Stephen Hawking

[SCIGENIUS]

Has anybody(besides me) heard of Steven Hawkings?

[EvoN1020v]

I have heard of him. He's an advanced physicst who sits in a wheelchair. I read an article on one of his lectures, and he appears to be really smart.

[SCIGENIUS]

Yeah, he's a quadripleic

[Bluenoise]

Ummmm.....

 

 

.....is there anyone who hasn't heard of Steven Hawkings?

[swansont]

I stood about five feet away from him as he was checking in to the APS centennial conference in Atlanta a few years back.

 

That was the conference where two of the announcements were:

1. Your APS registration does not include tickets to the evening lecture by Professor Hawking. These must be obtained separately.

2. There are no tickets left for Prof. Hawking's lecture.

[SCIGENIUS]

Wow!Swansont, really?

[[Tycho?]]

Hawking. Not Hawkings.

[SCIGENIUS]

sorry

[Glider]

Yeah, he's a quadripleic

No, he has Motor Neuron Disease.

[ajb]

I did see prof. Hawking at a conference at Imperial. I was not as close as Swanshot!

 

He gave a talk on the second day of the conference, but I was unable to attend the second day and missed it.

[swansont]

Wow!Swansont, really?

 

Yes, really. If you go to the higher-stature physics conferences, you are bound to see/bump into the top people in the appropriate fields.

[ParanoiA]

No, he has Motor Neuron Disease.

 

 

Has he been this way since birth or did it develop over time? I'm reading a book on string theory and I'm starting to see his name pop up more as I get further along. Is he revered in the science world or is he just another player who happened to get the ball?

[[Tycho?]]

Has he been this way since birth or did it develop over time? I'm reading a book on string theory and I'm starting to see his name pop up more as I get further along. Is he revered in the science world or is he just another player who happened to get the ball?

 

Revered really isn't the right word. He's famous, mostly because of his medical condition and the popular books that he has written. As physicists go he is important, but probably not as important as you would think. There are plenty of influential physicists who arn't known in the mainstream at all.

[SCIGENIUS]

Oh sorry to all. I thought he had CP.

[SCIGENIUS]

Oh! So, Tycho he's like Einstein?

[AzurePhoenix]

Has he been this way since birth or did it develop over time?

It caught up with him in his later college years. Lou Gerig's Disease or something like that is a common name for it. Ol' Stevie is one of the few to survive with it for so long. My family knows someone who came down with it not so long back, and they doubt he'll even make it another year.

[SCIGENIUS]

Yeah, Hawking's a fighter.

[swansont]

It caught up with him in his later college years. Lou Gerig's Disease or something like that is a common name for it.

 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. (BTW, it's actually spelled Gehrig, in case anyone Googles for more info)

[SCIGENIUS]

I know that!

[ParanoiA]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

 

I had to check it out on wikipedia. He's a fascinating character. I would be interested in his account of his struggles in coping with this disease. The article reads as if he just adjusted to its debilitating effects as they appeared, staying on course with his interests in physics. I find that more impressive than his intelligence. Intelligence is given, you're born with what you have to work with, but strength and resolution to live and live seemingly humbly against the odds takes more than that.

 

Honestly, I think I would have given up a long time ago and died bitter and cursing at god.

[SCIGENIUS]

Steven Hawking ROCKS!

[the tree]

Steven Hawking ROCKS!

Excellent contribution as always SciGenius.

 

For anyone that doesn't already have it, I would strong recommend Hawking's book "The Universe In A Nutshell", it is much lighter going than "A Brief History Of Time" and explains a lot of physics very well.

[SCIGENIUS]

Hey, the tree, are you only contributing to "Biology Debate Throwdown" because you have nowhere to debate?

[5614]

Ummmm.....

 

 

.....is there anyone who hasn't heard of Steven Hawkings?

Indeed, that is a much better question.

 

Whilst he is popular due to his disability and popular books, I personally respect him for his work on Hawking radiation.

[SCIGENIUS]

Wow! Thanks!