May
27th
Fri
27th
Stephen Hawking on science, human purpose and death
Q: What is the value in knowing “Why are we here?”
SH: The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can’t solve the equations, directly in the abstract. We need to use the effective theory of Darwinian natural selection of those societies most likely to survive. We assign them higher value. (…)
Q: So here we are. What should we do?
SH: We should seek the greatest value of our action. (…)
“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.”
Q: What are the things you find most beautiful in science?
SH: 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.
Q: What is the value in knowing “Why are we here?”
SH: The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can’t solve the equations, directly in the abstract. We need to use the effective theory of Darwinian natural selection of those societies most likely to survive. We assign them higher value. (…)
Q: So here we are. What should we do?
SH: We should seek the greatest value of our action. (…)
“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.”
Q: What are the things you find most beautiful in science?
SH: 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.
— Stephen Hawking, English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, interviewed by Ian Sample in Stephen Hawking: ‘There is no heaven; it’s a fairy story’, Guardian, 15 May 2011.
