The Disease
Hawking was first diagnosed with ALS at 21 years old while attending Cambridge after noticing signs of the disease while previously studying at Oxford. ALS, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a “progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord,” which results in progressive muscle weakness. Although he was only given a couple of years to live, Hawking lived well past that. As a result, the constant threat of his disease suddenly and rapidly progressing was just one of the factors that lead to his many scientific advancements. Hawking felt an overwhelming need to learn as much as he possibly could about the secrets of the cosmos before his disease would no longer allow him to. Over the many years, his ALS did progress and towards the latter half of his life, while he was still continuing his research, he found himself confined to a wheelchair and eventually communicating through the use of the technology that translated eye movements, and later cheek muscle movements, to words. Due to his disease, he experienced much isolation but it was the combination of isolation and drive to complete his studies and research that made him the great man we know him as now. |
| Stephen Hawking (image from biography.com) |
The Work
Hawking is most famously known for his discovery that black holes are not the information vacuum scientists previously believed them to be. Instead, Hawking proved “that matter, in the form of radiation, can escape the gravitational force of a collapsed star.” Since I’m not well versed in scientific language, I’ll spare you the details by saying, Stephen Hawking created his own radiation theory by bringing new meaning and understanding to the workings of black holes, as well as the big bang theory, and ultimately, how the universe was made. His discoveries made him famous in the science world but also heard by everyone else as well. As a part of his efforts to share his discoveries with the world, Hawking wrote many pieces of literature in attempts to simplify his findings so that the everyday person could understand the significance of the material at hand. His contributions in cosmology, physics, and the field of general relativity brought him numerous exceptional honors and awards. Even a year after his passing, his theories on the universe's secrets remain very relevant and discussed in both the scientific world and mainstream media as well. |
| Stephen Hawking receiving the Copley Medal of the Royal Society, 2006 (image from britannica.com) |
The Impact: A Modern-Day Big-C Creative like No Other
Stephen Hawking can and should be named one of the greatest Big-C creatives of our era. He transformed the way we look at space, black holes, and the universe as a whole. When he was faced with the possibility of death, he was not held back or deterred from his work, but rather quite the opposite. Hawking recognized his calling and dove into the work that lied before him. Whether he was going to fail or not was not even a discussion, Hawking was driven not towards success of any kind, but rather knowledge. He knew that if his days were numbered, he needed to answer the questions that had filled him for so many years, he yearned for knowledge. He not only yearned for this knowledge for himself, but for the world. In the past 20+ years, references to and appearances by Hawking himself have been made in everything from cartoons to television series, from talk shows to movies, all because of the great scientific knowledge he has brought to the world. The impact Hawking has left on the past, present and future understanding of the universe is almost unmatched. Thanks to his many contributions, cosmology will be forever changed and as a result, Hawking has opened a door to numerous advancements that await the future of science.
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| Stephen Hawking with the star of Fox's The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons (image from biography.com) |
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I agree that Stephen Hawking is one of the Big C creatives of our time and that his contributions to science are remarkable and unwavering to the science community. Given his illness and fight with ALS, it would have been interesting to examine how he worked on a day-to-day basis around ALS. His process is undoubtedly unique from other physicists and creatives from his field. You make a great note on how ALS did not hinder him, but instead motivated him to learn more in the time he had. Great post!
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