Scientist paralytic. What was Stephen Hawking sick with and why did the legendary scientist die?

Where did the Universe come from and where is it going? Was it created or did it appear on its own? Or maybe it existed forever? What came first - the chicken or the egg? Does time exist and will it ever end?

There is a category of people for whom searching for answers to such abstract questions is a vital necessity. Their inquisitive mind cannot calm down by solving simple, pressing problems. They look at the stars and try to find answers to these questions in the infinity of the Universe. According to System-Vector Psychology by Yuri Burlan, these people have a sound vector - one of the eight sets of innate mental desires and human properties.

One of the brightest representatives of the sound vector, who most fully realized his sound purpose, is the English theoretical physicist, professor of mathematics and popularizer of science Stephen Hawking.

From the biography of Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford (Great Britain) into a family close to scientific circles. His father Frank Hawking worked as a researcher in medical center in Hampstead, and his mother, Isabel Hawking, was a secretary there. Stephen also had two younger sisters and adopted brother Edward.

Since childhood, Steve has been surrounded by scientific interests. Before his birth, his mother, obeying some inner impulse, bought an astronomical atlas. The whole family enjoyed watching the stars with great pleasure. The Hawkings were considered highly intelligent, but eccentric and strange people, which indicates that Steven’s parents may also have a sound vector. This is probably why they understood the innate characteristics of their son from childhood and tried to develop them.

His mother noticed that Steve had been attracted to the stars since childhood. He was very capable and knew how to notice what others did not see. At home we often played various games mind games, but they seemed too simple to Stephen. One day, somewhere he got hold of a very complex game called Dynasty, which could be played for hours and never ended. Nobody survived this marathon. But Stephen liked the game. As his mother said, he had a complex mind.

Young photos of Stephen Hawking also show signs of a sound vector in him: a high forehead, a deep, inquisitive gaze.

At school he did not excel academically and was third from the bottom. However, this did not bother him too much. He had many interests. He loved to dance and rowed at university. He was more of an adventurer. You could never know exactly what he would do next.

At Oxford University, his unconventional mind and quickness in solving problems amazed not only his fellow students, but also his teachers. What was given to others with great difficulty, he mastered, it seemed, in one breath. He was not a very diligent student, but he took advantage of the gigantic volume of his abstract intellect.

There is a well-known story when students had to answer 13 questions from the book “Electricity and Magnetism” in preparation for exams. Only two people answered 1-1.5 questions, and it took them about a month to do so. Stephen “only managed to answer 10” in a few hours (at the last moment). It was then that his classmates realized that they were “from different planets” with him.

Stephen graduated from university in 1962 and then different years worked as a researcher in the fields of astronomy, applied mathematics and theoretical physics. He studied theory big bang, as a result of which the Universe arose, and also developed the theory of black holes. There was a hypothesis that black holes absorb everything without releasing anything to the outside. However, Hawking theoretically proved that black holes emit radiation, later called "Hawking radiation", and eventually "evaporate".

Beyond the limits of physical capabilities

It is difficult to say why nature sometimes sends such difficult trials to a person. However, in the case of Stephen Hawking, there is a possibility that if it were not for the terrible diagnosis - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, humanity might have lost one of the most brilliant modern scientists. Stephen's mother believes that if he had not been completely immobilized, it is unlikely that he would have been able to concentrate so much on his work. research work, because by nature he was very mobile and had many interests. In a sense, Stephen Hawking's illness created the conditions for the maximum concentration of his unique intellect.

So, when Hawking turned 21, doctors told him that he would have complete loss of mobility, that only his heart, lungs and brain would remain in working order. He was given only 2.5 years to live. The first reaction, of course, was shock. Showing great promise, a capable young scientist suddenly lost interest in life and fell into a deep depression. However, two factors brought him out of this state.

The first is a strong sound desire to understand this world. Since the brain is able to work, the sound artist can live a full life. Because for a person, the body is always felt as something secondary, illusory. And even if it is immobilized, this does not prevent it from thinking. He already spends most of his life in his inner world, not the real one. Hawking's entire subsequent life is proof of this. In any state and under any conditions, he thinks intently, making his discoveries.

