.
>> IN 2007, I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH
TO EXPERIENCE MICROGRAVITY ON A
ZERO G FLIGHT.
FOR ME, THIS WAS TRUE FREEDOM.
THE HUMAN RACE WON'T SURVIVE
THE NEXT THOUSAND YEARS.
CHARLES: RENOWNED PHYSICIST
STEPHEN HAWKING PASSING AWAY AT
76.
HE WAS FAMOUS FOR THEORIES ON
BLACK HOLES AND EXPANDING
UNIVERSE.
HE WARNED HUMANS HAVE 200 YEARS
TO ESCAPE EARTH.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THERE
ARE A LOT OF THREATS THAT COULD
CAUSE THEORETICAL PHYSICIST
DR. MICHAEL GELLEN IS HERE TO
REMEMBER STEPHEN HAWKING AND
HIS PREDICTIONS.
SIR, THANKS A LOT, OBVIOUSLY.
THE ACCOLADES HAVE NOT STOPPED
COMING IN FOR DR. HAWKING AND
WHAT HE MEANT FOR MANKIND AND
UNDERSTANDING FOR THE UNIVERSE
AROUND US, WHAT ARE YOUR
THOUGHTS?
>> WELL, HE WAS ONE FOR THE
AGES, CHARLES, FOR SURE.
I FIRST HAD THE PLEASURE OF
MEETING HIM IN THE MID 1980s.
I WAS TEACHING PHYSICS AT
HARVARD AT THE TIME AND HE
SHOWED UP TO GIVE A SPEECH.
AT THAT TIME HE WAS ALREADY
WHEELCHAIR BOUND, WHEN HE WAS
IN HIS EARLY 20s, HE WAS
DIAGNOSED WITH LOU GEHRIG'S
DISEASE, BUT COULD STILL SPEAK.
WHEN I SAY SPEAK, I USE THAT
TERM LOOSELY, HE COULD MUMBLE.
THE SPEECH WAS HIM MUMBLING A
STRING OF SENTENCES AND WAITING
FOR HIS YOUNG ASSISTANT WHO IS
STANDING NEXT TO HIS WHEELCHAIR
TO TRANSLATE TO THE AUDIENCE,
AND THAT WENT ON FOR MORE THAN
AN HOUR.
THE PLACE WAS PACKED.
HE WASN'T A PUBLIC FIGURE BACK
THEN BUT SOMETHING OF A
CELEBRITY WITHIN SCIENTIFIC
CIRCLES BECAUSE OF HIS REALLY
KIND OF BACK THEN ZANY IDEAS
ABOUT BLACK HOLES AND THE
ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT I
WILL NEVER FORGET THAT MOMENT
WHEN I FIRST MET HIM.
HE WAS SPECIAL IN SO MANY WAYS,
NOT ONLY OBVIOUSLY A VERY
INTELLIGENT MAN BUT HAD A GREAT
SENSE OF HUMOR.
INTELLIGENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH
A SENSE OF HUMOR AND
DR. HAWKING CERTAINLY HAD THAT
COMBINATION.
CHARLES: HIS BOOK, A BRIEF
HISTORY OF TIME SOLD 10 MILLION
COPIES.
I BOUGHT A COPY.
I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT I READ,
BUT IT WAS VERY INTRIGUING AND
CERTAINLY I THINK FOR THE WORLD
BROUGHT US CLOSER TO WANTING TO
KNOW, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY
CRITICAL IN THIS DAY AND AGE.
>> YOU KNOW, I LAUGH BECAUSE I
CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE
HAVE TOLD ME.
THAT I THINK IT'S PROBABLY THE
MOST BEST SELLING NONREAD BOOK
IN THE WORLD.
PEOPLE HAVE IT ON THE COFFEE
TABLE TO SHOW HOW INTELLIGENT
THEY ARE.
IT IS DENSE THOUGH HAWKING
INTENDED IT FOR THE PUBLIC.
HE WAS LOFTY MINDED BUT EVEN
HIS ATTEMPT.
INTERESTING, THE MAN WHO WENT
TO CO-AUTHOR HIS BOOKS, IS A
FRIEND OF MINE.
I HAVE A LOT OF MEMORIES
ASSOCIATED WITH STEPHEN
HAWKING, SCIENTIFIC
CONTRIBUTIONS AND ERNEST
ATTEMPTS TO DEDICATE THE BEAUTY
AND SCIENCE TO THE AVERAGE MAN
AND WOMAN.
CHARLES: OF COURSE HE WAS NOT
WITHOUT CONTROVERSY, PERHAPS
THE LAST ONE WAS THE NOTION
THAT MANKIND HAS A WAY TO
ESCAPE EARTH WHICH IS
INTERESTING IN A SENSE MOST IN
THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ONLY
SEE THE GOOD, FOR FUTURISTS
FROM DAY ONE HAVE ALWAYS SAID,
HEY, THE ADVENT OF ROBOTS WILL
FREE MANKIND UP FOR GREATER
PURSUITS LIKE USING THE LARGER
PORTIONS OF OUR BRAIN AND BEING
GOOD TO THE PLANET, BUT HE SAW
SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE
SINISTER.
>> YEAH, HE DID, AND HE'S NOT
THE ONLY ONE.
ELON MUSK, AND I JUST FINISHED
WRITING A MANUSCRIPT OF A BOOK
COMING OUT IN MID-OCTOBER,
TRYING FORESEE WHAT'S GOING ON
WITH ALL THE NEW TECHNOLOGY,
BUT YOU KNOW, CHARLES, I WONDER
BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, AND I
THINK WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, TO
THINK STEPHEN WENT OFF A LITTLE
BIT OF THE DEEP END TOWARDS THE
END WHEN HE WAS PREDICTING WE
ONLY HAVE 100 YEARS TO LIVE,
THE HUMAN SPECIES WILL
DISAPPEAR BECAUSE OF ALL THE
THINGS YOU'RE MENTIONING AND
FELT WE NEEDED TO COLONIZE
SPACE IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.
I WONDER NOW WHETHER HE WASN'T
SENSING HIS OWN IMPENDING DOOM.
FRIENDS CLOSE TO HIM SAID
WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW,
HE WAS REALLY SLOWING DOWN,
REALLY BEGINNING TO
DETERIORATE, AND I'M WONDERING
IF HE DIDN'T ALLOW THAT TO
AFFECT, BUT LISTEN, HE WAS ONLY
GIVEN TILL AGE 25 TO LIVE BY
THE DOCTORS AND LIVED TO BE 76
YEARS OLD.
HE BEAT THE ODIS AND SUSPECT
WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BEAT
THE ODDS AS A HUMAN SPECIES AS
WELL.
CHARLES: AGAIN, WE LOST A GIANT
AND APPRECIATE YOU WEIGHING IN