Stephen Hawking

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.

My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.

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.

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

Life would be tragic if it weren't so funny.

When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one is surprised at everything one gets.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly. People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.

If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God.

Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales.

The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order.

What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe.

The universe doesn't allow perfection.

I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can change nothing about it, look both ways before they cross the street.

People who boast about their IQ are losers.

Science is not only a disciple of reason but also one of romance and passion.

The victim of mind-manipulation does not know that he is a victim. To him, the walls of his prison are invisible, and he believes himself to be free.

I regard class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on force.

The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can't believe the whole universe exists for our benefit. That would be like saying that you would disappear if I closed my eyes.

Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.