As Stephen Hawking's mother said, his illness was less of a disaster for him than it would have been for another person because he could largely live in his own mind. From the point of view of System-Vector Psychology, there was a forced reduction in other desires of the body and the correct alignment of priorities. Sound desires are the strongest. However, often the needs in other vectors do not allow a person to fully concentrate on finding the meaning of life, they are distracted by simple earthly and everyday affairs, which is why the sound is not fully filled and suffers from unfulfillment.

Stephen Hawking turned out to be in this sense happy man– circumstances forced him to focus on the most important thing. That is why his life has become so full, and he still continues to work fruitfully, contrary to the doctors’ predictions. This is the secret of his courage, extraordinary thirst for life and knowledge, which surprise everyone who comes into contact with him.

The second factor that influenced his decision to go all the way was the faith in him of his fiancee and then wife Jane Wilde, a woman with an unusually developed personality, characterized by a high degree of empathy, responsiveness and sacrifice. Her entire life together with Hawking became a great service to the scientist and his ideas, even to the detriment of her own realization - she was also talented in the field of studying Romance languages. It was she who helped her husband succeed, because she replaced his arms and legs and contributed in every possible way to the realization of his scientific talent. And she even gave him three children! Behind the success of an accomplished man there is always a developed woman. Stephen Hawking's serious illness not only did not push Jane away, but prompted her to serve her beloved as selflessly and devotedly as possible.

How many more blows of fate did he have to endure! In 1985, after suffering from pneumonia and tracheal surgery, he completely lost his voice. However, his friends gave him special computer, which synthesized the voice. Only one facial muscle remained mobile, opposite which a sensor was attached that transmits signals to the computer. So the scientist got the opportunity to communicate with others. And in 1991, while crossing the road in a wheelchair, he was hit by a car. He suffered multiple injuries, but returned to work within a few days. His fortitude seems inexhaustible.

The Edge of Talent

Stephen Hawking has been a very active person since childhood. He was characterized by fast movements, gestures, and facial expressions. His interests were always varied, he loved dancing and sports. This is how Stephen’s skin vector manifested itself. And even now, with complete paralysis of the whole body, he continues to remain very active, constantly appearing at lectures, scientific conferences, social events in his wheelchair, thanks to which he moves independently. In 2007, he even tested the state of weightlessness on a special plane, and in 2009 he was going to fly into space. True, the flight did not take place. Numerous photographs of Stephen Hawking during that period of his life show how rich life Even an immobilized person can live - if he lives for the sake of others, for the sake of a great goal.

The skin vector also influences his scientific views. He says that the Universe has logic and follows certain rules. The Universe has a purpose. While studying very abstract things, he still tries to ensure that his research has a practical application, benefits humanity, and helps it survive. How developed person with the skin vector, he shows himself as an inventor and experimenter. A scientist is not afraid to assume and make mistakes. Often he even makes a bet about the correctness of his next hypotheses. This also shows his skin adventurism. He doesn't always win, but science benefits from it.

The skin-sound combination of vectors forces him to carry his ideas to the masses. As System-Vector Psychology Yuri Burlan says, such people are inductive, infecting others with their conviction. They may even be fanatics of the idea, in in a good way this word.

Stephen Hawking popularizes complex sciences - quantum physics and cosmology, because he believes that the future of humanity depends on new scientists, those who are now growing up. One of his most famous books for the general reader was “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes,” written in a simple, in clear language. It became a bestseller because it helps you understand very complex things and think about what this world is like. Thanks to the scientist, the concepts of a black hole, singularity, and new ideas about time are increasingly coming into use ordinary person, and directors are happy to make films on these topics. This is how we gradually get used to living in a larger world.

Scientist Stephen Hawking could not have happened without. His secretary noticed that he read very slowly, much slower than his assistant. This is due to the fact that Stephen simultaneously remembers huge amounts of information, because he will not have the opportunity to return to reading again. To work, he needs excellent memory, as well as the ability to structure and analyze information. All these abilities are determined by the presence of the anal vector.

