“We must…continue to go into space for the future of humanity,” says Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound British theoretical physicist whose predictions about the future of earth have always touched upon a possible doomsday, has once again reiterated his stand by saying that earth has an expiry date.
This doesn’t mean that you have to stall the long-term milestones and be with your family to embrace the inevitable end as the end, according to Hawking, is almost 1,000 years in the future.
The “end of the earth” prediction was made during a talk session at the Oxford University Union on November 15 where Professor Hawking was the chief guest. In the speech, he said, “I don’t think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
When taking into consideration the brilliance of the most revered physicist since Einstein, it is worth giving attention to his thoughts.
All this said, Hawking has not predicted the end of humans as he believes advancements in technology over the next 1,000 years will find exoplanets that can sustain life, thus making it possible the continuity of our species, even after the earth is destroyed.
“We must…continue to go into space for the future of humanity,” he noted during the one-hour speech.
Hawking who is suffering from a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis said during his speech that the future will look like Interstellar, with humans abandoning earth as it nears its expiry date due to various reasons that he calls inevitable and goes in search of new pastures. This is the only way life in the world as we know can continue, says Hawking.
Hawking claims that multiple factors such as nuclear warfare and genetic engineering of viruses, and above all global warming and climate change, could fasten the process of earth’s expiry.
He further explained: “We will map the position of millions of galaxies with the help of [super] computers like Cosmos. We will better understand our place in the universe.”
This isn’t the first time Hawking has predicted the end of the world. Earlier in 2015, while delivering a similar lecture, he said the advancements in artificial intelligence that we are yet to achieve could backfire as it “could spell the end of the human race.”
According to Hawking, humans in the future should gaze more at the stars and the endless galaxy not to just adore its beauty but to search for a home away from home within the innumerable galaxies that exist in the universe.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
Hawking was quoted by The Independent saying: “Our picture of the universe has changed a great deal in the last 50 years, and I am happy if I have made a small contribution.”
“The fact that we humans, who are ourselves mere fundamental particles of nature, have been able to come this close to understanding the laws that govern us and the universe is certainly a triumph,” he added.