Stephen Hawking
I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo. I estimate, however, that about two hundred thousand other babies were also born that day. I don't know whether any of them was later interested in astronomy.Collection: Death
Many people find the universe confusing - it's not.
Most people don't have time to master the very mathematical details of theoretical physics.
Time can behave like another direction in space under extreme conditions.
It is extremely important to me to write for children.
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.
Although almost every theoretical physicist agrees with my prediction that a black hole should glow like a hot body, it would be very difficult to verify experimentally because the temperature of a macroscopic black hole is so low.
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.
The cyclic universe theory predicts no gravitational waves from the early universe.
Perhaps one day I will go into space.
I had not expected 'A Brief History of Time' to be a best seller.
I entered the health care debate in response to a statement in the United States press in summer 2009 which claimed the National Health Service in Great Britain would have killed me off, were I a British citizen. I felt compelled to make a statement to explain the error.
Only black holes of very low mass would emit a significant amount of radiation.
I have a full and satisfying life. My work and my family are very important to me.
I have wanted to fly into space for many years, but never imagined it would really be feasible.
I want my books sold on airport bookstalls.
I have found far greater enthusiasm for science in America than here in Britain. There is more enthusiasm for everything in America.
Some people would claim that things like love, joy and beauty belong to a different category from science and can't be described in scientific terms, but I think they can now be explained by the theory of evolution.
I think it quite likely that we are the only civilization within several hundred light years; otherwise we would have heard radio waves.
I'm never any good in the morning. It is only after four in the afternoon that I get going.
Many badly needed goals, like fusion and cancer cure, would be achieved much sooner if we invested more.
I don't care much for equations myself. This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down, but mainly because I don't have an intuitive feeling for equations.
If we want to travel into the future, we just need to go fast. Really fast. And I think the only way we're ever likely to do that is by going into space.
The fastest manned vehicle in history was Apollo 10. It reached 25,000 mph.
Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe.
I had not expected 'A Brief History of Time' to be a best seller. It was my first popular book and aroused a great deal of interest. Initially, many people found it difficult to understand. I therefore decided to try to write a new version that would be easier to follow.
My three children have brought me great joy.
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.
We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain.
There is no unique picture of reality.
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.
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.
If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size. On the other hand, if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.
When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have.
I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.
People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.
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.
Nothing cannot exist forever.
Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales.
One can't predict the weather more than a few days in advance.
My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.
In my school, the brightest boys did math and physics, the less bright did physics and chemistry, and the least bright did biology. I wanted to do math and physics, but my father made me do chemistry because he thought there would be no jobs for mathematicians.
If you understand the universe, you control it, in a way.
My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the things it interferes with. Don't be disabled in spirit as well as physically.
I was not a good student. I did not spend much time at college; I was too busy enjoying myself.
I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these 'how' and 'why' questions. Occasionally, I find an answer.
To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.
We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.