When Stephen Hawking began to lose control of his hands, he needed to master a whole new set of tools to solve research problems. The only thing he could do was solve them with the help of the images he imagined in his mind. The visual vector helped him in this, giving a person imaginative intelligence. Hawking operates with images and diagrams like no one else, and this is his advantage. Due to the fact that he has a unique set of tools, he can solve problems that no one could solve before. The combination of abstract (sound) and figurative (visual) intelligence forms all the intellectual power that the scientist demonstrates to us.

Living the dream of solving the mystery

Stephen Hawking is a unique personality. Completely limited in physical capabilities, he is completely unlimited in the capabilities of his mind. Thought cannot have limitations. What seemed unthinkable to us 100 years ago is commonplace today, thanks to the flight of imagination of seekers, science fiction writers, and scientists.

Like any sound person, he has special treatment to the idea of God, the Creator. As a child, his father read the Bible to him, and at school he was one of the best in Theosophy, because he knew all the biblical characters well. However, as Stephen grew up, he became primarily an atheist, a scientist who relied solely on knowledge, on the reserves of the human mind. And yet, the idea of God constantly runs through all his works as one of the possibilities for creating the Universe. In his book A Brief History of Time, he tries to answer Einstein's question whether God had any choice when he created the Universe. In fact, he is trying to unravel the Plan. And yet his conclusion so far is this: the Creator had nothing to do here, the Universe is without beginning and end.

Stephen Hawking believes that the secrets of the Universe can be revealed, because people do not yet know where the limits of knowledge lie. He writes: “If we do discover a theory that fully explains the universe over time, it general principles should be understood by everyone, not just a few scientists. And then all of us, philosophers, scientists and ordinary people, will be able to take part in a discussion about why we and the Universe exist. And if we find the answer to this question, it will be greatest triumph human reason, for then we will know God’s plan.”

The ingenious sound mind asks the main sound question and sets ambitious goals: neither more nor less - to understand God's plan. And this is truly the salvation of humanity.

If your dreams are about the same, you can learn all about the sound vector and the possibilities of its implementation at the System-Vector Psychology training by Yuri Burlan. Register for free online training using the link:

The article was written based on training materials “ System-vector psychology»

In this section we have collected information for those who are interested in the biographies of Stephen Hawking's children. The fate of his descendants, on the whole, was quite successful. All of his children were born from Hawking's first marriage - in 1965 he married Jane Wilde. They had a son, Robert (b. 1967), a daughter, Lucy (b. 1970), and a son, Timothy (b. 1979).

No one believed that such a physically weak person could have three absolutely healthy children.

Hawking's life was spent in various trips and travels. His wife accompanied him everywhere, taking with her the children, whom there was no one to leave. Almost always, trips turned into a little nightmare.

The Hawking family, Lucy and Robert on top, Timothy in the middle, next to him are mother Jane and father Stephen

“On the morning of July 17, 1967, we managed to check in for a flight at London Airport. The airline provided a seat for Stephen, who discovered that he was required to sit in it immediately and be escorted to the departure lounge. Weighed down by luggage and Robert, I trotted behind. I lifted Robert (my son) onto Stephen's lap and went for sandwiches. When I returned, I saw something that plunged me into indescribable horror. Robert was there. Smiling blissfully, he lay on his father’s lap, resting his head on his chest. Stephen's face expressed inhuman torment. A wide yellow river flowed down his new trousers. He found himself trapped and watched helplessly as a wide yellow stream rushed into his shoes...”— quote from the book by Jane Hawking

Robert

Robert Hawking- British software engineer. The eldest son of the famous English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author, Professor Stephen Hawking and his ex-wife Jane Wild Hawking. Robert was the only Hawking child who showed an interest in science and aspired to become a scientist. However, he later became a software engineer who currently works with Microsoft and remains in Seattle, Washington, USA with his wife and children.

Lucy

Catherine Lucy Hawking born November 2, 1970. Daughter of Stephen Hawking and Jane Wilde Hawking. Admiring her parents, Lucy chose literature and research as her main activity. Currently, Lucy Hawking lives in London, is actively involved in educational and pedagogical activity, is a renowned philanthropist.

