Hawking worries about how the world becomes interior and divided, says Lucy Hawking, daughter of the physicist

Among the issues addressed by Stephen Hawking in the book are the existence of God ("There is no God, no one directs the universe"), the long-term feasibility of life on Earth ("inevitable that the nuclear clash or environmental disaster weaken the Earth" ") And the possibility of a trip back in time (" a journey in space fast and in time can not be ruled out " ). Why was it important for him to ask the big questions?


The scope of his work was the universe. There may be no bigger and bigger subject, so the big questions came naturally to him. He knew that people wanted to answer these questions and he felt that it was his duty as a scientist and public intellectual to give people the answers they wanted in an understandable format.

It was not difficult to read before, but this book seems particularly lucid.


The book presents a charming flow that reflects the very logical way in which he undertook to give answers. I think it's because my father took many years to perfect his ability to communicate with a non-scientific, always simplistic audience, always looking for the most direct and descriptive way to explain something, but also seeking creative and imaginative ways of formulating arguments. so that people can relate to them. He had this ability to visualize geometric shapes in his mind, which is quite rare. He learned it himself when he was no longer able to write equations because of his condition. This helped him to express abstract concepts so clearly.

Growing up with someone like him was obviously extraordinary, but what are the ordinary moments you remember?


It was extraordinary in that he was a scientific genius and a handicapped man. At that time in the UK, people with disabilities were neither so active nor so independent. He was a pioneer in this regard and his work inspired many people. Of course, I was a child and I did not understand anything at that time, so it was quite ordinary. Can we go for an ice cream, can we play monopoly, can I not do my homework – the kind of things that make up family life. When I was young, we were sharing the newspaper at breakfast and I was fighting with him about the passage I wanted first. All these memories come back to me and make me laugh.

Some of his views – such as the dangers of a new breed of genetically modified superhumans run by IA – have been met with skepticism. What do you say to skeptics?


Quite often, something my father says becomes a generic title that does not reflect the nuanced quality of what he says. In the book, he says that if anyone could benefit from artificial intelligence, it would be him, a person with motor neuropathy. He knew the benefits that advances in technology could bring to humanity, but warned against engaging in blindness without having conversations about ethical frameworks and the protection of people.

He writes that history is really the story of stupidity and he is happy that people are now studying the future of intelligence …


(Laughs) That's just that kind of classic Stephen Hawking phrase, is not it? But yes, his biggest concern was how much we were dividing at a time when the challenges are so global and universal. We are less and less able to collaborate with each other. He saw how much we would lose if we all became localized by seeing only what was good for us. If anything, this book is a call to unity. He wanted us to move in the future in a state of international collaboration rather than becoming more and more fractured and divided.