--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to think information was destroyed…" description: "\"I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.\" — Stephen Hawking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39b/stephen-hawking-389_black_i-used-to-think-information-was-destroye_1317428.jpg" --- # I used to think information was destroyed in black hole… ![“I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39b/stephen-hawking-389_black_i-used-to-think-information-was-destroye_1317428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39b/stephen-hawking-389_black_i-used-to-think-information-was-destroye_1317428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39b/stephen-hawking-389_black_i-used-to-think-information-was-destroye_1317428.jpg) > “I used to think information was destroyed in black hole. This was my biggest blunder, or at least my biggest blunder in science.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He realized that black holes do not erase information, but preserve it in subtle ways, overturning earlier assumptions. **In simple terms:** Black holes keep information, not destroy it. Key Takeaway Accept that earlier theories may be wrong and stay open to new evidence. Themes science cosmology paradigm shift humility Mood curious inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research presentations - academic debates - public outreach Key Concepts information paradox quantum mechanics general relativity Questions to Reflect On - How does this change our view of the universe? - What evidence supports information preservation? A Different Perspective The concept is mathematically complex and hard to test experimentally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biggest Blunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biggest-blunder-741905/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Blunder Biggest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blunder-biggest-4379230/) [Blunder Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blunder-science-2254363/) [Blunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blunders/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Holes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holes/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-destroyed-4302490/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [Present day statesmen are making the biggest blunder of the age if they believe that there can be any peace without equity and justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/present-day-statesmen-are-making-the-biggest-blunder-of-the-age-if/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [Brooding over blunders is the biggest blunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/brooding-over-blunders-is-the-biggest-blunder/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Much later, when I was discussing cosmological problems with Einstein, he remarked that the introduction of the cosmological term was the biggest blunder he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gamow/much-later-when-i-was-discussing-cosmological-problems-with-einstein/) [George Gamow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gamow/) > [Is man God's biggest blunder, or is man's God?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/is-man-god-s-biggest-blunder-or-is-man-s-god/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It seems obvious that if a species has the brainpower for speech, along with the sort of appendages that can manipulate a pair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-seems-obvious-that-if-a-species-has-the-brainpower-for-speech/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, the Kennedys—there is always a pattern where a piece of information is destroyed, in which a witness is killed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/martin-luther-king-malcolm-x-the-kennedys-there-is-always-a-pattern/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [“I became so besotted by sapiosexual people that I forgot to focus on their character, which indeed was the biggest blunder of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shivam-chaudhary/i-became-so-besotted-by-sapiosexual-people-that-i-forgot-to-focus-on/) [Shivam Chaudhary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shivam-chaudhary/) > [The biggest blunder in the history of this country was when President Truman pulled General MacArthur out of China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiny-tim/the-biggest-blunder-in-the-history-of-this-country-was-when-president/) [Tiny Tim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiny-tim/) > [“Mankind's biggest blunder, ignorance. 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