“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” Stephen Hawking

Content I don't want to be a doctor! I love physics and maths!

Love saving from disease

Acquiring electronic voice

Divorce, Marriage, Divorce

Flying Hawking

Science and Religion

Black Holes Theory

Hawking the Mathematician

Popularizing Science

Awards

Hawking in Popular Culture

I don't want to be a doctor! I love physics and maths!

Stephen William Hawking was born on

January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England.

Stephen's father, a biologist and a medical

researcher, wanted his son to become a

doctor, but the gifted boy was only

interested in physics and maths. In

1959 Hawking was accepted to

University College in Oxford, where he

studied theoretical physics. After

receiving his B.A. degree in 1962, he left

for graduate work at Trinity Hall,

Cambridge to study cosmology.

Love saving from disease

Hawking started developing symptoms of a

serious illness, a motor neurone disease,

shortly after his 21st birthday. Doctors did

not expect him to survive for long, their

verdict being complete paralysis and

death within two years. But surprisingly

enough, his illness stopped progressing

rapidly after he had met Jane Wilde at a

student New Year party. Jane became his

first wife and the couple had a daughter

and two sons.

Acquiring electronic voice

After a throat operation in 1985, Hawking

lost his ability to speak. Friends gave

him a speech generating device,

which was attached to his wheel-chair.

At first Hawking used the index finger

of his right arm to operate the device,

but later some sensitivity was left only

in the cheek muscle. The sensor

attached to his glasses enables

Hawking to operate the computer and

communicate with the world.

Divorce, Marriage, Divorce

Meanwhile, Stephen's

relationship with his wife got

worse. In 1991 they separated

and later divorced. Hawking

married his personal care

assistant, Elaine Mason, in

1995; the couple lived

together for 11 years and

finally divorced in 2006.

Flying Hawking

Despite his illness, Hawking leads an

active life. In 2007 he took a zero-

gravity flight on a special plane. He

was even planning a space flight in

2009.

Science and Religion

Professor Hawking doesn't speak directly

about his religious beliefs.  In his

books he often uses the word "God",

but just to make some of his ideas

clearer to the reader. His ex-wife, Jane,

has described him as an atheist. When

asked to compare religion and science,

Hawking said, "There is a fundamental

difference between religion, which is

based on authority, and science, which

is based on observation and reason.

Science will win because it works."

Black Holes Theory

Stephen Hawking has contributed notably to our understanding

of black holes. He believes that black holes were formed

right after the Big Bang as particles as small as a proton but

weighing more than a billion tons. Because of their tiny size

and enormous weight, black holes create gravity and absorb

matter.

Black Holes Theory

In 1974, he calculated

that black holes should

emit radiation, known

today as Hawking

radiation, until they

exhaust their energy

and evaporate.

Hawking the Mathematician

Though many people consider

Hawking a mathematician, the

scientist himself often said that the

last time he studied maths was in

secondary school. And even when

he taught mathematics at

university in 1970s, he admitted

that he was only two weeks ahead

of his students.

Popularizing Science

Stephen Hawking has achieved great success with

works of popular science. The best-selling

books he published include "A Brief History of

Time", "Black Holes and Baby Universes", "The

Universe in a Nutshell", and "The Grand

Design". He also wrote a children's book

"George's Secret Key to the Universe" together

with his daughter.

In "A Brief History of Time", published in 1988,

there is only one equation. As Hawking himself

explained, every equation could cut the sales

of the book by half.

Awards

Despite all his work, Hawking hasn't

yet been awarded the Nobel

Prize. But his other numerous

awards include the post of

Lucasian Professor of

Mathematics at the University of

Cambridge, Wolf Prize in Physics,

Copley Medal of the Royal

Society, the Presidential Medal of

Freedom, and many others.

Hawking in Popular Culture

As a person of great interest to the

public, Hawking has appeared in

many works of popular culture.

Hawking's early life and the

beginning of his career was the

subject of the 2004 BBC TV film

"Hawking" starring Benedict

Cumberbatch.  The physicist has

appeared as himself on episodes of

The Simpsons, Futurama, and The

Big Bang Theory.

Hawking in Popular Culture

Hawking also hosted the

series "Masters of Science

Fiction". His synthesiser

voice was used in the Pink

Floyd song "Keep Talking"

and in the Discovery

Channel music video «I

love the planet».