One of the Loudest Minds: Stephen Hawking
"Quiet people have the loudest minds". Stephen Hawking has said many veracious and (to be point-blank) genius things. However, none of them have ever represented and summed up his life in such an impressive way. When Stephen Hawking was just about to turn 21 in 1963 he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, more commonly known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). When most people would be dreading their mid 20's crisis, Stephen Hawking had his whole life turn around. It had huge effects on his mobility and speech. When he got ALS, specialists (wrongly as it turns out) predicted that he would only live for a few more years. He became confined to a wheelchair and had to use a computer speech synthesizer to communicate. The disease had made him quiet. But even after all this, he was able to achieve the title of "Modern day Einstein". ALS had made him quiet but his mind spoke even louder to the world.
A brief history-
Born in England on January 8th, 1942, the Science genius (not shockingly), attended Oxford (one of the world's highest ranked universities). He studied Physics until 1942, it was only in 1962 that he went to Cambridge. There he followed his true passion while researching Cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole. He had been appointed as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge in 1979. The role previously taken up by another genius Sir Isaac Newton. He had made many revolutionizing discoveries throughout his life and contributed towards our understanding of the Universe. Before he got diagnosed with ALS he had met Jane Wilde, they got married in 1965. He had three children with Jane Wilde before they separated. He remarried in 1995 and divorced in 2006. He died a peaceful death, at his home on March 14th, 2018.
Stephen's shelf of achievements-
Stephen Hawking (if it's not clear yet) had particular interest in the Universe. Where did we come from? How did the universe come into being? Are we alone in the universe? Is there alien life out there? What is the future of the human race? Are all questions he tried to answer. He is arguably the most famous genius in the modern history. While he had amazing wit, and fought resiliently against such an appalling disease (that not many survive for so long), he is most famous for his scientific discoveries. Not to get into too many details, Stephen had made discoveries relating to Gravitation, Cosmology, Quantum Theory, Thermodynamics and Information Theory. Stephen Hawking proposed that since the Universe had a beginning (the big bang) then that means it will have an end as well. He also implied that Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity and Quantum Theory must be united. He did vast research on black holes and determined things like black holes are not totally silent but instead emit radiations.
Not your typical scientist-
Stephen Hawking may sound like a serious "no-fun" kind of guy. However, general account shows him as being very involved in recent events and being a generally funny guy. He is depicted as having a positive outlook even after being the victim of a terrible disease. He liked to joke about his disease. "I am quite often asked: how do you feel about having ALS?" he had written once. "The answer is, not a lot." he joked while referring to his paralysis. "I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many." he once wrote on his computer speech synthesizer. He had kept up with the recent trends by making appearances in "Star Trek" a science fiction movie series and having a character in the popular show "The Simpsons". His life also inspired an inspirational movie starring Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything". He had kept on voicing out his opinions on recent events that matter. For example, he and Elon Musk had called for an outright ban on "killer robots" or autonomous weapons in light of recent developments in AI. He together along with a few others also supported a short movie, slaughterbots, that warns of what the future could look like if these weapons were not banned.
The Controversies-
Hawking had at many times made claims and proposed theories that were quite controversial. In the 1980s, Hawking questioned as to whether the big bang theory is true. He tried suggesting that the Universe had no start. Hawking has also made it very clear that he doesn't believe in God and has referred to that in many of his bestselling books. Along with Mark Zuckerberg and Yuri Milner, Hawking had even founded Breakthrough Initiatives. It was a program that tried to find alien life beyond Earth. However far off (and extremely controversial) some of these theories may sound, they have contributed to who Stephen Hawking was and are all things that made him prominent.
Leaving behind a legacy-
The World has been saddened at the loss of such a great physicist, genius, father, revolutionist; person. Stephen Hawking has given the world so much and has been an inspiration to millions. The world is paying tribute to "one of the greatest physicist of all time". Stephen Hawking prevailed through all the tough times and has made history. He made people laugh and showed many around the world that nothing is impossible. Stephen Hawking will always be remembered and missed. He is leaving behind a true legacy.