I imagine what happens to human consciousness when we die is much like turning off a computer. I don’t believe in a heaven for computers. I think the… - Stephen Hawking

I regard the afterlife to be a fairy story for people that are afraid of the dark

When I gave a lecture in Japan, I was asked not to mention the possible re-collapse of the universe, because it might affect the stock market. However, I can re-assure anyone who is nervous about their investments that it is a bit early to sell: even if the universe does come to an end, it won't be for at least twenty billion years. By that time, maybe the GATT trade agreement will have come into effect.

I think computer viruses should count as life ... I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.

Equations are just the boring part of mathematics. I attempt to see things in terms of geometry.