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Stephen Hawking was one of the greatest scientists of the century. He was a very unique person. He proposed and proved many theories. He explained the theory of the black hole. He wrote a book called ‘The Brief History of Time’ in which he explained about the black hole. He also described the concepts of relativity and big-bang theory in this book. 

Stephen Hawking is an inspiration to all of us. He suffered from a fatal motor neuron disease that affected his spinal cord. He was diagnosed with this disease in his early 20’s and doctors predicted that he was not likely to live more than 5years. His body was paralyzed and he moved about in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Though he could not sit up straight, yet he kept working on his theories of Physics and amazed the medical experts by surviving for 55 more years. 

Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford on January 8, 1942. He was born in very adverse circumstances. His parents were not well off and he was born during the Second World War. It was believed that Germany would attack Britain at any time. At that time, Oxford was considered a safe place, so Stephen Hawking’s parents moved to Oxford. His father's name was Frank and his mother's name was Isobel Hawkins. Isobel worked as a secretary in the Medical Research Institute, and Frank was a Medical Researcher. In 1950, when Hawkins's father became the Head of the Division of Parasitology at the National Institute of Medical Research, the family moved to St. Albans.

In the early days of the academy, Stephen Hawking was a good student. He loved board games. According to his friends, Hawkins, along with the rest of his friends, had created a game that only they used to play among themselves. Together with his friends, he had made a computer putting together the recycled parts so that he could use it to solve complex mathematical equations. When Stephen Hawking joined Oxford University, he was 17 years old. He wanted to study Math there but there was no specialized degree in Math, so he turned to Physics, and later he turned towards Cosmology. After graduating in natural science in 1962, he went to Cambridge University to pursue a PhD in cosmology. In 1968, he was made a member of Cambridge's Institute of Astronomy which gave a new direction to his research. That is when he started research on the black hole. He was then inducted into the Royal Society in 1974, a World Wide Fellowship of Scientists. In 1979, he became an Education Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, which is regarded as the most famous academic chair in the world.

Fight with His Disease

Stephen Hawking, at the age of 21, was diagnosed with a motor neuron disease (MND) (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)) disease. It is a dangerous neurological disease, due to which the nerve cells that control the movement of the muscles of the body gradually stop working, due to which the body gets paralyzed. When he was in Oxford, he felt many times that he was not well, sometimes he used to fall suddenly while walking, or used to stop completely while speaking. He became very clumsy. However, he continued to ignore all these things before 1963 and did not tell anyone about it. 

When his father saw his condition in 1963, he took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND) (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)). Doctors said that Stephen Hawking would only be able to stay alive for the next few years. His illness became a big reason for him to carry out his studies and he became a great scientist. Hawking himself said that until he was not diagnosed with the disease, his life was very boring. However, after diagnosis, when he came to know that he would be able to live for only a few years, he had put all his attention in his work and research so that he could fully utilize his remaining life. His illness captured him slowly, and as result, he was no longer able to walk due to which he had to move about in a wheelchair. He lost his voice completely in the year 1985. At this time, his condition was so bad that he was kept in 24 hours medical surveillance, and California’s computer programmers came to help him. They developed software that works based on eye movement.

Contribution Towards Science

In his research, he found that if this universe started with the Big Bang, then it would end with the Big Bang. He also explained Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Using the General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory together, he gave us the concept of Hawking Radiation in which we came to know that Black Holes do not always exist, they leave the Hawking Radiation continuously. Hawking also explained the concept of Penrose– Hawking theorems, Blackhole information paradox, Micro black hole, Primordial black hole, Chronology protection conjecture, Soft hair (No hair theorem), Bekenstein–Hawking formula, Hawking energy, Hawking-Page phase transition.

