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Stephen Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely
Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says.
著名天體物理學(xué)家霍金長(zhǎng)久思考了這個(gè)宇宙問(wèn)題:“我們孤獨(dú)嗎?”答案很可能是否,他說(shuō)。
If there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?"
如果宇宙別的地方有生命,霍金問(wèn):那為什么我們沒(méi)有在太空收到類似“外星人問(wèn)答競(jìng)賽”這樣的無(wú)線電信號(hào)?
Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.
One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons.
一種選項(xiàng)是別的地方?jīng)]有生命。或者別的地方有智慧生命,但如果他們聰明到能向太空發(fā)射信號(hào),他們就會(huì)聰明到能夠制造毀滅性的核武器。
Hawking said he prefers the third option:
"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."
“原始生命很常見(jiàn),智慧生命很稀有”,他很快補(bǔ)充到:“有人說(shuō)它(智慧生命)還沒(méi)有在地球出現(xiàn)”。
So should you worry about aliens? Alien abduction claims come from "weirdos" and are unlikely. However, because alien life might not have DNA like us, Hawking warned: "Watch out if you would meet an alien. You could be infected with a disease with which you have no resistance."
The 66-year-old British cosmologist, who suffers from ALS and must speak through a mechanical device, believes "if the human race is to continue for another million years, we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before."
Hawking compared people who don't want to spend money on human space exploration to those who opposed the journey of Christopher Columbus in 1492.
"The discovery of the New World made a profound difference to the old. Just think we wouldn't have had a Big Mac or KFC." |
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