Stephen Hawking

Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales.

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

God not only plays dice, but also sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.

I want to know why the universe exists, why there is something greater than nothing.

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 everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective.

Observations indicate that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate. It will expand forever, getting emptier and darker.

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.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.

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

Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful would, contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.

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.

I'm not afraid of death but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.

In Britain like most of the developed world stem-cell research is regarded as a great opportunity. America will be left behind if it doesn't change policy.

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

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.

Maybe I don't have the most common kind of motor neuron disease which usually kills in two or three years.

The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations directly in the abstract.

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