My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.
Stephen HawkingI wouldnt be here today if it were not for the NHS, I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.
Stephen HawkingOne might think this means that imaginary numbers are just a mathematical game having nothing to do with the real world. From the viewpoint of positivist philosophy, however, one cannot determine what is real. All one can do is find which mathematical models describe the universe we live in. It turns out that a mathematical model involving imaginary time predicts not only effects we have already observed but also effects we have not been able to measure yet nevertheless believe in for other reasons. So what is real and what is imaginary? Is the distinction just in our minds?
Stephen Hawking