8 incredible Stephen Hawking quotes
1. ON HIS SCHOOLING
"At school, I was never more than about halfway up the class. It was a very bright class. My classwork was very untidy, and my handwriting was the despair of my teachers. But my classmates gave me the nickname Einstein, so presumably they saw signs of something better. When I was twelve, 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."
— From the lecture "My Brief History," 2010
2. ON ALIEN LIFE
"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."
— From Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, 2010
3. ON FATE VERSUS FREE WILL
"I have noticed that even people who claim everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road."
— From Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
4. ON IMPERFECTION
"Next time someone complains that you have made a mistake, tell him that may be a good thing. Because without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist."
— From Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, 2010
5. ON HIS IQ
"I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers."
— To The New York Times, December 2004
6. ON WOMEN
"They are a complete mystery.”
— To New Scientist, January 2012
7. ON THE ADVICE HE GAVE HIS CHILDREN
"One, remember to 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."
— To Diane Sawyer/ABC News, June 2010
8. ON OPTIMISM
"Most of the threats we face come from the progress we’ve made in science and technology. We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we must recognize the dangers and control them. I’m an optimist, and I believe we can."
— To the Radio Times, January 2016