Timothy

Timothy Hawking was born on April 15, 1979 and became the last, third child in the family of Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane. Despite all the rumors that Timothy was the son of family friend Jonathan, he is officially "Hawking". Timothy was able to have a full conversation with his father only after his fifth birthday, when Stephen Hawking was given the opportunity to talk through a special voice synthesizer program.

10 facts about the most extraordinary physicist

On Wednesday, March 14, it became known that one of the most famous theoretical physicists of our time, Stephen Hawking, died early in the morning at home in Cambridge at the age of 76. Almost completely paralyzed, speaking with the help of a speech synthesizer, this extraordinary scientist studied the problems of the origin of the Universe, in particular, the theory of the origin of the world and the theory of black holes. We have collected 10 interesting facts about Hawking.

1. Fate strikes

“I have lived the last half century with perspective early death. “I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die,” Hawking admitted. “I have so much to do first.”

Signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which later led to paralysis, began to appear in Stephen Hawking in the early 1960s. When doctors gave him a disappointing diagnosis, doctors’ forecasts promised the young man two and a half years to live. But they were wrong.

Fate, however, continued to deal blows to Hawking: in 1985, he became seriously ill with pneumonia. After a tracheostomy, Hawking lost the ability to speak - then friends gave him a speech synthesizer, which was installed on his wheelchair.

The paralyzed scientist retained mobility only in the facial muscle of the cheek, opposite which the sensor was attached. With its help, Hawking controlled a computer that allowed him to communicate with others.

2. Two wives, three children and a zero-gravity flight

“My expectations for life were reduced to zero when I was 21 years old. Everything that has happened since then is a bonus,” said Stephen Hawking.

A serious illness did not prevent the paralyzed scientist from leading an active life. He not only continued scientific work, but also married twice and became the father of three children! In 2007, he took a zero-gravity flight over the Atlantic in a specially designed aircraft. Hawking dreamed of flying into space - and such a flight was planned for 2009, but it was not destined to take place.

3. Smuggled Bibles in the USSR

Stephen Hawking has visited our country several times. For the first time, he came with a student group, one of whose members asked his colleagues to help him smuggle Bibles in Russian into the USSR. They succeeded in bringing the Scripture behind the Iron Curtain, but on the way back the group was detained for some time, although after a few hours they were all released. After this, Hawking came to the USSR several times on scientific affairs. For example, in 1973, he discussed the problems of black holes with Soviet scientists Yakov Zeldovich and Alexei Starobinsky. In 1981, Hawking again visited Moscow for an international seminar on the quantum theory of gravity.

4. From The Simpsons to The Big Bang Theory

Hawking, a popularizer of science, also became a character in popular culture. The scientist voiced himself in the popular animated series "The Simpsons" and "Futurama", and also starred in episodes of popular series - for example, in "The Big Bang Theory", where he appeared in one of the episodes, having found an arithmetic - "pretty stupid" - error in Sheldon Cooper's work on the Higgs boson. Hawking's voice is heard in some episodes of this sitcom. The scientist also appeared in the famous sketch show “Little Britain”. Stephen Hawking also played himself in Star Trek. The next generation."

5. Simply about complex things

“I have a simple goal,” the scientist asserted. “It’s about fully understanding the universe, why it is the way it is—and why it all exists.”

Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time was published in 1988. It remained on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record 237 weeks! A wonderful example of popular science literature, written in simple, “human” language, allowed general public learn about the emergence of the Universe, the nature of space and time, black holes, superstring theory and some mathematical problems. And in 2005, “ Brief history time" is a revised version of the previous book taking into account the latest scientific discoveries.

6. Family matters

After Hawking was diagnosed with a serious illness, Stephen married his sister's friend Jane Wilde in 1965. He met her while a student at Cambridge. According to Hawking, his engagement to Jane gave him “something worth living for.” They had two sons (Robert and Timothy) and a daughter, Lucy. But a crack appeared in the relationship between the spouses - Jane fell in love with someone else. Since 1990, Stephen and Jane began to live separately, and then officially divorced. In 1995, Hawking married his caregiver, Elaine Mason: "It's wonderful - I married the woman I love." However, in October 2006 they also divorced.

