Stephen Hawking is truly one of the wonders of the world. But his recent interview suggests he falls a few ticks shy of god status. The "big draw" of the interview was his comment to the effect that there "may be" aliens out there, and they may not like us. But the centerpiece was the series of questions he posed: Where did we come from? In other words, how and why did the universe come into being? Are we (as sentient beings) alone in the universe? Why are we here? That is, what is our purpose for being here? Where are we going?
Big, important questions. The answers...well, he didn't really give any. His conclusions seemed about the same fustered mulling as the average intellectual's, whether religious or anti-god, and actually resembled the sort of conjecture you or I might come up with after our 2nd glass of wine. Stephen thinks chances are there are alien creatures/cultures out there. Well, so did the producers of The Blob and War of the Worlds. Taking the other side, he notes there is no concrete evidence of such visiters...not exactly news. However, noting the billions of star systems and millions of planets out there, he gives a nod to the probability. As to who we are, what we are doing here and where we are going... well, he did ask the right questions, the same ones people everywhere both ordinary and famous have been asking since the dawn of time.
So tonight, looking up at the stars, let's raise a toast to Stephen Hawking, for his courage in the face of adversity, and for his honest curiosity. And then a toast to each other for the same. And, powers that be, forgive us if we don't genuflect.
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