Conclusion:

Stephen Hawking died on 14 March 2018 at his home. A man whose body didn’t support him achieved all so much that he became an inspiration for the next generations. Stephen Hawking used to give lectures even when he was not well. Motivate people to do a PhD. Stephen Hawking always used to say the same thing, no matter how difficult life may be, you can always do something, you can be successful if you work hard. An inspirational message for everyone.

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6. Stephen Hawking Suffering from Which Disease? How Did it Affect His Body?

Stephen Hawking suffered from motor neuron disease (MND) (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)). It’s a dangerous disease which paralyzed his entire body. Due to this, he could neither walk nor speak. Hawkins himself said that until he had not been diagnosed with that disease, his life was very boring. After he got to know that he can only live for 2 years in a proper way he concentrated on his researchers and lived his life to the fullest. His illness became a big reason for him to become a great scientist.

Stephen Hawking biography: Theories, books & quotes

A brief history of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

Professor Stephen Hawking speaks about

  • Scientific achievements
  • Filmography
  • Quotes and controversial statements

Additional resources

Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history. 

His work on the origins and structure of the universe, from the Big Bang to black holes, revolutionized the field, while his best-selling books have appealed to readers who may not have Hawking's scientific background. Hawking died on March 14, 2018 , at the age of 76.

Stephen Hawking was seen by many as the world's smartest person, though he never revealed his IQ score. When asked about his IQ score by a New York Times reporter he replied, "I have no idea, people who boast about their IQ are losers," according to the news site The Atlantic .  

Related: 4 bizarre Stephen Hawking theories that turned out to be right (and 6 we're not sure about)

In this brief biography, we look at Hawking's education and career — ranging from his discoveries to the popular books he's written — and the disease that robbed him of mobility and speech.   

The early life of Stephen Hawking

British cosmologist Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England on Jan. 8, 1942  — 300 years to the day after the death of the astronomer Galileo Galilei . He attended University College, Oxford, where he studied physics, despite his father's urging to focus on medicine. Hawking went on to Cambridge to research cosmology , the study of the universe as a whole. 

In early 1963, just shy of his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) . Doctors told Hawkings that he would likely not survive more than two years with the disease. Completing his doctorate did not appear likely, but Hawking defied the odds. He also obtained his PhD in 1966 for his thesis entitled " Properties of expanding universes ". In that same year, Hawking also won the prestigious Adams Prize for his essay entitled "Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time".

From then Hawking went on to forge new roads into the understanding of the universe in the decades since. 

As the disease spread, Hawking became less mobile and began using a wheelchair. Talking grew more challenging and, in 1985, an emergency tracheotomy caused his total loss of speech. A speech-generating device constructed at Cambridge, combined with a software program, served as his electronic voice, allowing Hawking to select his words by moving the muscles in his cheek.

Just before his diagnosis, Hawking met Jane Wilde, and the two were married in 1965. The couple had three children before separating in 1990. Hawking remarried in 1995 to Elaine Mason but divorced in 2006.

Stephen Hawking's greatest scientific achievements

Stephen Hawking pictured in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1979

Throughout his career, Hawking proposed several theories regarding astronomical anomalies, posed curious questions about the cosmos and enlightened the world about the origin of everything. Here are just some of the many milestones Hawking made in the name of science. 

In 1970, Hawkings and fellow physicist and Oxford classmate, Roger Penrose, published a joint paper entitled " The singularities of gravitational collapse and cosmology ". In this paper, Hawking and Penrose proposed a new theory of spacetime singularities — a breakdown in the fabric of the universe found in one of Hawking's later discoveries, the black hole. This early work not only challenged concepts in physics but also supported the concept of the Big Bang as the birth of the universe, as outlined in Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity in the 1940s. 

Over the course of his career, Hawking studied the basic laws governing the universe. In 1974, Hawking published another paper called " Black hole explosions? ", in which he outlined a theorem that united Einstein's theory of general relativity, with quantum theory — which explains the behavior of matter and energy on an atomic level. In this new paper, Hawking hypothesized that matter not only fell into the gravitational pull of black holes but that photons radiated from them — which has now been confirmed in laboratory experiments by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Israel — aptly named "Hawking radiation". 