7. 25th Greatest Briton

In 2002, Stephen Hawking was ranked 25th on the BBC's list of the 100 greatest Britons. One line above him was Queen Elizabeth II, and after Hawking comes the translator of the Bible into English language William Tyndale (1494-1536).

8. Hawking and Trump

American President Donald Trump's intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement by Stephen Hawking has drawn sharp criticism. "We're getting closer to turning point, when global warming becomes irreversible, the scientist said in an interview with the BBC. “Trump’s actions could push the Earth to the brink, and it will become like Venus with a temperature of 250 degrees and acid rain...”

9. About God and aliens

Despite the fact that in his youth Hawking smuggled the Bible into the USSR, the scientist was skeptical about religion (though he was more an agnostic than an atheist). True, in its Brief history time,” he assumed the place of the Almighty in the creation of all things. But later the scientist came to the conclusion that the Universe arose according to objective physical laws, and its appearance cannot be associated with the activity of a higher mind: “In order to light the fuse and launch the Universe, God is not necessarily needed.”

But Hawking believed in the existence of “brothers in mind” in many corners of the Universe. True, he believed that it was better to stay away from aliens, because the consequences of their appearance on Earth could have the same consequences as for the Indians during the arrival of Columbus in America.

10. Hawking about the end of the world

While discussing the birth of the Universe, Stephen Hawking could not help but think about the end of the world for humanity. He predicted four possible scenarios: nuclear war, artificial intelligence (as it develops, it will surpass the human race), created genetic engineering viruses (accidentally or intentionally created dangerous virus may turn out to be deadly for all humanity), global warming.

The world-famous theoretical physicist and scientist Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, Great Britain, into a family of doctors.

Father Frank was engaged in research activities, mother Isabelle held the position of secretary of a medical institution, working in the same team with her husband. Steve grew up with two sisters and stepbrother Edward, who was adopted by the Hawking family.

After graduating high school, Stephen entered Oxford University, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1962. Two and a half years later, in 1966, the young man became one of the first Doctors of Philosophy from Trinity Hall College at the University of Cambridge.

Disease

From his early childhood, Stephen was a healthy boy; even in his youth he was not bothered by any illnesses. But in his youth a misfortune happened to him. Young Stephen was found to have terrible disease– amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The diagnosis sounded like a death sentence. Symptoms of the disease developed at tremendous speed. As a result, the future genius of science remained completely paralyzed. Despite this, Stephen Hawking always appears in photographs with a kind smile. Being confined to a wheelchair, Stephen did not stop in his mental development, was engaged in self-education, studied scientific literature, attended seminars. The guy fought every minute. His moral spirit helped him gain permanent membership of the Royal Society of London in 1974.

In 1985, Stephen Hawking underwent surgery on the larynx, which could not be avoided due to complicated pneumonia. Since then, Stephen stopped talking completely, but continued to actively communicate with colleagues using a speech synthesizer developed by his friends - engineers at the University of Cambridge - especially for him.

For some time Hawking could move index finger right hand. But this ability was lost over time. The only facial muscle of the cheek remained mobile. A sensor installed opposite this muscle helped Stephen control a computer with which he could communicate with the people around him.

Despite his serious illness, Stephen Hawking's biography is filled with rosy events, scientific discoveries and achievements. The terrible disease did not break Stephen, it only slightly changed the course of his life. Almost completely paralyzed, Stephen Hawking saw no obstacles in his own illness and led a full, work-filled life.

One day Hawking accomplished a real feat. He agreed to experience the conditions of being in weightless space by flying on a specially equipped aircraft. This event, which occurred in 2007, completely changed Stephen Hawking's view of the world around him. The scientist set himself a goal - to conquer space no later than 2009.

Physics

Stephen Hawking's main expertise is cosmology and quantum gravity. The scientist studied the thermodynamic processes that occur in wormholes, black holes and dark matter. A phenomenon that describes and characterizes the “evaporation of black holes”—“Hawking radiation”—is named after him.

