Yesterday I read an article about Stephen Hawking's planned space flight on Richard Branson's Virgin Galastic in 2009. It reminded me of his purported conversation with Pope John Paul II regarding creation and the beginning of time. I find Stephen Hawking fascinating and if you haven't had the opportunity yet, I highly recommend reading "A Brief History of Time." His life story is pretty interesting as well.
Considering he should have died long ago, I wonder if he'll actually make it to the 2009 launch date??
Stephen Hawking says pope told him not to study beginning of universe
Posted 6/15/2006 9:17 AM ET HONG KONG (AP) — World-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said Thursday that the late Pope John Paul II once told scientists they should not study the beginning of the universe because it was the work of God. Hawking, author of the best-seller A Brief History of Time, said John Paul made the comments at a cosmology conference at the Vatican. He did not say when the meeting was held. Hawking quoted the pope as saying, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God." The scientist then joked that he was glad John Paul did not realize that he had presented a paper at the conference suggesting how the universe began. "I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition like Galileo," Hawking said during a sold-out audience at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The church condemned Galileo in the 17th century for supporting Nicholas Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe. But in 1992, Pope John Paul II issued a declaration saying the church's denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension." Hawking is one of the best-known theoretical physicists of his generation. He has done groundbreaking research on black holes and the origins of the universe, and he proposes that space and time have no beginning and no end. During a question-and-answer session, Hawking was asked where constants like gravity come from and whether gravity can distort light. But there were several humorous moments. The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, communicates with an electronic speech synthesizer. Hawking was asked why his computerized voice has an American accent. "The voice I use is a very old hardware speech synthesizer made in 1986," he said. "I keep it because I have not heard a voice I like better and because I have identified with it." He said he once considered using a machine that gave him a French accent, but he did not because his wife would divorce him. But Hawking said he is shopping for a new system because his current hardware is large and fragile, using components that are no longer made. "I have been trying to get a software version, but it seems very difficult," he said. He urged people with physical disabilities not to give up on their ambitions. "You can't afford to be disabled in spirit as well as physically," he said. "People won't have time for you." Hawking ended his lecture saying, "We are getting closer to answering the age-old questions: Why are we here? Where did we come from?" Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
34 comments:
I liked this post about Mr. Hawking. There's one thing troubling me though, what's his wife got against French accents? She must be the only one. I speak French and the accent drives the ladies wild... or so I tell myself.
I'm not sure which wife it was who said that. If it was the first wife, I can understand why she is so bitter... And I agree, French is sexy! Cheers ;)
*From Wikipedia--"...Jane, Hawking's first wife, cared for him until 1991 when the couple separated, reportedly, due to the pressures of fame, his increasing disability, and an affair Hawking began with one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. Hawking and Elaine Mason were married in 1995. (Elaine Mason's first husband, David Mason, had designed the first version of Hawking's talking computer.) In October 2006, the Hawkings filed for divorce..."
Hey! Egan's here! Egan's a very cool dude.
Hawking had an affair with one of his nurses?? Now that is what I call a stud. I mean, come on. He has no French accent. Have you heard him? Wow! All those scientific accolades pale in comparison.
I can't believe it's physically possible for him to have an affair. THAT takes determination! And what the heck is "...the church's denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension." I might put this one in my back pocket to use later--- "What we have here is a tragic mutual incomprehension- Not a mistake." Hmmm has a certain "pass the buck" ring to it!
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