Professor Stephen Hawking experiences the freedom of weightlessness during a zero gravity flight.

In 1974, Hawking was inducted into the Royal Society, a worldwide fellowship of scientists. Five years later, he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, the most famous academic chair in the world (the second holder was Sir Isaac Newton , also a member of the Royal Society).

During the 1980s, Hawking turned his attention to the Big Bang and the uncertainties about the beginning of the universe. "Events before the Big Bang are simply not defined, because there’s no way one could measure what happened at them. Since events before the Big Bang have no observational consequences, one may as well cut them out of the theory and say that time began at the Big Bang," he said during his lecture called The Beginning of Time . In 1983, Hawking, along with scientists James Harlte, published a paper outlining their " no-boundary proposal " for the universe. In their paper, Hawking and Hartle describe the shape of the universe as reminiscent of a shuttlecock — with the Big Bang at the narrowest point and the expanding universe emerging from it.

Related: Can we time travel? A theoretical physicist provides some answers

Books by Stephen Hawking

In the last three decades of Hawking's life, he not only continued to publish academic literature, but he also published several popular science books to share his theories of the history of the universe with the layperson. His most popular book " A Brief History of Time " (10th-anniversary edition: Bantam, 1998) was first published in 1988 and became an international bestseller. It has sold almost 10 million copies and has been translated into 40 different languages.

Hawking went on to write other nonfiction books aimed at non-scientists. These include " A Briefer History of Time ," " The Universe in a Nutshell ," " The Grand Design " and " On the Shoulders of Giants ." 

Along with his many successful books about the inner workings of the universe, Hawking also began a series of science fiction books called " George and the Big Bang ", with his daughter Lucy Hawking in 2011. Aimed at middle school children, the series follows George's adventures as he travels through space. 

Stephen Hawking's filmography

Hawking has made several television appearances, including a playing hologram of himself on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and a cameo on the television show "Big Bang Theory." He has also voiced himself in several episodes of the animated series "Futurama" and "The Simpson". In 1997, PBS also presented an educational miniseries titled " Stephen Hawking's Universe ," which probes the theories of the cosmologist. 

 In 2014, a movie based on Hawking's life was released. Called "The Theory of Everything," the film drew praise from Hawking , who said it made him reflect on his own life. "Although I'm severely disabled, I have been successful in my scientific work," Hawking wrote on Facebook in November 2014. "I travel widely and have been to Antarctica and Easter Island, down in a submarine and up on a zero-gravity flight. One day, I hope to go into space." 

Related: The Theory of Everything: Searching for the universal rules of physics

Stephen Hawking's quotes and controversial statements

Hawking's quotes range from notable to poetic to controversial. Among them: 

  • "Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing? "— A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes , 1988 
  • "All of my life, I have been fascinated by the big questions that face us, and have tried to find scientific answers to them. If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist."— Stephen Hawking's Universe , 1997.  
  • "Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in." — The Guardian, 2011 .
  • "We should seek the greatest value of our action." — The Guardian, 2011. 
  • "The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired. "— A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes , 1988.   
  • "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."  
  • "It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value." — Life in the Universe , 1996.  
  • "One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem." — A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes , 1988.  
  • "It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly. People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining." — The Guardian, 2005 . 
  • "I relish the rare opportunity I've been given to live the life of the mind. But I know I need my body and that it will not last forever." — Stem Cell Universe , 2014. 

Stephen Hawking in front of a projection with a starry background and the text

A list of Hawking quotes would be incomplete without mentioning some of his more controversial statements.

He frequently said that humans must leave Earth if we wished to survive. 

  • "It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million...Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space," he said during an interview with video site Big Think , 2010. 
  • "[W]e must … continue to go into space for the future of humanity…I don't think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet,"  Hawking said during a lecture at the Oxford Union debating society , 2016. 
  • "We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems. Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth," he said during a speech at the Starmus Festival in Norway, 2017. 

