We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.
There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
Although September 11 was horrible, it didn't threaten the survival of the human race, like nuclear weapons do.
Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?
If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans.
Why are we here? Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead.
My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
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.
There are grounds for cautious optimism that we may now be near the end ofthe search for the ultimate laws of nature.
If we do discover a complete theory, it should be in time understandable in broad principle by everyone. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people be able to take part in the discussion of why we and the universe exist.
Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.