The news of Stephen Hawking‘s death, caused by complications from ALS, was met with strong reactions and deep expressions of affection from the international community, particularly from the online world.
The world-renowned physicist and cosmologist, known to most people for his work on black holes and in the field of quantum physics, was 76 years old. The survival age for 75% of those affected by ALS is between 2 and 5 years, with only 20% surpassing that, but none reaching 20 years. An “exceptionally long” life, therefore, and exceptional in every sense.
«”Aside from the misfortune of contracting my severe motor neurone disease, I have been fortunate in almost every other aspect.”»
The general public became familiar with him thanks to memorable tributes from successful TV shows like The Simpsons, Futurama, and The Big Bang Theory, as well as the 2014 biographical film The Theory of Everything, directed by James Marsh and featuring an intense performance by Eddie Redmayne.
One of the most emblematic figures of the contemporary era, as well as the author of the bestseller A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (a cosmology treatise for a “non-scientific” audience), which is one of the best-selling science books of all time, with approximately 10 million copies sold worldwide.
Here are 10 of his most famous quotes, in heartfelt tribute to an unparalleled man and innovator.
10 Stephen Hawking’s Famous Quotes
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«Einstein was wrong when he said, “God does not play dice.” The consideration of black holes suggests not only that God plays dice, but that sometimes He throws them where we cannot see them.»
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«No matter how difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do. Look at the stars instead of your feet.»
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«Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about why the universe exists. Be curious.»
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«I think it would be more exciting if we didn’t find the Higgs boson. It would show that there is something wrong with our ideas and that we need to think more to find other explanations.»
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«I had bet Gordon Kane from the University of Michigan that the Higgs boson would not be found. It looks like I just lost 100 dollars.»
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«We are just an advanced race of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. This makes us something very special.»
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«I consider the brain to be like a computer that will stop working when its components fail.»
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«I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo. However, I estimate that on that same day, about two hundred thousand other children must have been born. I don’t know if any of them later showed an interest in astronomy.»
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«There is no paradise or afterlife for broken computers. It’s a fairy tale for people who are afraid of the dark.»
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«My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is the way it is, and why it exists.»