He also said time travel should be possible, and that we should explore space for the romance of it. 

"Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein's general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out. I was one of the first to write about the conditions under which this would be possible. I showed it would require matter with negative energy density, which may not be available. Other scientists took courage from my paper and wrote further papers on the subject," he told the new site Parade in 2010. "Science is not only a disciple of reason, but, also, one of romance and passion," he adds.

The theoretical physicist was also concerned that robots could not only have an impact on the economy but also mean doom for humanity.

"The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining," he wrote in a 2016 column in The Guardian .

"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," he told the BBC in 2014. Hawking added, however, that AI developed to date has been helpful. It's more the self-replication potential that worries him. "It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded."

"The genie is out of the bottle. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether," Hawking told WIRED in November 2017.

An avowed atheist, Hawking also occasionally waded into the topic of religion.

  • "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going." — The Grand Design, by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow. 
  • "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail…There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," he said during a 2011 interview with The Guardian .
  • "Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by 'we would know the mind of God' is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn't. I'm an atheist," Hawking said in a 2014 interview with the news site El Mundo .  

For more information about Stephen Hawking, his theories and read through the many transcriptions of his influential lectures, check out his official website . You can also watch Hawking probe the origins of the cosmos in his extraordinary TED talk .  

Bibliography

#5: Stephen Hawking’s warning: Abandon earth-or face extinction . Big Think. (2010, July 27). https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/5-stephen-hawkings-warning-abandon-earth-or-face-extinction/

Beck, J. (2017, October 11). “people who boast about their IQ are losers.” The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/10/trump-tillerson-iq-brag-boast-psychology-study/542544/

The beginning of time . Stephen Hawking. (n.d.-c). https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-words/lectures/the-beginning-of-time

Guardian News and Media. (2005, September 27). Interview: Stephen Hawking . The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/sep/27/scienceandnature.highereducationprofile

Guardian News and Media. (2011a, May 15). Stephen Hawking: “there is no heaven; it’s a Fairy story.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/may/15/stephen-hawking-interview-there-is-no-heaven

Guardian News and Media. (2011b, May 15). Stephen Hawking: “there is no heaven; it’s a Fairy story.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/may/15/stephen-hawking-interview-there-is-no-heaven

Guardian News and Media. (2016, December 1). This is the most dangerous time for our planet | Stephen Hawking . The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/01/stephen-hawking-dangerous-time-planet-inequality

Hartle, J. B., & Hawking, S. W. (1983, December 15). Wave function of the universe . Physical Review D. https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.28.2960

Hawking radiation and the sonic black hole - technion - israel institute of technology . Technion. (2021, February 17). https://www.technion.ac.il/en/2021/02/hawking-radiation-and-the-sonic-black-hole/

Hawking, S. W. (1974, March 1). Black Hole Explosions? . Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/248030a0

Life in the universe . Stephen Hawking. (n.d.-a). https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-words/lectures/life-in-the-universe

Medeiros, J. (2017, November 28). Stephen Hawking: “I fear ai may replace humans altogether.” WIRED UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/stephen-hawking-interview-alien-life-climate-change-donald-trump

Oxford Union Speech . Stephen Hawking. (n.d.-b). https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-words/speeches/speech-5

Pablo Jáuregui, Enviado especial Guía de Isora (Tenerife), & Chocolatillo. (2018, March 14). Stephen Hawking: “no hay ningún dios. soy ateo.” ELMUNDO. https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia/2014/09/21/541dbc12ca474104078b4577.html

The singularities of gravitational collapse and cosmology . Royal Society Publishing. (1970, January 27). https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.1970.0021

Hawking, S. W. (1966). Properties of expanding universes. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.11283

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essay on stephen hawking in 300 words

Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist Essay (Biography)

Introduction.

Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous scientists of the modern era. His achievements in physics placed him in the same row as people like Einstein. Hawking mostly advanced theories associated with the universe and its development. Moreover, he put effort into popularizing science among people, and his findings became discussed even among individuals who have no understanding of complex physics. This paper describes the life of Stephen Hawking and his most important works.

The path of a scientist was determined for Stephen Hawking from the start. Being born in 1942 in a family of a tropical medicine researcher, he was influenced by his father to take this path (Mellors). However, he found biology vague and unspecific, so mathematics and physics became his choice. Being a talented young man, Hawking did not take much time to study since he could easily understand most of the information intuitively. However, this fact did not prevent him from receiving first-class honors in physics upon graduating from Oxford University in 1962 (Mellors). His primary interest at that time was the theory of relativity.

However, it was a cosmology that drew Hawking’s attention later in his life. This was the field he concentrated on during his post-graduate studies at Cambridge University, which he finished in 1966 with a doctorate (Mellors). Discovering the origins of the universe became the goal of his life, and eventually led him to develop some of the most outstanding theories in modern science. For example, Hawking introduced the concept of singularity as one of his earliest works (Mellors). He claimed that it is a place that can be situated in a black hole, where time, space, and matter act differently.

Stephen Hawking also had an interesting personality and a challenging life. During his university studies, he was diagnosed with ALS – a disease that made him lose the ability to move and speak in several decades (Mellors). However, it did not decrease his passion for work and life. He managed to lead a successful career, publish several non-fiction books about space science, and even married twice and had children (Mellors). Stephen Hawking died in 2018 but left many people inspired about cosmology and universe discovery.

Stephen Hawking was one of the most prominent physics scientists, who introduced some of the most important theories that are currently used in space exploration. Despite having a progressing disease influencing his activities, he led an active lifestyle and managed to make many people interested in this field. Hawking’s findings have completely changed the knowledge about the universe, making humankind one step closer to discovering its origins.

Mellors, Julie, editor. Gale Biography Presents: Scientists and Inventors . Gale Cengage Learning, 2018.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 2). Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stephen-hawking-a-prominent-scientist/

"Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist." IvyPanda , 2 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/stephen-hawking-a-prominent-scientist/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist'. 2 June.

IvyPanda . 2022. "Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist." June 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stephen-hawking-a-prominent-scientist/.

1. IvyPanda . "Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist." June 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stephen-hawking-a-prominent-scientist/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Stephen Hawking: A Prominent Scientist." June 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stephen-hawking-a-prominent-scientist/.

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English Summary

Stephen Hawking Essay in English

The acutest of intellect that probably held the keys to opening the door of understanding the mysteries of time and space has been lost, at least in the physical realm of our existence.

The cynosure for millions of inquiring minds he was the pinnacle of scientific temper and enterprising intrigue. He breathed his last at the ripe old age of 76.

Table of Contents

An Unparalleled Genius

An unparalleled genius that conquered the odd at personal and cosmological levels, Steven W.Hawking influenced and inspired many a generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most shining minds in the spheres of Cosmology and Astrophysics, an heir apparent to Einstein himself.

Given two years to live, in 1963, he was diagnosed with a rare and debilitating motor-neuron disorder called Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

He did not accept the writing on the wall and lived for another 55 years. Deprived of the abilities to write or move, he used his powers to bring out something of his thought and creativity.

His Achievements

Among his many achievements, the post of Lucasian Professor at Cambridge for three decades was a highlight. The post was once honoured by Sir Isaac Newton himself.

He was awarded the CBE ( Commander of the Order of the British Empire ) in 1982, an honour just second to knighthood.

At the age of 32, he was inducted as one of the youngest Fellows in the Royal Society . Even though he was a British citizen, he was awarded the American Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.

