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Stephen Hawking Says Universe Created from Nothing

mr_3ntropy writes "Speaking to a sold out crowd at the Berkeley Physics Oppenheimer Lecture, Hawking said yesterday that he now believes the universe spontaneously popped into existence from nothing. He said more work is needed to prove this but we have time because 'Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end.' There is also a Webcast available (Realplayer or Real Alternative required)."

28 of 1,060 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds like... by ArcherB · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like his speech was Much Ado About Nothing

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    There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
  2. Pfft - yeah right. by charlesbakerharris · · Score: 5, Funny
    If that were true, how did the earth end up sitting on the back of a giant turtle? And where did all the other turtles that *they're* sitting on come from?

    Hawking is such a hack.

    1. Re:Pfft - yeah right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's turtles all the way down my friend!

    2. Re:Pfft - yeah right. by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Funny

      slight correction, after all these years and years of eternity, no doubt the turtle is swimming through elephant poop

    3. Re:Pfft - yeah right. by kalirion · · Score: 5, Funny

      "There was, for example, the theory that A'Tuin had come from nowhere and would continue at a uniform crawl, or steady gait, into nowhere, for all time. This theory was popular among academics. An alternative, favoured by those of a religious persuasion, was that A'Tuin was crawling from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, as were all the stars in the sky which were, obviously, also carried by giant turtles. When they arrived they would briefly and passionately mate, for the first and only time, and from that fiery union new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. This was known as the Big Bang hypothesis."

      - Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic

    4. Re:Pfft - yeah right. by rayde · · Score: 5, Funny
      for those of you out there who are missing the funny..

      A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the Earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy.

      At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise."

      The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?"

      "You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"
  3. I hope it's true... by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 4, Funny

    It would add some credibility when I tell my girlfriend that the porn in my browser history came ex nihilo.

    1. Re:I hope it's true... by chanrobi · · Score: 5, Funny

      ... my girlfriend ... Your credibility just went to zero :)
    2. Re:I hope it's true... by kalirion · · Score: 4, Funny

      Your credibility just went to zero :)

      Please, his girlfriend obviously spontaneously appeared out of nothing.

  4. God to Hawking: by guruevi · · Score: 4, Funny

    In this house we obey the law of thermodynamics.

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  5. What Is Eternity? by Eradicator2k3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What is eternity? You're on the checkout line at a supermarket. There are seven people in front of you. They are all old. They all have two carts and coupons for every item. They are all paying by check. None of them have ID. It's the checkout girl's first day on the job. She doesn't speak any English. Take away fifteen minutes from that, and you begin to get an idea of what eternity is.

    Thank you, Emo Philips.

    --
    Mr. T pitied this fool on 27 July 1992.
  6. Celebrity view by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe we could ask Paris Hilton, too.
    Among celebrity experts she is most definitely the biggest authority on the science of creating something from nothing.

  7. In the beginning.... by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny
    ...there was nothing. Then, God said, "Let there be light".

    And there was still nothing, but at least you could see it.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  8. Eternity by Lev13than · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end."

    Sure, it may feel like an eternity, but that's what it takes to get a decent table at Milliways.

    --
    When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
    1. Re:Eternity by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end."

      I think we've all sat through a few lectures like that.

  9. The paradox of Faith by Original+Replica · · Score: 5, Funny

    " I'll never be able to prove it, but I know I'm right".

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda


    It would seem you have backed yourself into a corner here.
    --
    We are all just people.
  10. Re:Worthless link by lbmouse · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Do we have to listen to the webcast to get any of the good stuff?"

    Why don't you listen to it and let us know.

  11. Re:so by Kaenneth · · Score: 5, Funny

    universe spontaneously popped into existence from nothing.
    So how long till it pops out of existence?
    In about 2 secon

  12. Re:Not really by jazman_777 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Real scientists...


    Right, Maxwell, Newton, Pascal, Kepler, Faraday, etc. I'm sure you wouldn't descend from your lofty perch to talk to such as these.

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  13. REAL AUDIO? by BillGod · · Score: 5, Funny

    couldnt they just give you the text and let windows text to speech engine say it? It would almost be like if you were there!

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    1. Re:REAL AUDIO? by shipbrick · · Score: 5, Funny

      use Dr. Sbaitso

    2. Re:REAL AUDIO? by TheoMurpse · · Score: 4, Funny

      couldnt they just give you the text and let windows text to speech engine say it?
      In related news, Stephen Hawking has written a letter to his relative discussing the future of the universe: "Dear Aunt, Kill Delete Select All".
  14. hasn't been said yet by Eccles · · Score: 4, Funny

    the universe spontaneously popped into existence from nothing

    This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea.--Douglas Adams

    --
    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  15. Ve believe in nossing! by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ve are nihilists, Lebowski!

  16. Re:hmmm, sorta like God, eh? by richie2000 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bah. You can't even prove to me that I exist. Philosophical empiricists, help me out here. Hell no, you're on your own.
    --
    Money for nothing, pix for free
  17. I guess the Hindus were right then by athloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    About the universe waking up from nothingness, and creating itself. This means we could have skipped 2,000 years of religious wars, standardized on Hinduism, made it Open Source and still had the New Age movement with its interesting drugs.

  18. Sounds like he's starting to believe by paranode · · Score: 4, Funny

    May he be touched by His noodly appendage. Ramen.

  19. Re:hmmm, sorta like God, eh? by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny

    He thinks, therefore he am.

    And what the hell is a philosophical empiricist? How would one test a philosophical theory?

    Philosopher: I think, therefore I am.
    Empiricist clocks philosopher upside the head and knocks him out cold
    Empiricist: Nope. Still there.

    Since empirical and philosophical are mutually exclusive, one would think that if an philosophical empiricist existed, we would enter some kind of twilight zone where military intelligence would make sense...

    --
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