stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking: So here's how it all happened without God

Even some of the more faithful might have wondered over the last few days whether there truly is a God.

Famed physicist Stephen Hawking would like to help. Let's imagine there isn't, seems to be his preference.

Indeed, in a speech at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., on Tuesday night, he made jokes about God's supposed power and omnipresence.

"What was God doing before the divine creation? Was he preparing hell for people who asked such questions?" asked Hawking, clearly not afraid of meeting a reddish man with a fork and a … Read more

Friday Poll: Is Hawking right about us needing to colonize space?

Stephen Hawking's mind is reaching out into the far depths of space as he contemplates the survival of humanity over the very long term. He doesn't hold out much hope for us here on Earth. Instead, the famous physicist is looking to the stars for an answer.

"We must continue to go into space for humanity. We won't survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet," Hawking said in a recent lecture, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The delicate nature of Earth and humanity's propensity for steamrolling over the environment both spell doom as far as Hawking is concerned. He has been talking about the need to colonize space for years, but his latest comments have ramped up the discussion.… Read more

Stephen Hawking predicts end-of-Earth scenario

Stephen Hawking, one of the world's greatest physicists and cosmologists, is once again warning his fellow humans that our extinction is on the horizon unless we figure out a way to live in space.

Not known for conspiracy theories, Hawking's rationale is that the Earth is far too delicate a planet to continue to withstand the barrage of human battering.

"We must continue to go into space for humanity," Hawking said today, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We won't survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet."… Read more

Scientist: Hawking is 'brain in a vat'

The generally accepted form of wishing someone a happy birthday is to sing to the lucky person. Or perhaps buy him or her a gift.

A less accepted form is to compare the birthday person to Darth Vader and suggest he or she is merely a "brain in a vat."

Still, Helene Mialet, a UC Berkeley anthropologist of science, chose the path slightly less trodden.

Writing in Wired, she offered that perhaps Hawking should be referred to as Obi-Wan refers to Darth Vader: "More machine than man."

She went on to suggest that the eminent physicist'… Read more

Stephen Hawking sucks opera singer into black hole (in an ad)

Once you're famous, you get inundated with offers to appear in ads.

But which ones to choose? Should you peddle soap or Siri? Should you declare your love for Buick, while secretly pootling around in your Mercedes?

Stephen Hawking made an interesting choice to advertise auto insurance -- Go Compare's online auto-insurance comparison service, to be precise.… Read more

Stephen Hawking: I lost a $100 bet over Higgs boson discovery

There is much excitement over the discovery of the Higgs boson particle.

Physicists everywhere are, as I understand it, overjoyed that all of their theories have been proved to be correct. Which certainly puts them far ahead of any economists.

However, for one man this discovery has come with a cost.

For Stephen Hawking admitted to the BBC that he'd just lost $100 over Higgs boson's arrival.

Hawking is clearly impressed with this breakthrough.

"It should earn Peter Higgs the Nobel Prize," he told the BBC.

There is, though, a certain melancholy for Hawking, too.

"… Read more

Professor to 'hack' into Stephen Hawking's brain

There are several things I find hard to understand. Tennis' Williams sisters, for example. Or why diesel prices can be $1 a gallon different a mere five miles apart.

The things that go around Stephen Hawking's highly sophisticated brain, I wouldn't even try to fathom.

However, scientists at Stanford, led by Dr. Phillip Low (who is also CEO of Neurovigil), are working with him in order to access his brainwaves directly.

The tool they are using they call iBrain. It is designed to take brainwaves and have them be communicated on a computer. It consists of a black … Read more

Stephen Hawking to appear on 'Big Bang Theory'

The position of guest star can sometimes be abused by sitcoms.

They roll out a movie star for one or two episodes in order to boost ratings, before that star departs, leaving a pitiful normalcy behind.

When it comes to "Big Bang Theory," however, the term "star" enjoys a more celestial quality.

So I know that many will feel a heavenward surge to learn that Stephen Hawking--he of the extremely large brain and extreme suspicion of the goodness of aliens--will be making a guest appearance on the show.

My voracious reading of Entertainment Weekly offered … Read more

Hawking: I think about women most

I need to disabuse you. Men do not think about sex every seven seconds, as some would have it.

However, they do think about their target sex--be it men, women or other--constantly.

As living proof, might I offer renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. He shouldn't be offering living proof of anything; when he was diagnosed with motor-neuron disease at the age of 21, few thought he would last another 49 years.

Still, in a 70th birthday interview with New Scientist, Hawking finally admitted that physics, Einstein, the Cosmos, aliens--oh, it's all so much dogged piffle when compared to the … Read more

Stephen Hawking: Colonize space, or else

In recent times, famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has become something of a hawk when it comes to human survival.

His fears have been profound. His warnings have been chilling.

He told us earthlings just last year that aliens might swoop down on us and devour us whole, while plundering what's worth taking from here. You know, a few Ferraris, an iPhone or two, Selma Blair, Yosemite, Aziza restaurant in San Francisco, and a couple of Himalayas just to look at.

Now, according to The Canadian Press, Hawking is adamant that we have to start colonizing out there before we … Read more