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Geek God – Stephen Hawking

Posted on 27. Nov, 2009 by Jake in Geek God

Many Geek icons refute the notion that, as a man, you need to be big and athletic to succeed in life. But no one symbolises the triumph of brains over brawn as much as UK theoretical physicist Steven Hawking. Despite having neuro muscular dystrophy that has rendered him completely paralysed, Hawking is one of the most celebrated scientists living today.

In 1988 his book A Brief History of Time became a best seller, a turn of events that surprised even Hawking himself. Other than the book, though, the man’s achievements are hard to explain in layman’s terms. Hawking’s early work involved the proving of singularity theorems, which provide a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of singularity in space-time. He went on to develop important theories regarding The Big Bang and black holes. His studies have since focussed on a bewildering array of physics phenomenon including “quantum cosmology, cosmic inflation, helium production in anisotropic Big Bang universes, large N cosmology, the density matrix of the universe, topology and structure of the universe, baby universes, Yang-Mills instantons and the S matrix gravitational radiation and wormholes” to name a few. You know, the usual. Notably, in the last few decades he has also been one of the most outspoken voices in creating awareness of environmental issues.

Hawking’s trophy cabinet is a particularly impressive one – he has been heaped with accolades since 1975, when he won the Eddington Medal, his latest being the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US’s highest civilian honour, awarded to him by Barack Obama this year. He has had statues built in his likeness (including one at Cape Town’s African Institute for Mathematical Sciences) and institutes named after him.

He has also kept himself in the popular culture limelight, appearing as himself on The Simpsons and Futurama, being portrayed in a few episodes of Family Guy (they recreated his voice using a Macintosh voice synthesiser) and even becoming something of a pop star – his actual voice has been featured on the Pink Floyd track ‘Keep Talking’, and he has been fictionalised as rapper MC Hawking.

And perhaps the most impressive bit is that Hawking has a sense of humour, not an easy thing to retain when fate has rendered you completely immobile. When asked what came before the Big Bang, he replied that it is a silly question, “like asking what lies North of the North pole”. A genius with a sense of humour, and a bonafide Geek God.

Tags: A Brief History of Time, big bang, Stephen Hawking