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Stephen Hawking Quotes about Past

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The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.

The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.

Stephen Hawking
Past, Possibility, Future Possibilities

The laws of science do not distinguish between the past and the future.

Stephen Hawking
Time, Past, Law
"A Brief History Of Time: From Big Bang To Black Holes". Book by Stephen Hawking, 1988.

The world has changed far more in the past 100 years than in any other century in history. The reason is not political or economic but technological-technologies that flowed directly from advances in basic science. Clearly, no scientist better represents those advances than Albert Einstein: TIME's Person of the Century.

Stephen Hawking
Past, Technology, Years

You may see a cup of tea fall off a table and break into pieces on the floor... But you will never see the cup gather itself back together and jump back on the table. The increase of disorder, or entropy, is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.

Stephen Hawking
Fall, Past, Giving

Why do we remember the past, but not the future?

Stephen Hawking
Past, Asymmetry, Remember
Stephen Hawking (2006). “The Theory Of Everything”, p.44, Jaico Publishing House

Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. Our only chance of long term survival, is not to remain inward looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space.

Stephen Hawking
Selfish, Past, Years
"Abandon Earth - Or Face Extinction". bigthink.com.

One can imagine that God created the universe at literally any time in the past. On the other hand, if the universe is expanding, there may be physical reasons why there had to be a beginning. One could imagine that God created the universe at the instant of the big bang, or even afterwards in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang, but it would be meaningless to suppose that it was created before the big bang. An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job!

Stephen Hawking
Jobs, Past, Expanding Universe
"A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes". Book by Stephen Hawking, 1988.

The increase of disorder or entropy with time is one example of what is called an arrow of time, something that distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.

Stephen Hawking
Past, Giving, Increase
"A Brief History of Time". Book by Stephen Hawking, 1988.

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