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Stephen Hawking Worries About Contacting Aliens
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2010
Modified Apr 25, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 25, 2010
Modified Apr 25, 2010
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Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist, does believe in aliens—and he's worried. For his Discovery show, he says, "We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach." He thinks contacting alien races is "a little too risky... If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans." The episode airs tonight—see a clip.
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aliens
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stephen hawking
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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