Stephen Hawking

The physicist who has helped us understand many of the mysteries of the universe, turns 70 today.

To celebrate his birthday, we bring you seven of his best quotes:

On knowledge:

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

On curiosity:

“It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and
philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. It’s a crazy world out there.
Be curious.”

On his life:

“I have always tried to overcome the limitations I have traveled the world, from the Antarctic to
zero gravity… Perhaps one day I will go into space.”

On death:

“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.”

On fear of death:

“I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.”

On the biggest mystery he would like solved:

“I want to know why the universe exists, why there is something greater than nothing.”