Big Questions Quotes

“It is just a simple question - ‘And then what?’ But its consequence? Manifold!”
― Abhaidev, The World's Most Frustrated Man

“I woke one night to find him staring at the ceiling, his profile lit by the glow of streetlights outside. He looked vaguely troubled, as if he were pondering something deeply personal. Was it our relationship? The loss of his father?
“Hey, what’re you thinking about over there?” I whispered.
He turned to look at me, his smile a little sheepish. “Oh,” he said. “I was just thinking about income inequality.”
This, I was learning, was how Barack’s mind worked. He got himself fixated on big and abstract issues, fueled by some crazy sense that he might be able to do something about them. It was new to me, I have to say. Until now, I’d hung around with good people who cared about important enough things but who were focused primarily on building their careers and providing for their families. Barack was just different. He was dialed into the day-to-day demands of his life, but at the same time, especially at night, his thoughts seemed to roam a much wider plane.”
― Michelle Obama, Becoming

“In their minds, it seems as though people don't often have the same answers, but in their hearts, they do very frequently have the same questions.”
― Criss Jami, Healology

“The nice guys are all over there, in seventh place.”
― Leo Durocher, Nice Guys Finish Last

“People have always wanted answers to the big questions. Where did we come from? How did the universe begin? What is the meaning and design behind it all? Is there anyone out there? The creation accounts of the past now seem less relevant and credible. They have been replaced by a variety of what can only be called superstitions, ranging from New Age to Star Trek. But real science can be far stranger than science fiction, and much more satisfying.
I am a scientist. And a scientist with a deep fascination with physics, cosmology, the universe and the future of humanity. I was brought up by my parents to have an unwavering curiosity and, like my father, to research and try to answer the many questions that science asks us. I have spent my life travelling across the universe, inside my mind. Through theoretical physics, I have sought to answer some of the great questions. At one point, I thought I would see the end of physics as we know it, but now I think the wonder of discovery will continue long after I am gone. We are close to some of these answers, but we are not there yet.”
― Stephen Hawking, Brief Answers to the Big Questions

“I have led an extraordinary life on this planet, while at the same time travelling across the universe by using my mind and the laws of physics. I have been to the furthest reaches of our galaxy, travelled into a black hole and gone back to the beginning of time. On Earth, I have experienced highs and lows, turbulence and peace, success and suffering. I have been rich and poor, I have been able-bodied and disabled. I have been praised and criticised, but never ignored. I have been enormously privileged, through my work, in being able to contribute to our understanding of the universe. But it would be an empty universe indeed if it were not for the people I love, and who love me. Without them, the wonder of it all would be lost on me.
And at the end of all this, the fact that we humans, who are ourselves mere collections of fundamental particles of nature, have been able to come to an understanding of the laws governing us, and our universe, is a great triumph. I want to share my excitement about these big questions and my enthusiasm about this quest.”
― Stephen Hawking, Brief Answers to the Big Questions

“E EACH EXIST FOR BUT A SHORT TIME, and in that time explore but a small part of the whole universe. But humans are a curious species. We wonder, we seek answers. Living in this vast world that is by turns kind and cruel, and gazing at the immense heavens above, people have always asked a multitude of questions: How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come from? Did the universe need a creator? Most of us do not spend most of our time worrying about these questions, but almost all of us worry about them some of the time.”
― Stephen Hawking

“WE EACH EXIST FOR BUT A SHORT TIME, and in that time explore but a small part of the whole universe. But humans are a curious species. We wonder, we seek answers. Living in this vast world that is by turns kind and cruel, and gazing at the immense heavens above, people have always asked a multitude of questions: How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come from? Did the universe need a creator? Most of us do not spend most of our time worrying about these questions, but almost all of us worry about them some of the time.”
― Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design

“To understand the universe at the deepest level, we need to know not only how the universe behaves, but why.

