Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2016 6:34:58 GMT 7
Stephen Hawking to Weibo fans: we can’t tell if life is just a dream
www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1939464/stephen-hawking-weibo-fans-we-cant-tell-if-life-just-dream
Asked about ancient Chinese philosopher Master Zhuang, cosmologist admits doubts about reality. Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking has told his three million fans on mainland social media that we cannot be sure if we are all living in a dream, or in reality. “How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t!” Hawking wrote in a post on Weibo, the mainland’s microblogging website and equivalent to Twitter.
Hawking’s comment was in response to a question on the writings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi, or “Master Zhuang”, who lived around the 4th century. After dreaming of becoming a butterfly, Zhuangzi wondered if he was a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly that dreamt of being a man. How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t ... We must keep striving for an understanding of the fundamental questions of existence. “Zhuangzi dreamt of being a butterfly – perhaps because he was a man who loved freedom,” Hawking wrote. “I might dream of the universe and then wonder if the universe dreamt of me.
“We must keep striving for an understanding of the fundamental questions of existence. And then perhaps we will know whether the butterfly – and the universe – are real or just in our dreams.”
Hawking, one of the masterminds behind the black hole and “big bang” theories, opened an account on Weibo earlier this month to share with Chinese users a plan to send thousands of tiny spaceships to the stars.
He accumulated more than a million followers within the first few hours. Now his fan base has grown to more than 3.4 million. The number of his Weibo followers is greater than the 3.2 million following Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and four times that of Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook, who has been a Weibo user for a much longer time. And although Hawking’s number of followers is still some way behind that of top film stars, including Tom Cruise, the Briton is undoubtedly the most popular living scientist in the eyes of Chinese people today.
After opening his Weibo account at 10.12am on April 12 with a post in both English and Chinese that read, “Greetings to my friends in China! It has been too long!”, he shared news of his latest project, a fly-by mission to the nearest stars. He said he hoped to share more about his life and work with
Stephen Hawking sits on stage during the announcement of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative with investor Yuri Milner in New York on April 12.
Backed by Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Hawking proposes sending a large fleet of light-beam-powered nanocraft to Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to earth’s. The Breakthrough Starshot project will see tiny spacecraft, each weighing only a few grams, release a light sail after reaching a near-earth orbit.
A powerful laser beam from the ground would focus on the light sail and accelerate the aircraft to a fifth of the speed of light within a few minutes.
The nanocraft are expected to reach Alpha Centauri, more than four light years away, within two decades of their launch. They will relay back to earth photos and scientific data about planets where alien life or civilisation may be found. We could learn so much about our galaxy – and ultimately ourselves. It is a huge project, but we all agree it is time to boldly go. The original message drew about 150,000 comments, with nearly the same number of reposts.
“I’m so happy that I can read such wonderful information after I just woke up,” one commentator wrote on Weibo.
www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1939464/stephen-hawking-weibo-fans-we-cant-tell-if-life-just-dream
Asked about ancient Chinese philosopher Master Zhuang, cosmologist admits doubts about reality. Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking has told his three million fans on mainland social media that we cannot be sure if we are all living in a dream, or in reality. “How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t!” Hawking wrote in a post on Weibo, the mainland’s microblogging website and equivalent to Twitter.
Hawking’s comment was in response to a question on the writings of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi, or “Master Zhuang”, who lived around the 4th century. After dreaming of becoming a butterfly, Zhuangzi wondered if he was a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly that dreamt of being a man. How do we know if we are living in our dreams or reality – well, we just don’t and perhaps can’t ... We must keep striving for an understanding of the fundamental questions of existence. “Zhuangzi dreamt of being a butterfly – perhaps because he was a man who loved freedom,” Hawking wrote. “I might dream of the universe and then wonder if the universe dreamt of me.
“We must keep striving for an understanding of the fundamental questions of existence. And then perhaps we will know whether the butterfly – and the universe – are real or just in our dreams.”
Hawking, one of the masterminds behind the black hole and “big bang” theories, opened an account on Weibo earlier this month to share with Chinese users a plan to send thousands of tiny spaceships to the stars.
He accumulated more than a million followers within the first few hours. Now his fan base has grown to more than 3.4 million. The number of his Weibo followers is greater than the 3.2 million following Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and four times that of Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook, who has been a Weibo user for a much longer time. And although Hawking’s number of followers is still some way behind that of top film stars, including Tom Cruise, the Briton is undoubtedly the most popular living scientist in the eyes of Chinese people today.
After opening his Weibo account at 10.12am on April 12 with a post in both English and Chinese that read, “Greetings to my friends in China! It has been too long!”, he shared news of his latest project, a fly-by mission to the nearest stars. He said he hoped to share more about his life and work with
Stephen Hawking sits on stage during the announcement of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative with investor Yuri Milner in New York on April 12.
Backed by Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Hawking proposes sending a large fleet of light-beam-powered nanocraft to Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to earth’s. The Breakthrough Starshot project will see tiny spacecraft, each weighing only a few grams, release a light sail after reaching a near-earth orbit.
A powerful laser beam from the ground would focus on the light sail and accelerate the aircraft to a fifth of the speed of light within a few minutes.
The nanocraft are expected to reach Alpha Centauri, more than four light years away, within two decades of their launch. They will relay back to earth photos and scientific data about planets where alien life or civilisation may be found. We could learn so much about our galaxy – and ultimately ourselves. It is a huge project, but we all agree it is time to boldly go. The original message drew about 150,000 comments, with nearly the same number of reposts.
“I’m so happy that I can read such wonderful information after I just woke up,” one commentator wrote on Weibo.
