MWB #51 - The Last Words of Stephen Hawking
If you know how something works, you can control it
A few weeks ago I watched the Netflix series, “Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space”. It is a documentary in part about SpaceX's journey to success and in part humanity’s constant strive to travel beyond earth. I was so happy to be alive and also aware of the possibilities of human foray into Space. I was left with a sense of wonder and admiration and most importantly, I craved more information about the progress we have made to understand the universe.
It was at that point I remembered a book I had read in 2018; “Big Answers To Big Questions” by Stephen Hawking. First off, my argument for why you should also read the book is this:
It expands your mind, imagination and knowledge of the universe. Most importantly, it inspires you. Because when you are done, you will know how far humanity has come at exploring this vast universe across space and time. And that knowledge will make you look up constantly and wonder about the beauty and vastness of the universe. It will help you appreciate the ingenuity of humanity at pushing the boundaries of what is imagined to be possible.
That and more is what I have felt reading the book for the second time. I also said this on Twitter:
At the end of the book, Stephen Hawking wrote some words that are now worth sharing.
“So remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future.”
“I don’t believe in boundaries, either for what we can do in our personal lives or for what life and intelligence can accomplish in our universe. We stand at a threshold of important discoveries in all areas of science. Without doubt, our world will change enormously in the next fifty years. We will find out what happened at the Big Bang. We will come to understand how life began on Earth. We may even discover whether life exists elsewhere in the universe. While the chances of communicating with an intelligent extra-terrestrial species may be slim, the importance of such a discovery means we must not give up trying. We will continue to explore our cosmic habitat, sending robots and humans into space. We cannot continue to look inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet. Through scientific endeavour and technological innovation, we must look outwards to the wider universe, while also striving to fix the problems on Earth. And I am optimistic that we will ultimately create viable habitats for the human race on other planets. We will transcend the Earth and learn to exist in space. This is not the end of the story, but just the beginning of what I hope will be billions of years of life flourishing in the cosmos.
And one final point—we never really know where the next great scientific discovery will come from, nor who will make it. Opening up the thrill and wonder of scientific discovery, creating innovative and accessible ways to reach out to the widest young audience possible, greatly increases the chances of finding and inspiring the new Einstein. Wherever she might be.”“I have led an extraordinary life on this planet, while at the same time travelling across the universe by using my mind and the laws of physics. I have been to the furthest reaches of our galaxy, travelled into a black hole and gone back to the beginning of time. On Earth, I have experienced highs and lows, turbulence and peace, success and suffering. I have been rich and poor, I have been able-bodied and disabled. I have been praised and criticised, but never ignored. I have been enormously privileged, through my work, in being able to contribute to our understanding of the universe. But it would be an empty universe indeed if it were not for the people I love, and who love me. Without them, the wonder of it all would be lost on me.”
The human mind is an incredible thing. It can conceive of the magnificence of heavens and the intricacies of the basic components of matter. Yet for each mind to achieve its full potential, it needs a spark. The spark of enquiry and wonder”
If you know how something works, you can control it.
3 Ideas To Challenge Your Mind
Focus on the journey, not the destination.
"Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master. This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth."
"He was the greatest conqueror the world ever knew because he was more open to learning than any other conqueror has ever been."
Things I am exploring right now
Every Friday, starting from tomorrow, I will start to share personal finance article on this website again. I paused it sometimes ago because I needed to settle down.
I am reading Richer, Wiser, Happier: How The World’s Greatest Investors Win In Markets And Life. Actually, I am usually reading more than one book at point in time. See my latest list here.
How easy is it to record videos, schedule podcasts, have interviews, write newsletters, write articles, post on social media(s) and keep a 9-5 job? Well, I am about to find out. Stay with me.