In 1974, Stephen and another well-known specialist at the time, Kip Korn, argued about the nature of the Cygnus X-1 space object and its radiation. Stephen, managing to contradict his own research, argued that this object is not a black hole. However, having suffered a defeat, in 1990 he gave the winnings to the winner of the dispute. It should be noted that the bets of the young guys were quite “serious”. Stephen Hawking put his one-year subscription to the erotic glossy magazine Penthouse on the line, and Kip Korn put his four-year subscription to the humorous magazine Private Eye on the line.

In 1997, Stephen Hawking made another bet, but this time with Kip Thorne against John Philip Preskill. The controversial debate became the starting point for Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking research, which he presented at a special press conference in 2004. According to John Preskill, there is some information in the waves that black holes emit that cannot be deciphered.

Hawking contradicted this argument, relying on the results of his 1975 research. He argued that the information cannot be deciphered, since it falls into a Universe parallel to our galaxy.

Later, in 2004, during a press conference in Dublin on the topic of cosmology, Stephen Hawking put forward new theory about the nature of a black hole. With this conclusion, Hawking was again defeated in the argument, having to admit that his opponent was right. In his theory, the physicist nevertheless proved that information does not disappear without a trace, but one day it will leave black hole along with thermal radiation.

In 2015, the premiere of the full-length film took place feature film“The Universe of Stephen Hawking”, in which the young scientist was played by the outstanding Hollywood actor Eddie Redmayne, who, according to the producers, is ideal for this role. The film sold for quotes that are actively used by British youth.

Professor Hawking is the holder of twelve honorary academic titles. Hawking awarded a large number various awards, medals and prizes. He is also a member of the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences.
Stephen Hawking manages to combine family life(he has three children and one grandson) with his research in theoretical physics and numerous trips and public lectures.

This is absolutely ordinary biography a good physicist, if you don’t know that in his early twenties, while working on his dissertation, Hawking was almost completely paralyzed due to the development of an incurable form of atrophying sclerosis and remained in this condition all his life.

Now almost all the muscles of the body do not obey him. However, he continues to travel around the world, give lectures, write books and be active scientific activity, exciting scientific world his theories about the origin and development of the Universe. And, as you can see, he even dreams of flying in zero gravity.

This captive spirit connects with the outside world using electronic devices: built-in wheelchair a computer custom-made by IBM and a sound synthesizer. Hawking communicates in this way: columns of letters (words and entire expressions) continuously crawl across the computer screen, along which the cursor moves. The scientist can stop it at the right place, and the selected symbol enters the computer's memory to compose a written text. Using a sound synthesizer, a special program converts written text into continuous speech.

In recent years, Hawking stopped the cursor at the desired location on the screen with two still moving fingers of his right hand. Now they have refused too. Now he does this by shaking his right cheek - a small screen is mounted on it, onto which the beam of an infrared sensor falls. A live conversation with a scientist is a series of short phrases, spoken by a synthesizer, separated by pauses of silence, during which Hawking composes a response. He writes and delivers his speeches and reports in advance. Special computer programs can also turn cheek twitching into a few simple commands: turn the chair, roll it, open the door... Otherwise, it is served by several shift nurses and caregivers, as well as volunteer graduate students.

Stephen Hawking entered Oxford University as a healthy, noisy, mocking young man and was known among his teachers as a capable but careless student who was fond of rowing. The first signs of the insidious disease appeared after completing the initial university course, when the young man moved to specialize in cosmology at Cambridge. His movements became so clumsy that he could fall, as they say, out of the blue, and during a fateful party for him, where he met his future wife Jane, he spilled wine past his glass.

Doctors made a terrible diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Every year, 100 thousand people die from this incurable disease around the world. IN different countries it was called variously: motor neurone disease, Charcot's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Lou-Hering's disease - after the famous baseball player who died from it. The essence of the disease different names is the same - it begins gradually with a disruption of the musculoskeletal system, then paralysis and atrophy of various muscle groups gradually sets in, and disturbances in speech, breathing and swallowing occur. In this case, hearing, vision, memory, consciousness, and higher cognitive functions of the brain are not impaired. Etiology unknown. Doctors gave Hawking two to two and a half years to live - this was in 1962.

