Visionary science writers often challenge us to see beyond our horizons. Their manifestos inspire us to expand our understanding of space and rethink our place in the Universe. From Stephen Hawking to Yuri Milner, here are four influential thinkers and their manifestos about humanity and the cosmos:
- Stephen Hawking: Brief Answers to the Big Questions.
- Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
- Chris Hadfield: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.
- Yuri Milner: Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation.
1. Stephen Hawking: Brief Answers to the Big Questions
Stephen Hawking was one of history’s great scientific minds, renowned for his groundbreaking work in theoretical physics and cosmology. He contributed profoundly to our understanding of black holes and the origins of the cosmos.
Hawking wrote several bestselling popular science books, including A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell. Published after Hawking’s death, his final book is Brief Answers to the Big Questions (2018).
Brief Answers to the Big Questions contains 10 chapters, each posing and answering a different question, like: “Should we colonise space?” Hawking’s answer to this question is an emphatic yes. As humans are rapidly outgrowing Earth, our civilisation will go extinct if we don’t colonise space — starting with the Moon and Mars.
Editor of Physics World Matin Durrani says the final chapter in Brief Answers to the Big Questions — “How do we shape the future?” — “will stand as Hawking’s manifesto.” Durrani writes: “Optimistic, upbeat, and visionary, it sees science — and scientific understanding — as vital for the future of humanity.”
2. Carl Sagan: The Demon-Haunted World
Along with Hawking, Carl Sagan is one of the great popularisers of science. A Pulitzer Prize-winning author who wrote numerous books, he also hosted Cosmos, an award-winning television series about the Universe.
Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1997) is one of his most successful and enduring books. It was a New York Times bestseller and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner.
In The Demon-Haunted World, Sagan argues that critical, scientific thinking is essential for uncovering truth and maintaining the health of democratic institutions. He examines and debunks pseudoscientific myths like demons and witches. Many regard The Demon-Haunted World as one of the great intellectual manifestos of the 20th century.
3. Chris Hadfield: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth
Known as “the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong,” Colonel Chris Hadfield was the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Like Sagan, Hadfield has become famous for infusing a sense of wonder into our understanding of space science.
Hadfield is a multiple New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over a million copies worldwide. His first book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth (2013), offers rare insights into what it takes to think like an astronaut. He explains how earthbound humans can use this mindset to achieve success and happiness.
4. Yuri Milner: Eureka Manifesto
Today a tech investor worth around $6 billion, Yuri Milner is a former theoretical physicist. The billionaire is also a Giving Pledge signatory and the co-founder of science-focused causes like the Breakthrough Prize, Breakthrough Junior Challenge, and Breakthrough Initiatives. Milner launched the first Breakthrough Initiative, Listen, with Hawking in 2015.
Released in 2021, Milner’s Eureka Manifesto outlines his vision for humanity’s future. He urges us to embrace a shared mission to explore and understand our Universe.
If we succeed in embracing this mission, humanity could realise its potential as a grand galactic civilization. To get there, Milner says we must invest greater resources into space exploration and fundamental science. Rational thinking is also key to advancing the mission, and Milner envisions a new Enlightenment where society values science and knowledge. Milner cites Sagan as a key inspiration for Eureka Manifesto. After reading Sagan and Iosif Shklovsky’s book Intelligent Life in the Universe as a child, Milner became fascinated with the subject. He has gone on to establish and fund programmes that further the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and advance interstellar travel technologies.