Why is there something rather than nothing?
Why do we exist?
Why this particular set of laws and not some other?”
“This is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. We shall attempt to answer it in this book. Unlike the answer given in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, ours won’t be simply “42.”
― Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design

“Why are the fundamental laws as we have described them? The ultimate theory must be consistent and must predict finite results for quantities that we can measure. We’ve seen that there must be a law like gravity, and we saw in Chapter 5 that for a theory of gravity to predict finite quantities, the theory must have what is called supersymmetry between the forces of nature and the matter on which they act. M-theory is the most general supersymmetric theory of gravity. For these reasons M-theory is the only candidate for a complete theory of the universe. If it is finite—and this has yet to be proved—it will be a model of a universe that creates itself. We must be part of this universe, because there is no other consistent model.
M-theory is the unified theory Einstein was hoping to find. The fact that we human beings—who are ourselves mere collections of fundamental particles of nature—have been able to come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our universe is a great triumph. But perhaps the true miracle is that abstract considerations of logic lead to a unique theory that predicts and describes a vast universe full of the amazing variety that we see. If the theory is confirmed by observation, it will be the successful conclusion of a search going back more than 3,000 years. We will have found the grand design.”
― Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design

“She wasn’t going to succeed in newspapers if she didn’t ask the big questions when she could.”
― Larry McMurtry, The Last Kind Words Saloon

“We all want answers to the big questions.”
― Mark Frost, The Secret History of Twin Peaks

“Now.' He said, 'I have to ask you three question. How old are you? Are you in love? And what in God’s name are you doing here?”
― Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

“Religious no,” said Conlan, “but, I do have a sort of faith in the world and mankind. I guess I believe the world is made up of mostly good people.” Conlan directed his words as though he were talking to Jessy. “And I’m a realist. I have faith in the fact that although bad things sometimes happen and we may not understand why, there is a higher purpose to the world. All things, good and bad, happen for a reason.”
― Kevin Habekost, The Light at the End of the Day: A Short Story Collection

“Would you rather go into the past, or into the future?”
― Nanna Liz, The fun book of Would you rather questions for Kids aged 6 - 12: Fun would you rather questions for kids.

“Big questions are often answered in small actions only if we truly listen.”
― Drishti Bablani

“Henry Moore: You need to hold questions that cannot be fully completed or lived out within the span of your lifetime.”
― Larry C. Spears, Focus on Leadership: Servant-Leadership for the Twenty-First Century

“Before I came to describe myself as religiously confused, I thought I had the answers to the big questions. I now know I didn't even have the questions right.”
― Stephen Prothero, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter

“Big questions interrupt the daily routines people fall into and prompt them to step back and see their life from a distance. Here are some of my favorite questions that do that:

• “What crossroads are you at?” At any moment, most of us are in the middle of some transition. The question helps people focus on theirs.
• “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Most people know that fear plays some role in their life, but they haven’t clearly defined how fear is holding them back.
• “If you died tonight, what would you regret not doing?”
• “If we meet a year from now, what will we be celebrating?”
• “If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is that chapter about?”
• “Can you be yourself where you are and still fit in?”

Peter Block is an author and consultant who writes about community development and civic engagement. He is a master at coming up with questions that lift you out of your ruts and invite fresh reevaluations. Here are some of his: “What is the no, or refusal, you keep postponing? ... What have you said yes to that you no longer really believe in? ... What forgiveness are you withholding? ... How have you contributed to the problem you’re trying to solve? ... What is the gift you currently hold in exile?”

Mónica Guzmán, the journalist I quoted in the last chapter, asks people, “Why you?” Why was it you who started that business? Why was it you who felt a responsibility to run for the school board?

A few years ago, I met some guys who run a program for gang members in Chicago. These young men have endured a lot of violence and trauma and are often triggered to overreact. One of the program directors’ common questions is “Why is that a problem for you?” In other words they are asking, “What event in your past produced that strong reaction just now?”

We too often think that deep conversations have to be painful or vulnerable conversations. I try to compensate for that by asking questions about the positive sides of life:

“Tell me about a time you adapted to change.”
“What’s working really well in your life?”
“What are you most self-confident about?”
“Which of your five senses is strongest?”
“Have you ever been solitary without feeling lonely?” or
“What has become clearer to you as you have aged?”
― David Brooks, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen