Government works best under the glare of public scrutiny. Absent such scrutiny, abuses occur. Stephen Hawking More Quotes by Stephen Hawking More Quotes From Stephen Hawking In his eyes shone the reflection of the most beautiful planet in the Universe---a planet that is not too hot and not too cold; that has liquid water on the surface and where the gravity is just right for human beings and the atmosphere is perfect for them to breathe; where there are mountains and deserts and oceans and islands and forests and trees and birds and plants and animals and insects and people---lots and lots of people. Where there is life. Some of it, possibly, intelligent. Stephen Hawking ocean eye beautiful Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn Stephen Hawking careers skills secret As we shall see, the concept of time has no meaning before the beginning of the universe. This was first pointed out by St. Augustine. When asked: What did God do before he created the universe? Augustine didn't reply: He was preparing Hell for people who asked such questions. Instead, he said that time was a property of the universe that God created, and that time did not exist before the beginning of the universe. Stephen Hawking people religion firsts I was not a good student. I did not spend much Stephen Hawking students college busy The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the universe. Stephen Hawking elsewhere universe earth We don't let animals suffer, so why humans? Stephen Hawking euthanasia suffering animal I am discounting the reports of UFOs. Why would they appear only to cranks and weirdos? Stephen Hawking weirdo crank ufo We think we have solved the mystery of creation. Maybe we should patent the universe and charge everyone royalties for their existence. Stephen Hawking patents mystery thinking 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. Stephen Hawking bangs stars hands Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today. Stephen Hawking logical tomorrow today 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. Stephen Hawking multitasking reading men Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science. Stephen Hawking modern responsible birth One might think this means that imaginary numbers are just a mathematical game having nothing to do with the real world. From the viewpoint of positivist philosophy, however, one cannot determine what is real. All one can do is find which mathematical models describe the universe we live in. It turns out that a mathematical model involving imaginary time predicts not only effects we have already observed but also effects we have not been able to measure yet nevertheless believe in for other reasons. So what is real and what is imaginary? Is the distinction just in our minds? Stephen Hawking real philosophy believe Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. Stephen Hawking leisure machines people One could imagine such technology outsmarting financial markets, out-inventing human researchers, out-manipulating human leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand. Stephen Hawking technology weapons leader Evolution has ensured that our brains just aren't equipped to visualise 11 dimensions directly. However, from a purely mathematical point of view it's just as easy to think in 11 dimensions, as it is to think in three or four. Stephen Hawking views brain thinking No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before. Stephen Hawking research winning joy While physics and mathematics may tell us how the universe began, they are not much use in predicting human behavior because there are far too many equations to solve. I'm no better than anyone else at understanding what makes people tick, particularly women. Stephen Hawking understanding use people Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it. Stephen Hawking hypothesis prove-it theory It's clearly possible for a something to acquire higher intelligence than its ancestors: we evolved to be smarter than our ape-like ancestors, and Einstein was smarter than his parents. Stephen Hawking ancestor apes parent