Stephen Hawking: “It matters if you just don’t give up.”
Yeah, yeah. Happy birthday to The King and The Thin White Duke. You were/are Teh Sex. Good on ya.
Stephen Hawking in zero-gravity, 2007.
Hey, guess who else was born on Jan 8th? World-renowned theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking. He turns 68 today. Here’s a small assortment of reverent (and not so reverent) clips and quotes concerning a brilliant and resilient man whose mind is arguably Teh Sexiest human organ on this entire planet:
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”
“The universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws.”
“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”
“To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.”
“If you have a slurred voice, people are likely to treat you as mentally deficient: Does he take sugar? This [speech] synthesiser is by far the best I have heard, because it varies the intonation, and doesn’t speak like a Dalek. The only trouble is that it gives me an American accent.”
“We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”
January 9th, 2010 at 3:36 am
At this point we’ve grown up with Stephen Hawking. First as the image of The Really Really Smart Guy, then as a pop culture icon, and finally as an influence on some level how we see the world and beyond.
Even though in recent years those in his field have tried to downplay his academic and scientific importance (guess they were pissed they couldn’t get on The Simpsons) none can deny he’s helped keep science on the minds of many. Even when so much drowns in celeb obsessed silliness.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mr. Hawking!
January 9th, 2010 at 3:42 am
It pains me to say it, but he lives near me and I frequently see him trundling around. My friend works at a posh restaurant in town, and one day he was waiting on Mr Hawking’s table. He didn’t leave a tip, but you know what he did leave?
Full colostomy bag. Right there on the table.
So when I see him out and about I always want to break through the crowds of fawning fanboys and ask him why he left a bag of poo for my friend to clean up.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Great collection of footage! Love the Glorious Dawn music video… I discovered it a couple months ago. That’s some good stuff. I just smile when people imply that scientist are boring or unimaginative… they conceptualize, explain and predict things that no one else has ever considered or been able to understand. Science and creativity go hand in hand.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:48 am
@Spyderfingers Um… was he completely by himself, or with an aide? You’ll definitely want to make sure you’ve got that part of the story straight before approaching a guy with advanced ALS paralysis and scolding him for uncouth acts that he might very well be physically incapable of committing!
January 9th, 2010 at 4:51 am
@spyderfyngers…Maybe that was his review of that particular meal? A harsh one at that…
January 9th, 2010 at 9:15 am
He was with a big group of students. Whenever he’s out, he has a couple of nurses and usually a couple of students with him.
Personally, I don’t know why my friend didn’t ebay the bag.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:22 am
What a brilliant man. Thankyou for everything you’ve given!
It’s sweet he got to experience zero gravity, however, whenever I see that clip, I have this thing in the back of my head that he didn’t want to be in it at all, but couldn’t tell them otherwise as he wasn’t connected to his computer to tell them!
January 10th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Aw, Beth, but look at that huge smile! Plus, he said as soon as they landed that “It was amazing. The zero-G part was wonderful and the higher-G part was no problem. I could have gone on and on. Space, here I come!” :)
January 12th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
The Glorious Dawn video was one of my favorites from last year. It brought tears to the eyes of this humble Sci-fi fan. After seeing it, the furure seems less dim. To me it seemed honestly beautiful…
September 30th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Thinking of Stephen Hawking’s story, his resilience, and the ways he has used his knowledge to enrich all of our understanding of the world, has always moved me. It is neat to see him refracted thru pop culture.
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Stephen Hawking’s story is very inspirational. Super cool to see him in zero gravity. I would live to try that myself some day.