"There is no God. No one directs the universe," Stephen Hawking states in "Brief Answers to the Big Questions," presented to a large audience in London on Monday.
"For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God," he adds in the book, which he had been writing before he died in March. "I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature," he adds, moving on to speculate about the possibilities of would-be time travel.
"Travel back in time can't be ruled out according to our present understanding," he says. He also enthusiastically assumes that "within the next hundred years we will be able to travel to anywhere in the Solar System."
Despite ruling out the presence of God as such, he surprisingly asserts that there are “forms of intelligent life out there,” saying there is definitely a need for being “wary of answering back until we have developed a bit further.”
"He realized that people specifically wanted his answers to these questions," the scientist's daughter, Lucy Hawking, who partook in writing the book, told CNN.
Hawking’s message on God and “intelligent being”, however, didn’t appear to strike the right chord with some:
“Where science fails, spiritualism takes over,” on Twitter user remarked.
Where science fails spiritualism takes over.
— Dr.P.K.Chhetri (@chhetri_dr) 17 октября 2018 г.
Stephen Hawkins shows his limits.
— matt bedford (@bedford_matt) 16 октября 2018 г.
Many pointed out that those in power, be it in religion, government or business, wouldn’t want their subordinates “to think,” because the latter’s cognitive abilities would mean they couldn’t be deceived:
Science and education have always been under threat. No one in religion, government or business want you to think. Because, if you do, you might not buy the shit they are pushing.
— John Miller (@johnmiller) 17 октября 2018 г.
Some obviously took Hawking’s reportedly posthumous message with a grain of salt:
“Does anyone wonder if a computer generated voice really relayed his last words? Or did they just make it say whatever they wanted it to say?” one asked.
Does anyone wonder if a computer generated voice really relayed his last words? Or did they just make it say whatever they wanted it to say?
— The Uncensored Truth (@TheUncensoredT1) 17 октября 2018 г.
He was wrong.
— Gustavo Araújo (@gustavoYaraujo) 17 октября 2018 г.
One user took Hawking’s challenges throughout his life as preconditions to “understand the bounties of God,” and he went on to say the renowned scientist was “the most unfortunate” on Earth as he failed to grasp that the heights he reached despite so many physical handicaps “lead to God:”
hawking i think the most unfortunate person on the planet coz all indicators & circumstances was in favour him to understand the bounties of God that he wz bestowed.despite losing all the physical strengths he rose to worldy hight on the wings of soul & spirit that leads to God
— i_i_i (@wajidnow) 16 октября 2018 г.
However, this immediately triggered a response from another user, who pointed to the fact that it would be wrong to “give God the credit:”
Hawking rose to the point that he did because of his own perseverance and staggering intellect. Do not detract from his beautiful mind by giving god the credit
— Liana Sweezer (@LianaTheRipper) 16 октября 2018 г.
Hawking’s words on God have prompted many to engage in long exchanges, with many contemplating on common understandings of chaos and the cosmos:
If chaos implies an infinite amount of possibilities and, if there is an infinite amount of universes, then order can appear out of chaos. Doesn’t mean it’s the case for our universe tho.
— David Wattebled (@DavWattebled) 16 октября 2018 г.
Many however ruled out any single objective point of view:
Well you just successfully blew my mind.
— Jon Tyndal (@JonTyndal) 16 октября 2018 г.
Many categorically referred to Hawking’s words as scientifically unproven, claiming this is no more than a supposition, an individual point of view.
This is his opinion. He has not tested this out Scientifically. It comes from the supposition that God does not exist leading to, I am the great thinking scientific mind and have thought out God doesn't exist, erg, he doesn't. I wonder what he'll say when the Resurrection Dawns.
— GrampsNZ (@grampsnz) 17 октября 2018 г.
1) I strongly disagree with Stephen Hawking. Imagine that God is hidden behind a door somewhere in the universe. You have a key 🔑 to unlock the door. Saying that God does not exist is the equivalent of saying you have searched behind every door in the universe simultaneously.
— Devin Paulsen (@devbb24) 17 октября 2018 г.
Realistically saying anything about the afterlife though could be totally false since we really dont know and Steven Hawking is no different in my eyes. Opinion is one thing.
— 🤪Justin Sunny😍 (@JustJustinSunny) 16 октября 2018 г.
A person who says "there is no God" is claiming to know everything.
— Will Peace ❌ (@Willbpeace) 16 октября 2018 г.
I find that a tad presumptuous…
One even opted for black humor, referring to the timing and the real sequence of events:
"There is no more Stephen Hawking"
— Robotsky (@Conunderground) 16 октября 2018 г.
God
A different user, meanwhile, attempted to come up with the physical formula to explain the start of the world:
Universe exists because spheres of Energy decayd (into matter) aftr passing of very long time,& divided intoBase3 numbers(3x3x3=27), & kept dividg, allowg its size to be preserved as a constant ratio, Sphere Volume/Sphere Surface =R/3. If R=3, thats 3/3=1, a singularity #PDsBook7
— Paul Douglas (@BlkdougPaul) 17 октября 2018 г.
Stephen Hawking, appreciated all around the world as one of the most brilliant scientists of our time, died in March at the age of 76. For most of his adult life, he suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disorder also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
