© Linda Davick
In the morning when I'm first waking up, I think of the oddest things. This morning I woke up thinking about Steven Hawking. I had read in the paper that all UC Berkeley freshman would receive a free copy of A Briefer History of Time this November to read over winter break. And then, on March 13, that Steven Hawking would be speaking at Zellerbach Hall. (Sorry! Already sold out.)
You know Hawking is a quadriplegic. He has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and speaks using a voice synthesizer.
Some thoughts I had in my dreamy waking state:
•What if the unified theory he will certainly discover proves the validity of both science and God?
•What if Steven Hawking is the Second Coming? And channels God through his voice synthesizer?
•What if Steven Hawking and Mark Morford and Steven Colbert are the holy trinity?
Some of Steven's thoughts:
•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?
•It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.
•My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
•Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.
and one of my faves:
•Personally, I prefer the Simpsons
I lost my sense of wonder when I went to school. It comes back sometimes and I want to cultivate it. That's why I think the idea that all freshmen at Berkeley will read this book and hear this man speak is a great one.
