And he may be right:
Hawking Predicts Discovery of Alien Life: But Asks, Will It be Carbon Based?
On the 50th anniversary of NASA, Stephen Hawking, Newton’s heir as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, answered the question, “Are we alone?â€
His answer was short and simple; probably not!
Hawking presented three options. One, being that there is no life out there, and two – somewhat pessimistically, but subsequently, a little too realistic – being that when intelligent life gets smart enough to send signals in to space, it is also busying itself with making nuclear bombs.
Hawking, known not only for his sharp mind, but his sharp sense of humor, prefers option number three. “Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare,” he quickly added: “Some would say it has yet to occur on earth.”
If I were a betting man, I think I would have to go with option one. If aliens were out there, there’s an argument to be made that we should already know about them. Or maybe they’re just avoiding us.
But, hey, I’m ready for the aliens to show up and prove me wrong.
Any time they care to.