Posted on 06/15/2006 6:41:00 AM PDT by edpc
Acclaimed British physicist Stephen Hawking has said that humanity is finally getting close to understanding the origin of the universe.
Speaking at a lecture in Hong Kong, Hawking said that despite some theoretical advances in the past years, there are still mysteries as to how the universe began.
"Despite having had some great successes, not everything is solved. We do not yet have good theoretical understanding of the observation of the expansion of the universe," he told an audience of 2,500 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Thursday.
"Without such understanding, we cannot be sure of the future of the universe.
"New observational results and theoretical advances are coming in rapidly; cosmology is a very exciting subject. We are getting close to answering these old questions: why are we here, where did we come from?"
The 64-year-old also said his unfulfilled ambitions, among many, were to find out what happens inside black holes, how the universe began and how the human race can survive in the next 100 years.
Above all, he joked, he wants to understand women.
On Tuesday Hawking said the human race should reach for the stars to survive as the Earth is at risk of being wiped out by a disaster.
He believes humans should settle in space, predicting a lunar settlement within 20 years and a Martian colony in 40.
Hawking, a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, speaks with a voice synthesiser and has been in a wheelchair since developing motor neurone disease.
During his Hong Kong visit he also revealed he is writing a children's book with his daughter about theoretical physics.
Hawking is the author of international best seller "A Brief History of Time", which attempted to explain a range of subjects in cosmology, including the Big Bang, black holes, light cones and superstring theory.
He is on a six-day visit to Hong Kong and will meet Chief Executive Donald Tsang Friday before heading to Beijing Saturday where he will give a lecture on string theory.
Now THERE'S a challenging project.
The answer, of course, remains "42".
I can walk on my own two feet, have the IQ of a soap dish and already knew the origin of the Universe.
But can I get any respect?
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Guess you havfta be a shrivelled, crip egghead to be taken seriously these days.
Does this mean they are "Nearer My God To Thee"?
Guess you havfta be a shrivelled, crip egghead to be taken seriously these days.
.....or a talking soapdish.
;-)
I admire this great mind. I also wonder how his "progressive" disease was arrested. It seems like he has not gotten worse for 20 years or so. I don't believe he is a religious person, but perhaps others, besides myself, are praying for him.
Not believing what he says doesn't automatically make him stupid.
Regardless of anyones beliefs, Hawkins remains just about the smartest man on the planet.
It's good to see he's not going to veer away from actual science...
No acutally it is "M" that is the new theory (revised older theories) that is finally pulling all this universe together ..!!
He wants to understand women? Here’s a start:
Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words hold my hand
In other words darling kiss me
Fill my life with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I hope for
All I worship and adore
In other words please be true
In other words I love you
Some guess that sexual congress with ever younger (but adult) partners is a key to his success in arresting the progression of his disease.
I'd opt for, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
We're just as close as we ever were.
We can't even see it.
Huh? Like Teddy and Dodd's waitress sandwich = sexual congress? Seriously, what are you saying? PM if need be.
I also meant to say that Hawking and Carl Sagan may not be the greatest astro-physisists of all time but they have explained it, "popularized" it if you will, and the children's book is a grand idea. The video based on A Brief History of Time is also awesome and easy to understand. He simplifies without oversimplification.
Proof positive that he's finally lost it. Quantum mechanics and string theory are logical compared to women.
An important point that is given little attention.
I predict that when we find the key to the "last" door between us and understanding the universe, when we open it we will find........
another door.
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