Is it true that Stephen Hawking warned humanity about the danger of contact with alien civilizations?

Many heard that the famous British physicist Stephen Hawking warned people about the danger of attempts to interact with extraterrestrial civilizations. We decided to check if the scientist made such statements.

The Ren-TV television channel, known for aliens and other paranormal phenomena, has repeatedly made a reference to the words of the famous physicist: “”Meeting humanity with advanced civilization may turn out to be a similar meeting of indigenous Americans with Columbus, ""Contact With someone else's, more intelligent or strong civilization, humanity can destroy ”,“Alien The origin of the asteroid [Oumuamua] was not excluded even by Stephen Hawking. ” In addition to the TV channel, including the propaganda of mysticism and pseudoscientific theories, whose presenter, author of the film about flat land, received In 2017, the TEFI Award (though at another project), writes about such statements of the famous physicist Lenta.ru And "Moscow Komsomolets".

Stephen Hawking-British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and astrophysicist, I got it World fame thanks to the popular science book “A Brief History of Time”. This work was included in the list of bestsellers according to The Sunday Times for 237 weeks. A physicist due to lateral amyotrophic sclerosis since the 1960s moved in a wheelchair, and communicated with the help of a speech synthesizer.

For many years, scientists have been sending into space evidence of the existence of our civilization in the hope that interplanetary contact will take place. On a gold plate "Voyager" It contains a greeting in 55 languages, the sounds of nature and technology, the photography of the most important achievements of mankind, as well as the coordinates of our planet. The record was sent into space in 1977 on two space probes: Voyager-1 and Voyager-2. According to scientists, scientific equipment began to gradually disconnect back in 2020, and by 2025 all on -board devices will cease their work. To date, there is no data that the records have reached at least some addressee.

Hawking saw in space flights the perspective for the population of the planet, since I thoughtthat life on Earth is in danger due to the risk of nuclear war, the appearance of genetically modified viruses, the upcoming overpopulation and problems associated with climate change.

Back in 2017, a scientist expressed The assumption that alien colonization will be made quite soon: for 30 years, the first immigrants will be able to settle on the moon, and after 50 years on Mars. In addition to the planets of the solar system, he noted the probable candidate in the Alpha Centaurus system - the Proxima B exoplanet.

And although Stephen Hawking actively supported the idea of ​​colonizing other planets, he advised humanity to refrain from attempts to get in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations. “If residents of other worlds arrive, then the consequences can be the same as for the Indians during the arrival of Columbus to America, that is, not the best,” - warned He is in 2010. Upon receipt of an alien signal physicist Offered To hide, and not to provide a warm welcome, since the arrivals may well turn out to be cosmic looters.

At the same time, unlike Hollywood screenwriters, physicist I thoughtthat alien forms of life are most likely represented by not humanoid creatures, but microbes. He is also not Excluded the presence of many creatures that do not have the mind. Speaking about future meetings with alien civilization, the physicist is also joking advised: “If the alien from another planet will hold out your hand, do not shake it. It can consist of antimatter. You both will disappear in a monstrous flash of light. ”

Thus, Hawking really believed that alien contact could be once established. True, the British physicist did not consider it unambiguously useful and safe for the inhabitants of our planet.

Is it true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Stephen Hawking. Life among stars
2. Hawking radiation: physicist Khadi Yazhar on a big explosion, radiation of black holes and the information paradox of Hawking
3. Are there God, aliens and the future of mankind? Steven Hawking answers