【霍金逝世】10句留給人類的話：愛的方程式、時間簡史、宇宙之謎

3月14日除了是圓周率日（Pi Day），也是美國著名物理學家愛因斯坦（Albert Einstein）的誕辰，巧合地英國物理學家霍金（Stephen Hawking）亦在同一日逝世，終年76歲。雖然霍金21歲時，證實患上「肌萎縮性脊髓側索硬化症」（ALS、俗稱「漸凍人症」），但無阻他成為21世紀最出色的物理學家之一。霍金對宇宙起源，以及黑洞的研究，激發人類對宇宙的無限想像和好奇。以下為其中10句霍金留給人類的說話：

1. 「人類只是在一顆中等大小星球上的化學敗類，在千億個星系中，圍繞着其中一個外圍恆星運行。我們微不足道，故無法相信整個宇宙都是為了我們的利益存在，這就好像在說我閉上眼睛就會消失。」
“The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies. We are so insignificant that I can't believe the whole universe exists for our benefit. That would be like saying that you would disappear if I closed my eyes.”

2. 「我們只是一種高級猴子而已，在一個非常普通的小星球上，但我們可以理解宇宙，這使我們非常特別。」
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”

3. 「在大爆炸之前什麼都沒有。」
“Nothing was around before the Big Bang.” 

4. 「第一，記住抬頭看星而不是低頭看你的腳；第二，不要放棄工作，工作令你有意義和目的，如果沒有它，人生變得虛空；第三，如果你有幸找到真愛，記住它的存在，不要放棄它。」
“One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.”

5. 「宇宙其中一個基本原則是沒有什麼是完美的。完美根本不存在......沒有缺陷，我和你都不會存在」
“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn't exist.....Without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist”

6. 「物質能逃出黑洞，甚至通向另一個宇宙。假如你認為自己身處黑洞，請記住，總有路走，別放棄」
“Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don't give up – there's a way out.”

7.有內地網民在微博問有關「莊周夢蝶」的故事，莊子是否幻想穿越「蟲洞」，如果人類掉進黑洞後再彈出來，是不是會變蝴蝶？霍金則回答：「莊周夢蝶，也許因為他是個熱愛自由的人。換做我的話，我也許會夢到宇宙，然後困惑是否宇宙也夢到了我。」
“Zhuangzi dreamt of being a butterfly - perhaps because he was a man who loved freedom. I might dream of the universe and then wonder if the universe dreamt of me.”

8.「這裏沒有上帝，沒有人創造宇宙，沒有人指示我們的命運。這使我深刻認識到，可能沒有天堂和來世。我們有這一生來欣賞宇宙的宏偉設計，為此我非常感激。」
“I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful.”

9. 「令我驚訝的是，我們今天對物理、空間、宇宙、存在哲學、目的和最終目的地等的討論都不感興趣。這是一個瘋狂的世界，要保持好奇心。」
“It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. It’s a crazy world out there. Be curious.” 

10. 「我的目標很簡單，就是要完全明白整個宇宙，它為什麼如此，它為何存在。」
“My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” 

（綜合）