— People often ask me: “What do you think about your illness?” — Hawking wrote. “And I answer: “I don’t think about her very much.” I try to live as much as possible normal person, not to think about my condition and not to regret that it does not allow me to do something. When it was discovered at 21 that I had a neuromotor disorder, it was for me a terrible blow. Realizing that I have incurable disease, which, apparently, will kill me in a few years, I was shocked. How could this happen to me? Why do I end like this? I didn’t know what awaited me and how quickly the disease would progress. When I left the hospital, I felt like I was sentenced to execution and suddenly realized that there was a lot I could do if the execution of the sentence were postponed. More than once I had the thought of sacrificing my life to save others. In the end, he would still have to die, and this way it could benefit someone.

I did not see much point in my research, since I did not expect to live to receive a doctorate, but as time passed, the progression of the disease seemed to slow down. In addition, I have advanced in my work. But what really changed everything was my engagement to a girl named Jane Wilde, whom I met around the same time as my diagnosis. It gave me an incentive to live. Since we were going to get married, I had to get a position, and to get a position I had to complete my dissertation. So for the first time in my life I got to work. To my surprise, I liked it. Before life seemed boring to me. But the prospect of dying early made me realize that life is worth living."

Stephen was lucky that he chose to work in theoretical physics, as it was one of the few areas of science where his illness was not a serious obstacle. Moreover, as his condition worsened, his scientific reputation grew, thanks to which he was able to obtain a position that allowed him to conduct research without lecturing to students.

“Someone said, ‘If you know you’re going to be hanged tomorrow morning, it helps you concentrate better,’” said Stephen’s mother, Isobel Hawking. “And he (the son) really focused on his work in a way that I don’t think he would have been able to focus otherwise... No, no, of course, I can’t call such an illness luck.” But for him it was less of a problem than it would have been for many other people.

In 1966, Hawking defended his dissertation and became a Doctor of Philosophy. A few years later he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. What about the disease? It developed parallel to his professional success. If Stephen came to his wedding in 1965, leaning on a stick, then in 1967, when his eldest son was born, he walked on crutches, and during the birth of his daughter and youngest son, was already moving in a wheelchair.

“I have suffered from a neuromotor disorder almost all of my adult life, but this has not stopped me from having a family and being successful at work,” writes Stephen Hawking. “And all this is thanks to the help provided to me by my wife, children and many other people and organizations. I was lucky that my condition deteriorated more slowly than most of these cases. This proves that you should never lose hope.

Indeed, it proves it. Looking at the small figure huddled in a chair in a black suit, wearing large glasses, with motionless hands placed on his knees, it is difficult to imagine that this man wrote dozens of fundamental scientific articles that marked the greatest achievements of modern cosmology and astrophysics. His intelligence, optimism and sense of humor are revealed only by the sparkle of his smart, slightly ironic eyes and the barely visible movement of his lips in a smile.
Life in a nutshell

Five years ago, shortly before his 60th birthday, Hawking lost control of his new electric wheelchair - it crashed into a wall and overturned. Stephen fell, hurt his head, broke his leg and was hospitalized, but was personally present at the joyful anniversary celebrations in Cambridge. About two hundred guests, leading scientists from all over the world, gathered in the large hall.

- I'm so glad to see you all! - Stephen Hawking said to his guests. “It’s great that almost everyone who was invited was able to come.” This shows that theoretical physics, like friendship, has no boundaries.

The anniversary program lasted four days and ended with the symposium “The Future of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology,” at which Stephen Hawking, with bruises and a plastered leg, summed up his work. Essentially, it was an overview of his efforts to unify two fundamental physical theories - relativistic gravity and quantum mechanics, which play a decisive role in the evolution of our Universe. He titled his speech 60 Years in a Nutshell, which literally means “60 years in a nutshell.” How can one not recall Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, who said: “Oh God! I could enclose myself in a nutshell and consider myself the ruler of infinite space..."

