Stephen Hawking

“I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their own life, and those that help them should be free from prosecution.”

“Up until the 1920s, everyone thought the universe was essentially static and unchanging in time.”

“I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.”

“I want my books sold on airport bookstalls.”

“Only black holes of very low mass would emit a significant amount of radiation.”

“Ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity's deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.”

“When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have.”

“I am in touch with a company that hopes to replicate my voice. However, they are not replicating my original voice - if they did that, I would sound like a man in his 20s, which would be very strange! They are actually trying to replicate the synthesizer that sits on my wheelchair.”

“We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain.”

“There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

“We lived in a tall, narrow Victorian house, which my parents had bought very cheaply during the war, when everyone thought London was going to be bombed flat. In fact, a V-2 rocket landed a few houses away from ours. I was away with my mother and sister at the time, but my father was in the house.”

“The fastest manned vehicle in history was Apollo 10. It reached 25,000 mph.”

“The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.”

“Even if it turns out that time travel is impossible, it is important that we understand why it is impossible.”

“In Britain, like most of the developed world, stem-cell research is regarded as a great opportunity. America will be left behind if it doesn't change policy.”

“I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”

“I believe there are no questions that science can't answer about a physical universe.”

“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 confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.”

“Computers double their performance every month.”