In his own wonderfully witty words
ON HIS WORK
Describing the ‘Eureka’ moment of a scientific discovery: ‘I wouldn’t compare it to sex but it lasts longer.’ ‘I believe alien life is quite common in the Universe, although intelligent life is less so. some say it has yet to appear on planet earth.’ ‘If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?’ ‘When people ask me if a god created the Universe, I tell them the question itself makes no sense. Time didn’t exist before the Big Bang, so there is no time for God to make the universe in. It’s like asking for directions to the edge of the earth. The earth is a sphere. It does not have an edge, so looking for it is a futile exercise.’ ‘The idea of ten dimensions might sound exciting, but they would cause real problems if you forget where you parked your car.’ ‘I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We’ve created life in our own image.’ ‘My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the Universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.’
ON MANKIND
‘I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.’ ‘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.’ ‘If I had a time machine I’d visit Marilyn Monroe in her prime — or drop in on Galileo as he turned his telescope to the heavens.’ ‘It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.’ ‘If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans. We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet.’ ‘I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark.’
HIS PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
‘The downside of my celebrity is that I cannot go anywhere in the world without being recognised. It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig. The wheelchair gives me away.’ ‘When I was 12, one of my friends bet another friend a bag of sweets that I would never come to anything. I don’t know if this bet was ever settled, and if so, which way it was decided . . .’ Asked if he believed he was the most intelligent person in the world: ‘I would never claim this. I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers.’ Talking about the actor who played him in the 2014 film, The Theory of everything: ‘Unfortunately, eddie [redmayne] did not inherit my good looks.’ ‘My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.’ ‘Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.’ ‘One, look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.’ ‘I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die — I have so much to do first.’