Stephen Hawking: “We will
have to find homes elsewhere in the universe”
The physicist reflects upon the universe’s origins and his
illness in an exclusive interview
·
1. “Merry
Christmas.” The unmistakable robotic voice belonging to the most famous
scientist on the planet rings out along the promenade at El Camisón beach in
Tenerife, prompting laughter among the tourists gathered round him. “It’s
Stephen Hawking,” they whisper to each other, as they jostle to see him.
The laws of science are sufficient to explain the
origin of the universe. It is not necessary to invoke God”
2.“It’s
a joke he likes: it makes people laugh,” says Pat, one of the team that follows
him everywhere, to explain the rather un-seasonal greeting. The 73-year-old
Hawking is visiting the Canary Islands to promote the third biennial Starmus
festival, a unique
international gathering focused on celebrating astronomy, space exploration,
music, art and allied sciences such as biology and chemistry founded by Garik
Israelian, an astronomer at the Canarian Institute for Astrophysics in
Tenerife. The 2016 edition will bring together around a dozen Nobel laureates,
along with many other famous figures from the worlds of art and science,
astronomy and space exploration.
3.Hawking,
who recently saw his remarkable life portrayed in the Oscar-winning movie The
Theory of Everything, is able to write using a sensor in his cheek,
one of the few muscles he is still able to move. He uses several software
programs to help him communicate, but it can sometimes still take him up to two
hours to answer a simple question – although he does have a special button
that cracks jokes.
4. I would tell a young Spanish scientist to go to
America. They value science because it pays off in technology”
A
woman in a bathing suit approaches Hawking, saying: “Thanks for your sense of
humor, Stephen.” This happens all the time, says one of his team: “His books
about astrophysics and his work have made him popular around the world.” He is
accompanied by seven people on the trip, among them doctors and close friends.
Hawking agrees to answer EL PAÍS’s questions, and discusses the need to conquer
space if humanity is to survive, as well as the dangers that artificial
intelligence poses, and the future for science in Spain.
5.Question. Despite
the difficulties involved, you’ve increased your public appearances. You keep a
dizzying schedule of trips, lectures, interviews, festivals… almost like a rock
star. Why do you do it?
Answer. I
feel a duty to inform the public about science.
Q. Is there anything that
you would like to do in life and still haven’t?
A. Go into space with
Virgin Galactic.
Q. In one of your most
recent books you focused on the theories that could unite relativity and
quantum physics. What will the next one be about?
A. Go into my life
against the odds.
My disability has been a help in a way. It has freed
me from teaching or sitting on boring committees, and given me more time to
think and do research”
Q. Spain, like many other
countries, has cuts its science budget, prompting many young scientists to go abroad to
continue their work. What would you say to a Spanish youngster who is
considering whether or not to become a scientist?
A. Go to America. They
value science because it pays off in technology.
Q. You recently launched
a very ambitious initiative to search for intelligent life in our galaxy. A few
years ago, though, you said it would be better not to contact extraterrestrial
civilizations because they could even exterminate us. Have you changed your
mind?
6. A. If aliens visit us,
the outcome could be much like when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t
turn out well for the Native Americans. Such advanced aliens would perhaps
become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach.
To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens
perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might
actually be like.
7. I believe everyone can, and should have a broad
picture of how the universe operates, and our place in it”
Q. You have said
information can survive a black hole. What does that mean for the average
person, especially if he or she ends up falling into a black hole?
A. Falling into a black
hole is like going over Niagara Falls in a canoe, if you paddle fast enough,
you can get away. Black holes are the ultimate recycling machine, what comes
out is the same as what went in but it’s reprocessed.
Q. In 2015 the theory of
relativity turns 100. What you would say to Einstein if you could speak to him,
and what do you expect from science in the next 100 years?
8. A. Einstein wrote a paper
in 1939 in which he claimed matter couldn’t be compressed beyond a certain
point, ruling out black holes.
Q. Why should we fear
artificial intelligence?
9. A. Computers will
overtake humans with AI at some point within the next 100 years. When that
happens, we need to make sure the computers have goals aligned with ours.
10. Q. What do you think our
fate as a species will be?
A. I think the survival
of the human race will depend on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the
universe, because there’s an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy
Earth. I therefore want to raise public awareness about the importance of space
flight. I have learnt not to look too far ahead, but to concentrate on the
present. I have so much more I want to do.
Q. What would you say to
the Spanish prime minister, who has approved major cuts to science spending?