A man of miracles, he refused limitations of circumstance many times. Just like when he survived Pneumonia by having a Tracheotomy in 1985 which left his speech impaired. Undefeated, he started using a computerized speech synthesizer. And miraculously the progression of his ALS froze to almost static.

From the complex world of sub-atomic Quantum Theory to the unfettered expansion of the Cosmos, the great mind played a crucial role on both the edges of human understanding and curiosity of Physics.

He posited the ‘Hawking’s Paradox’ that suggests a mathematical inconsistency between Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum theory. A challenge still undefeated in the field of Physics.

It was his bestselling book titled ‘A Brief History of Time’ that made him a star. The book has sold an estimated 10 million copies since its release in 1988.

Revealing the complexities of the Universe for the non-academicians and non-physicists through the book brought his name among domestic households.

Hawking Radiation

Using Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, he and fellow British scientist Roger Penrose pointed toward a definitive beginning and end of space and time mosaic.

This led to the theory that black holes aren’t completely black, but emit radiation and eventually disappear and the demystification of Black Holes as being really black abyssal spheres of despair . In other words, they dissipate energy, explode and eventually disappear into insignificance .

The radiation named ‘Hawking Radiation’ linked black holes with the rest of the Universe and provided an alternative to the erstwhile perception of black holes as the dead-end for the laws of Physics.

Other Side of Hawking

Far from being perfect, he did have his faults and follies. His first wife Jane Wilde considered him to be a very egotistical, misogynistic and unflattering image of the man.

Perhaps he was not even the best Physicist of his time and famously lost a few bets with his peers like the ’information paradox i.e. loss of physical information stored in a black hole at its demise’ or that the discovery of ‘ Higgs-Boson particle ’ was not possible.

The fact that he never won a Nobel Prize does not help the claim of him being the most successful in his field. Even though he did win a plethora of other awards like Albert Einstein Award, the Fundamental Physics Prize etc and had an incredible 12 Honorary Degrees .

Even his vocal commentaries of God and religions received both flak and admiration. Unlike Einstein who believed in invisible guidance (in the Universe), Hawking declared that God was not needed in the creation or running of the Universe in his book Grand Design.

In an interview with CNN, he opined that God may exist but was not necessary to explain the creation of Universe as, “Science is increasingly answering the questions that used to be in the province of religion.”

Turning to philosophy and metaphysics, he relegated religion to a realm circumscribed by Physics. Apart from his fierce scientific curiosity, it was his rapier-like wit and impeccable sense of humour that made him a darling to so many of his peers and admirers.

He showed an indefatigable spirit and travelled in hot-air balloons and zero-gravity Boeing 727s. From appearing on TV in shows like Star Trek: Next Generation, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons etc and his life being translated to film screens through the much-acclaimed movie, ‘Theory of Everything’, he enthralled and captivated numerous hearts.

A Good Human

Even though he had a streak of nasty arrogance in him, he amply showed politeness and compassion exclusive to only the very best of humanity. Not surrendering to his natural physical incapacities and leveraging his seemingly supernatural abilities, he became an icon that transcended science.

The iconography of a wheelchair-bound man with head rested on side spinning the most magnificent of ‘scientific fairy tales’ will surely withstand the test of time and space.

He regarded aggression as the biggest human failing or a relic from the ‘Caveman’ days and archaic for the present age. He had his reservations about Artificial Intelligence and shared concerns about the environment and human tendency to self-destruct.

Rejecting the atmosphere of isolation and describing Donald Trump as “a demagogue appealing to the lowest common denominator” (in ITV’s Good Morning Britain) he always had trenchant observations on myriad issues.

He will forever be a lodestar for the triumph of hope over adversity, ability over fate and will over the body. As the man himself put it, “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

He is survived by 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Although, his demise has left a yawning Black Hole of intellect and intelligence that might never be filled. Maybe he is still extant in what he would call a better part of the Multiverse.

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A Journey Through The Mind of Stephen Hawking and The Wonders of a Brief History of Time

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