CBC Digital Archives

The evolution of knowledge

He is one of the most brilliant minds of a generation. Stephen Hawking has illuminated the darkest corners of the universe, helping to unravel the mysteries of black holes and the origins of the universe. But Hawking is also well known for his refusal to be limited by a devastating disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The CBC Digital Archives presents a selection of clips and interviews with Stephen Hawking from his many appearances on the network.

"No one person can be the master of more than a small corner of human knowledge," says Stephen Hawking, whose corner is a little less small than most. He's in Vancouver in 1993, giving a talk to a group of disabled children. The problem, he tells them, is that our instincts aren't keeping pace. "There is no time to wait for Darwinian evolution to make us more intelligent and better natured."
• When technology made it possible, Stephen Hawking began communicating using a computer attached to his wheelchair. He writes his lectures ahead of time and saves them electronically, to be read out using a voice synthesizer via a program called Equalizer. On his website, Hawking says his voice has been variously described as sounding Scandinavian, American or Scottish.

• One of Hawking's popular lectures, entitled Life in the Universe, discusses how life may develop in the future. In its introduction to intelligent life, Hawking says, "I shall take this to include the human race, even though much of its behaviour throughout history has been pretty stupid, and not calculated to aid the survival of the species."
Medium: Radio
Program: As It Happens
Broadcast Date: June 30, 1993
Guest(s): Stephen Hawking
Host: Barbara Budd
Duration: 4:06

Last updated: February 9, 2012

Page consulted on March 28, 2013

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