Computers will overtake humans with AI at some point
within the next 100 years. When that happens, we need to make sure the
computers have goals aligned with ours”
11. A. The Spanish are very
interested in science and cosmology. They were great readers of my book, A
Brief History of Time. It is important that we all have a good
understanding of science and technology. Science and technology are changing
our world dramatically, and it is important to ensure that these changes are in
the right directions. In a democratic society, this means that we all need to
have a basic understanding of science, so we can make informed decisions
ourselves, rather than leave them to the experts. Of course you have to
simplify. Most people don’t have time to master the very mathematical details
of theoretical physics. But I believe everyone can, and should have a broad
picture of how the universe operates, and our place in it. This is what I have
tried to convey in my books and lectures.
Q. Do you think one can
be a good scientist and believe in God?
A. I use the word, God,
in an impersonal sense, like Einstein did, for the laws of nature.
Q. You said God is
unnecessary to explain the universe as it is. Do you think humans would one day
abandon religion and God?
A. The laws of science
are sufficient to explain the origin of the universe. It is not necessary to
invoke God.
I have learnt not to look too far ahead, but to concentrate
on the present. I have so much more I want to do”
Q. People who use
wheelchairs face many difficulties in leading a normal life. Having experienced
difficulties yourself, what is your message to people who have to use
wheelchairs?
12.A. Although I was unfortunate
enough to get motor neurone disease, I have been very fortunate in almost
everything else. I was lucky to be working in theoretical physics, one of the
few areas in which disability was not a serious handicap, and to hit the
jackpot with my popular books. My advice to other disabled people would be,
concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t
regret the things it interferes with. Theoretical physics is one of the few
fields in which being disabled is no handicap. It’s all in the mind. I must
admit, I do tend to drift off to thinking about physics or black holes when I
get left behind in the conversation. In fact, my disability has been a help in
a way. It has freed me from teaching or sitting on boring committees, and given
me more time to think and do research.
Q. What’s so important
about Starmus?
A. Starmus 3 is not only
about black holes, a subject I have done important work on, but it also
includes music and the arts. Starmus 3 is where serious science finds a wider
audience where intellectual thought, nuance and complexity are celebrated,
where the way scientists work is explored and where new ideas are harnessed.
Hawking crosses the pool area at his Tenerife hotel. / GORKA LEJARCEGI (EL
PAÍS)
Starmus 3 will take place
between June 27 and July 2, 2016, in Tenerife and La Palma in the Canary
Islands, and will be titled Beyond the Horizon – Tribute to
Stephen Hawking.
“Starmus,” says Hawking, “has become a unique forum
for discussion about the future of humanity.”
Along with astronauts such as Spain’s Miguel López
Alegría and Canada’s Chris Hadfield – who famously sang David Bowie’s Space
Oddity in space – no
fewer than 12 Nobel Prize winners will be in attendance at Starmus 3, among
them economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz. Also present will be Neil deGrasse
Tyson, who hosts television series Cosmos. Russian cosmonaut
Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space, will also attend.
13 One of the other main attractions of Starmus 3 will be
the “Teide Starmus Party,” a night of stargazing in the company of professional
astronomers accompanied by live music in the lunar-like landscape of the Teide
National Park and under the canopy of the Milky Way. The park – a UNESCO World
Heritage Site – is one of the world’s best stargazing locations because of its
clear dark skies, high altitude and low pollution. The site is
recognized as a “Starlight Tourist Destination.”
AFTER READING THE TEXT, FIND WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS WHICH MEAN:
1. A) RUNITED
B) PUSH
2. MEETING
3. HE CAN SPEND UP TO ....
4. BENEFITS
5. IN SPITE OF
6. RESULT
7. WIDE
8. DECLARING OUT OF THE QUESTION
9. A) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
B) THAT AGREE WITH/ THAT ARE NEXT TO
10. DESTINY
11. A)UNDERSTAND, BECOME AN EXPERT ON
B) MAKE OTHER PEOPLE KNOW
12. BE SUCCESSFUL
13. STARWATCHING
TRANSFORM THE UNDERLINED SENTENCES INTO REPORTED SPEECH.
1. A) RUNITED
B) PUSH
2. MEETING
3. HE CAN SPEND UP TO ....
4. BENEFITS
5. IN SPITE OF
6. RESULT
7. WIDE
8. DECLARING OUT OF THE QUESTION
9. A) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
B) THAT AGREE WITH/ THAT ARE NEXT TO
10. DESTINY
11. A)UNDERSTAND, BECOME AN EXPERT ON
B) MAKE OTHER PEOPLE KNOW
12. BE SUCCESSFUL
13. STARWATCHING
TRANSFORM THE UNDERLINED SENTENCES INTO REPORTED SPEECH.
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