There are some things even Stephen Hawking can't figure out.
On "Larry King Now," the world-famous astrophysicist told Larry King that he wonders why anything -- and everything -- even exists in the first place.
"Why do the universe and all the laws of nature exist? Are they necessary?" Hawking asked. "In one sense, they are, because otherwise we wouldn’t be here to ask the question. But is there a deeper reason?"
That's a little different from the answer Hawking gave in 2012 when New Scientist asked him what he thought about most during the day.
“Women," he said. "They are a complete mystery.”
Hawking said he's learned a lot about women since, and even asked King about his eight marriages to seven women.
"Is that the triumph of hope over experience?" Hawking asked.
"You make a good point, Stephen," King said, noting his most recent marriage had lasted 19 years. "I think the answer is yes."
Hawking was interviewed from the Canary Islands, where he was being honored at the Starmus Festival. During the interview, Hawking also warned that mankind could eventually be threatened by artificial intelligence.
"I don’t think that advances in artificial intelligence will necessarily be benign," he said. "Once machines reach the critical stage of being able to evolve themselves, we cannot predict whether their goals will be the same as ours."
During an interview with King in 2010, Hawking said that two of mankind's biggest dangers were greed and stupidity. Not much has changed in the intervening years.
"We certainly have not become less greedy or less stupid," Hawking said. "Six years ago, I was warning about pollution and overcrowding. They have gotten worse since then."
See the full interview in the clip above.
(h/t GeekWire)
Related
Before You Go
