If you follow science, the name Stephen Hawking would be familiar to you. If you don’t, these ten facts will help you get to know him better.
You have heard about Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Those are a few among world-known scientists who contributed to the world of science. Those two were important to people back then, as important as Stephen Hawking to us now.
Money does not make the world go round. Science does. Literally. Everything that is happening around us, in our world, is explainable by science. Some has been answered, some were proven, yet some other are still out there for us to explore.
Stephen Hawking holds an important key to today’s science. He is a professor in the fields of general relativity and quantum gravity. Hawking’s ideas has amazed people’s mind as his life has touched many hearts.
We have ten facts about Stephen Hawking which will fascinate you. There is more to Hawking than just one of the smartest people in today’s world.
10. His groundbreaking idea about time
There are many scientists in the world. There are many theories about the universe. So, what makes Stephen Hawking distinctive? What is his theory?
The Theory of Everything. That is what Hawking had been trying to come up with. As a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, his idea of how the universe was created has something to do with the gravitational singularity.
It all started as a space-time singularity that keeps expanding to create the universe we are living now.
His other groundbreaking idea came to him as he was looking through his sweater. The fireplace in front of him was emitting light through the sweater’s holes. Hence the Hawking radiation. He predicted that black holes are not just black and dark, but they also emit radiation.
Until today, Hawking and his research team are working on proving his theories.
9. He is a millionaire
Stephen Hawking is one of the most successful scientists especially in the field of cosmology. Now, he has $20 million amount of net worth.
He did not come from a rich family. At the beginning of his career, he was struggling with money. In fact, there was time when he could not even afford a nanny for his children.
Then he wrote his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time. As mentioned in the 10 Ways Smart People Can Get Rich article, the book was sold for more than 10 million copies in just 2 years. Assuming he only got $1 from each book sold, he already earned $10 million.
Plus, he has been working as director of research at the Cambridge University Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Four years ago, he said he has no plan to retire.
8. He was diagnosed with ALS
Have you heard about the ALS ice bucket challenge? Perhaps you were one of many participants. But do you know what was it for?
ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Hawking was diagnosed with ALS when he was only 21 years old. First, it was hard for him to walk. He was using canes for a couple of years until he agreed to use a wheelchair. In 1985, Hawking contracted pneumonia. It was a life-threatening situation. In order to keep him alive, he had a tracheotomy. That was when he lost his voice.
In 2014, Hawking accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge. But because he has pneumonia, his children took it on his behalf.
7. Doctor said he only had 2 years to live
When Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease or ALS, he was on his way to his groundbreaking idea. It took him hard. He was pushing everyone away from his life. He was giving up.
One of the reasons was the fact that doctor told him he only had 2 years to live. He was facing day by day with the thought that he would never be there for his 25th birthday.
His friends and family stood by his side. They are supporting him all the way. His first wife, Jane Wilde, said yes to marry him in spite of his disease. That gave Hawking a reason to live. He got back on his feet to pursue his research in science.
Stephen Hawking is now 74 years old. He is the living proof of what we can achieve against the odds. Regardless what doctor may tell you, your body has a mind of its own. And you have the power over it.
6. He is British but Intel gave him American voice
When he lost his ability to speak in 1985 after a necessary tracheotomy, he used a spelling card to communicate. It was tough at first, but he memorized the whole spelling card to communicate with his nurse, Elaine Mason, who later became his second wife.
Only since 1986, he finally has a computer-generated voice attached to his wheelchair. Back then, there was only one set of voice produced which was in American accent.
Now that there are many voices available, Hawking decided to stick to the original voice. He said he prefers it and identifies with it.
At that point, Hawking used his hand to activate a switch to choose among the words available in the computer. It produced up to 15 words per minute. As he gradually lost the use of his hand, he began to control the device with movements of his cheek muscles. Now he is working together with researchers to create a brain pattern or facial expression control for the device.
5. He denied his own theory
As a theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking’s ultimate goal is to come up with a new equation to explain how the universe works. To understand where he stands in the world of science, you need to know about three main categories of scientific discovery in the field of physics first.
The first one is a hypothesis. It is an educated guess about an explanation for a set of observations. When there have been many scientists came up with the similar hypothesis and it is yet to be unproven, one may come up with a theory.
Then, once the theory has been proven through an experiment or observation or both, it becomes a law.
In his first theory, Hawking said that black holes emit radiation. But later on, he said that black holes don’t exist the way people perceive it.
4. He has not won the Nobel Prize
In spite of his groundbreaking ideas and paperwork, Stephen Hawking has not yet won the ultimate award in science: Nobel Prize. This fact has its own pros and cons.
A Nobel Prize in science is awarded to people with groundbreaking contribution to the world. For example, last year, The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.
The recipients, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald, did not just come up with the theory, but they discovered it.
In the other hand, Hawking has not yet proven his theory or contributed it in any tangible discoveries. This is why he has not yet awarded the highest acknowledgement in science community.
3. He was portrayed by Academy award-winning actor
A movie based on Jane Wilde’s book was produced and released in 2014. It was an Academy Award-nominated movie, The Theory of Everything.
The movie, just like the book, is about Jane’s struggle along with Stephen Hawking as they battled through his disease. Even if you don’t know Hawking, even if you don’t understand science, this movie will carry you away through a tearjerker storyline.
The actor who portrayed Stephen Hawking is Eddie Redmayne. He won the Academy Award for this role. His performance was incredible.
He dedicated his Oscars to all of the people who suffer from ALS. During his acceptance speech, he said “This Oscar—wow!—this Oscar, this belongs to all of those people around the world battling ALS. It belongs to one exceptional family: Stephen, Jane, Jonathan and the Hawking children.”
2. His view about religion
Hawking has stated that he is not religious in the normal sense. He believes that the universe is governed by the laws of science. Only until 2014, he finally stated that he is an atheist.
In the movie, Stephen Hawking was asked whether or not he believes in God. He replied with, “It is clear that we are just an advanced breed of primates on a minor planet orbiting around a very average star, in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.
“But ever since the dawn of civilization, people have craved for an understanding of the underlying order of the world. There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe.
“And what can be more special than that there is no boundary? And there should be no boundary to human endeavor. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope.”
1. He declined “Knighthood” from the Queen
The United Kingdom, through the Queen herself, has given several awards to honored people from time to time. One of the awards is the Knighthood. It is given to an individual for a major long-term contribution in any activity, usually at a national or international level.
In late 1990s, the Queen offered this to Stephen Hawking in which he declined. He has been vocal about rejecting the title. He basically dislikes the whole concept.
He also criticizes the management of science funding by the British government. In particular, he is against the merging of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council with the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils.
He believes that the two should remain separate entities in order to optimize both quantity and quality of scientific discoveries.
