He long said he was an atheist.
The late physicist Stephen Hawking shared one more theory on creation not long before he died early Wednesday morning.
Using an analogy to make his case, Hawking, known for his atheistic worldview, told famous astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson in early March that he didn’t believe anything existed prior to the unproven Big Bang:
“One can regard imaginary and real time as beginning at the South Pole, which is a smooth point of space-time where the normal laws of physics hold. There is nothing south of the South Pole, so there was nothing around before the Big Bang.”
Since Hawking dismissed the idea of a creator, he essentially argued there was nothing and no time before the Big Bang, according to Popular Science .
“The boundary condition of the universe,” he explained, “is that it has no boundary.”
Following Hawking’s death, Tyson shared a photo Wednesday of himself with the 76-year-old scientist during their interview in early March. The astronomer said Hawking’s passing has left an “intellectual vacuum”:
His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it’s not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 14,2018
Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, at 21 years old. Despite being told he would die within a few years, Hawking went on to live for more than five decades.
In a statement, Hawking’s family said they’re “deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” describing him as a “great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.”
