"All of my life, I have been fascinated by the big questions that face us, and have tried to find scientific answers to them. Perhaps that is why I have sold more books on physics than Madonna has on sex." Happy Birthday to the man who introduced the general public to the modern physics, whose writings on science have become a source of enlightenment and inspiration for millions... Stephen Hawking! We, all of your fans, love you immensely!

* 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?

* I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image.

* It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.

* Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.

* 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.