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STEPHEN
HAWKING: PROFILE
Tuesday 13 April 2004 10.30pm-11pm;
rpt Thursday 15 April 8.30pm-9pm; 2.50am-3.20am
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With his passion for "the precision of mathematics" and
his concern for the cosmos, Stephen Hawking could have been just another
dishevelled Cambridge don, with humble ambitions to unlock the beginning
of time.
But his ability to translate space-speak into words us earthlings
can understand, together with the onslaught of a devastating medical
condition, have produced, instead, a scientific superstar.
"What can one do, but carry on?"
If a professor stereotypically struggles with the requirements of
daily life, for Stephen Hawking it is harder than most. Just before
his 21st birthday and in his final year as an Oxford undergraduate,
he was diagnosed with a form of motor neurone disease.
Originally given a life expectancy of a further two years, Hawking
has now lived a further forty, always asking the question, "What
can one do, but carry on?"
Carrying on has involved two marriages, three children and a huge
body of scientific work. Cambridge's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
since 1979, Hawking's studies into quantum physics, thermodynamics
and relativity have brought breakthroughs in radiation and "quite
literally shed light on black holes".
Galaxy guru
Commercial success has followed. Already confined to a wheelchair
and deprived of his voice in 1985 by a bout of pneumonia, Hawking
in 1988 published the most popular scientific book ever. A Brief History
of Time has been translated into 30 languages, sold more than nine
million copies and sealed Hawking's status as a galaxy guru.
Hawking the personality is a strong brand. While his peers question
some of his ideas, there is no doubting the commercial appeal of the
vulnerable figure, providing clues to the universe via his Dalek voice-box.
Hawking's appearance on The Simpsons cemented his international status.
Nibbling away the final frontiers
Last year, he produced another tome, The Universe in a Nutshell, and
with his PhD students, he is producing the next generation of original
thinkers. He continues to nibble away himself at the final frontiers
but, with his scientific reputation built on mathematical journeys
into the past, Hawking makes no plans for the future. He says, "If
I knew what I would be working on in ten years, I would be doing it
now."
While his peers may not consider him to be in the league of such luminaries
as Einstein and Shrodinger, his true contribution may lie in his very
singularity, and personification of pure, disembodied intellect. Limited
by his chair, he is totally accessible, and, without a voice, he remains
a supremely articulate and good-humoured communicator.
Caroline
Frost
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HAWKING
BBC Two: drama about Stephen Hawking’s life |
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