We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.
Stephen HawkingRead
The voice I use is a very old hardware speech synthesizer made in 1986. I keep it because I have not heard a voice I like better and because I have identified with it.
Interpretation
Stephen Hawking expresses a deep connection to his unique synthetic voice, valuing it over newer options.
In this quote, Stephen Hawking reflects on his choice of voice generated by an old hardware speech synthesizer, illustrating how personal identity and comfort can transcend advancements in technology. His attachment to this voice underscores the importance of familiarity and the role it plays in self-expression, demonstrating that what may seem outdated can still hold significant value for an individual.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming obstacles, I might refer to Hawking's attachment to his voice to illustrate personal identity.
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 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.
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. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.
I was not a good student. I did not spend much time at college; I was too busy enjoying myself.
The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic but technological-technologies that flowed directly from advances in basic science. Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein: TIME's Person of the Century.
In my opinion, there is no aspect of reality beyond the reach of the human mind.
The outcome of any serious research can only be to make two questions grow where only one grew before.
I'm not trying to copy Nature, I'm trying to find the principles she's using.
That is the logical tight-rope on which we have to walk if we wish to interpret nature.
A careful analysis of the process of observation in atomic physics has shown that the subatomic particles have no meaning as isolated entities, but can only be understood as interconnections between the preparation of an experiment and the subsequent measurement.
So we find that the three possible solutions of the great problem of increasing human energy are answered by the three words: food, peace, work... Their scientific meaning and purpose now clear to me: food to increase the mass, peace to diminish the retarding force, and work to increase the force accelerating human movement.
How long have we got? We have to stabilize emissions of carbon dioxide within a decade, or temperatures will warm by more than one degree... We don't have much time left.
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