beginning of the universe is, I believe, the final key to removing the need for a Grand Designer, and revealing how the universe created itself. … Time itself must come to a stop. You can’t get to a time before the big bang, because there was no time before the big bang. We have finally found something that does not have a cause because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me this means there is no possibility of a creator because there is no time for a creator to have existed. Since time itself began at the moment of the Big Bang, it was an event that could not have been caused or created by anyone or anything. … So when people ask me if a god created the universe, I tell them the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the Big Bang, so there is no time for God to make the universe in. It’s like asking for directions to the edge of the Earth. The Earth is a sphere. It does not have an edge, so looking for it is a futile exercise.

There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.

If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?,It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.

. . . a scientific theory is just a mathematical model we make to describe our observations: it exists only in our minds. So it is meaningless to ask: which is real, "real" or "imaginary" time? It is simply a matter of which is the more useful description.

However bad life may seem, where there is life, there is hope.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change,There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. (. . . ) However bad life may seem (. . . ) While there’s life, there is hope.

My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a b,The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once though…things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up – there’s a way out.

It is generally recognized that women are better than men at languages, personal relations and multitasking, 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. It is not politically correct to say such things. . . . But it cannot be denied that there are differences between men and women. Of course, these are differences between the averages only. There are wide variations about the mean.

t is generally recognized that women are better than men at languages, personal relations and multitasking, 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. It is not politically correct to say such things. . . . But it cannot be denied that there are differences between men and women. Of course, these are differences between the averages only. There are wide variations about the mean.

We got through all of Genesis and part of Exodus before I left. One of the main things I was taught from this was not to begin a sentence with And. I pointed out that most sentences in the Bible began with And, but I was told that English had changed since the time of King James. In that case, I argued, why make us read the Bible? But it was in vain. Robert Graves was very keen on the symbolism and mysticism in the Bible at that time.

I swear to use my scientific knowledge for the good of Humanity. I promise never to harm any person in my search for enlightenment. I shall be courageous and careful in my quest for greater knowledge about the mysteries that surround us. I shall not use scientific knowledge for my own personal gain or give it to those who seek to destroy the wonderful planet on which we live. If I break this oath, may the beauty and wonder of the Universe forever remain hidden from me.

We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet,…only in the few universes that are like ours would intelligent beings develop and ask the question: “Why is the universe the way we see it?” The answer is then simple: If it had been any different, we would not be here!,My advice to any heartbroken young girl is to pay close attention to the study of theoretical physics. Because one day there may well be proof of multiple universes. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that somewhere outside of our own universe lies another different universe. And in that universe, Zayn is still in One Direction.

What place, then, for a creator?,I believe in the possible. I believe, small though we are, insignificant though we may be, we can reach a full understanding of the universe. You were right when you said you felt small, looking up at all that up there. We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things.

Stephen Hawking said that his quest is simply "trying to understand the mind of God".

Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.

God abhors a naked singularity.

There should be no boundary to human endeavor.

I like physics, but I love cartoons.

Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of.

We lived in a tall, narrow Victorian house, which my parents had bought very cheaply during the war, when everyone thought London was going to be bombed flat. In fact, a V-2 rocket landed a few houses away from ours. I was away with my mother and sister at the time, but my father was in the house.

If you believe in science, like I do, you believe that there are certain laws that are always obeyed.

Before 1915, space and time were thought of as a fixed arena in which events took place, but which was not affected by what happened in it. Space and time are now dynamic quantities. . . space and time not only affect but are also affected by everything that happens in the universe.

A zero-gravity flight is a first step toward space travel.

Time can behave like another direction in space under extreme conditions.

Perhaps one day I will go into space.

I have wanted to fly into space for many years, but never imagined it would really be feasible.

Computers double their performance every month.

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.

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

I believe things cannot make themselves impossible.

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

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

Science is beautiful when it makes simple explanations of phenomena or connections between different observations. Examples include the double helix in biology and the fundamental equations of physics.

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

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

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

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.

God may exist, but science can explain the universe without the need for a creator.

In the past, there was active discrimination against women in science. That has now gone, and although there are residual effects, these are not enough to account for the small numbers of women, particularly in mathematics and physics.

I believe the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws.

Throughout history, people have studied pure science from a desire to understand the universe rather than practical applications for commercial gain. But their discoveries later turned out to have great practical benefits.

Science can lift people out of poverty and cure disease. That, in turn, will reduce civil unrest.

Science is increasingly answering questions that used to be the province of religion.

Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe.

I have found far greater enthusiasm for science in America than here in Britain. There is more enthusiasm for everything in America.

Before I lost my voice, it was slurred, so only those close to me could understand, but with the computer voice, I found I could give popular lectures. I enjoy communicating science. It is important that the public understands basic science, if they are not to leave vital decisions to others.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

I believe alien life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life is less so. Some say it has yet to appear on planet Earth.

We must develop as quickly as possible technologies that make possible a direct connection between brain and computer, so that artificial brains contribute to human intelligence rather than opposing it.

Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible.

Women. They are a complete mystery.

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.

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 think we have a good chance of surviving long enough to colonize the solar system.

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.

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

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

Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks.

Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.

God is the name people give to the reason we are here. But I think that reason is the laws of physics rather than someone with whom one can have a personal relationship. An impersonal God.

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.

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.

The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities. .