“The Einstein of our days,” as journalists sometimes call him, proposed his model of the Universe, in which two concepts of time play a key role. This is the so-called real time”, that is, the psychologically experienced time of human existence, and “imaginary time” - the time in which the life of the Universe takes place. These times are miraculously linked, the scientist claims in his book “A Brief History of Time. From the Big Bang to Black Holes." The book was published in 1988 in England, the USA and Canada. And for more than a year - absolute record for popular science work - topped the bestseller lists on both sides Atlantic Ocean. To date, it has been published in tens of millions of copies, including two Russian editions.

By the way, the text of “A Brief History of Time” can be found in both English and Russian on the Internet. Hawking writes about the most complex phenomena and problems easily and transparently. The book contains only one equation, Einstein's famous E=ms2, and simple graphs. In addition to this, the author has provided the book with a clear and concise glossary of terms. What is the book about? About the most important thing - about life, about our place in the Universe, about its birth and death, about time as a physical problem, about the relationship between space and time, which, according to the scientist, “together form a certain surface that has a finite extension, but not has boundaries and edges."

It is curious that at first Hawking was confident that the creation of a completely consistent unified theory, which will lead to “a complete understanding of everything that happens around us and our own existence,” is just around the corner. He said that its basic principles would become understandable to every person and everyone would be able to take part in an interesting discussion about why it happened that we exist and the Universe exists. However, now Hawking is no longer confident in the possibility of creating a unified theory, which he stated in a television lecture given to students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), which everyone could also watch on the Internet.

The scientist not only gives public lectures, he goes to scientific conferences around the world and gives numerous interviews, giving newsmen sensational statements. Thus, at the last press conference in Hong Kong, he said: “Since life on Earth is threatened by an ever-increasing danger of sudden death as a result global warming, nuclear war or a genetically created virus and similar catastrophes - humanity, if it wants to preserve itself, must settle in space. Colonies on the Moon or Mars will not save us. We won't find these anywhere favorable conditions, as on Earth, until we master others star systems».

IN lately One of Hawking's new areas of interest was the creation of exoskeletons - mechanisms that can duplicate and enhance the work of human muscles. Remember the movie "Aliens"? That episode where Lieutenant Ripley fought a space monster in a mech suit? This is the exoskeleton. One of the first such devices was created by a team of scientists and engineers from Japan. A mini-computer attached to a person’s belt captures information about the slightest muscle movement through electrical impulses on the skin and then amplifies them using servomotors. It is expected that such robotic suits will also be able to be used by people with limited mobility in the future. Maybe this kind of cybernetic miracle will allow Hawking to gain some kind of freedom of movement?
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According to a recent survey, Stephen Hawking is one of the three most admired contemporary figures among English boys aged 16 to 18. Rugby world champion Wilkinson is in first place, Hawking is in second, and footballer Beckham is in third. Commenting on the survey results, Stephen said: “For many years I have been named second in the list of the smartest people in Britain. But being called an example for young people really honors me.”

Text:
(c) K. Yu. Starokhamskaya
(c) Valentina GATASH (ZN)

Bonus from Hawking's official website:

Depeche Mode questions
A Mail on Sunday education correspondant, Rosie Waterhouse, quizzed the Professor ...

What sort of music do you like and why? Does it help you relax? Please name your favorite composers/bands/singers/performers.

I mainly listen to classical music: Wagner, Brahms, Mahler etc., but I like pop as well. What I want is music with character.

What do you like about Depeche Mode? How many of their concerts and other concerts have you been to? Who were you with at the concert on Tuesday night?

I hadn't been to a Depeche Mode concert before but my son, Tim, is a fan of them and wanted to go. I really enjoyed it even though I was sitting just in front of the speakers, and my ears were ringing for the next 24 hours. They have such energy.

Science has a very serious image but you have helped to "popularise" it. How important is it to you to have other interests in life and what are your favorite passtimes?

I really enjoy life and all that it involves. I won't go into my personal relationships, but my main non-scientific interests are music and history. And Tim has gotten me to follow formula one; we have been to several grand prix together.