Stephen Hawking’s brilliance and popularity can easily be identified as a near equivalent as that of Darwin, Newton, or Einstein. Some of his greatest achievements include defining and redefining black holes, analyzing the beginning of time and space, and popularizing science. In 1974, Hawking presented a theory so radical, it would be later recognized as “Hawking radiation.” He argued that black holes actually emit energy. This point—although seemingly insignificant—brought key concepts of classical and quantum physics together, reshaping the way scientists see the universe. In 1983, Hawking worked together with James Hartle to propose yet another theory: the universe has no physical boundaries. Traveling the length of the universe would be …show more content…
Furthermore, in 1973, he started studying quantum gravity and quantum mechanics. Hawking continued to pursue his work in physics and regularly engaged in “scientific wagers” (scientific debates) with other scientists. Scientists don’t normally achieve celebrity status, especially in their own lifetime. Stephen Hawking remains as one of the handful who continue to break that mold. Scientists whose ideas opposed his openly and continuously criticized him, complaining that his status gave him the unfair advantage of “instant credibility.” Many believe that Hawking’s iconic side has overshadowed the physicist that he really is. With the ever expanding mass media, rarely anything said in Hawking’s monotonic robot tone is without near instant credibility. The presumption is that Hawking must be an undeniable source of wisdom. Regardless of his genius, he is capable of making mistakes just like every other human being. Plenty of people rob him this aspect of his humanity because of his inspiring story. As a whole, society is still uncomfortable with disability—fascinated with the idea that someone so disabled can be so …show more content…
In 2014, he accepted the ALS/Ice Bucket challenge but had to have his children take it on his behalf due to his pneumonia. From 1979 to 2009, Hawking was the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England. This position is recognized as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world. Its former posts included Isaac Newton and George Stokes. After retiring from his post in 2009, he accepted a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. In the same year that he retired, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This is the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2017, Hawking warned that humans need to colonize the moon or another planet within the next 100 years or risk the threat of extinction, shortening his deadline for interplanetary colonization from 1000 years. This warning was founded on the dangers from nuclear war, global warming, genetically engineered viruses, and artificial intelligence. In the same year, Hawking criticized the Trump administration for their treatment of government scientists. An example of this is when the EPA and the Department of Agriculture received orders to remove web pages, reportedly even having to submit their report to Washington for approval. After his open critique, Hawking fears that he’s
The two essays “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “A Plague of Tics” by David Sedaris are excellent pieces of work that share many similarities. This paper would reflect on these similarities particularly in terms of the author, message and the targeted audience. On an everyday basis, people view those with disabilities in a different light and make them conscious at every step. This may be done without a conscious realisation but then it is probably human nature to observe and notice things that deviate from the normal in a society. In a way people are conditioned to look negatively at those individuals who are different in the conventional
Hawking is still alive and has been living with his disease for fifty-two years now (“Stephen Hawking Biography”, n.d.). In doing research as to how Hawking has been able to live so long with this disease, I came to the conclusion that there is not a reason. An article written by Terrence McCoy (2015) in the Washington Post described his lengthy life as “extraordinary” and “extremely rare”. This is further indication that his interminable existence is supported by pure luck. What an incredible coincidence that such an important man was able to withstand the consequences of a highly fatal disease. Stephen Hawking, the Hawking family, and the rest of the world are, whether they know it or not, thankful for this one man’s extreme luck. His contributions to scientific knowledge and his perseverance will be forever
Stephen Robert Irwin was born in Essendon, Victoria on February the 22nd, 1962. He spent his early childhood living in the Upper Fern Tree Gully area. When Steve was eight years of age his parents -Robert and Lynette, his two sisters - Joy and Mandy moved to Beerwah, a rural town in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast Region. Moving to the Sunshine Coast as a young boy was a big deal for Steve, and it was here that his parents established the “Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park” in the year 1970. This meant Steve had Australia’s most native wildlife in his own backyard.
reality normally consists of two parts: a) A set of local laws that are obeyed
Nancy Mairs, born in 1943, described herself as a radical feminist, pacifist, and cripple. She is crippled because she has multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic disease involving damage to the nerve cells and spinal cord. In her essay Disability, Mairs’ focus is on how disabled people are portrayed, or rather un-portrayed in the media. There is more than one audience that Mairs could have been trying to reach out to with this piece. The less-obvious audience would be disabled people who can connect to her writing because they can relate to it. The more obvious audience would be physically-able people who have yet to notice the lack of disabled people being portrayed by the media. Her purpose is to persuade the audience that disabled people should be shown in the media more often, to help society better cope with and realize the presence of handicapped people. Mairs starts off by saying “For months now I’ve been consciously searching for representation of myself in the media, especially television. I know I’d recognize this self becaus...
Throughout Albert Einstein’s lifetime he accomplished many amazing things that have an effect on people today. For example, in 1905, “often called as Einstein’s “miracle year”, he published four papers in the Annalen der Physik, each of which would alter the course of modern physics” (Michio,Kaku 13). Throughout Einstein’s four books, he “applied the quantum theory to light in order to explain the photoelectric effect, offered the first experimental proof of the existence of atoms, laid out the mathematical theory of special relativity, and proved the first mechanism to explain the energy source of the Sun and other stars”(13). Throughout 1905-1915 Einstein began to realize that his theory for relativity was flawed, because “it made no mention of gravitation or acceleration” (19). “In November of 1915, Einstein finally completed the general theory of reality” (20); “in 1921 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics” (Belanger, Craig. 1).
Disability studies, like Cyberfeminism, is still developing. It’s an area of analysis and activism that’s open to some interpretation, accounting for the individual lived experiences of both individuals with impairments, and others who are affected by the stigmas disability carries. Disability is its own dichotomy that needs to be critically considered, and ultimately disbanded so that worth is not determined by a perceive lack or abundance of anything. Kafer concludes her argument for a more politically situated disability by reminding the reader that we all have “sifting abilities,” whether that be of body or of mind (13). Age, accidents, and environment can all change our level of ability at any time. So, therefore, the historical, social,
Albert Einstein was undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest physicians and mathematicians of all time. Einstein’s theories of relativity completely changed the world and have had a huge impact on how we currently live our lives. From how we heat our homes to how we are able to use GPS navigation systems. His theories have greatly changed how we must view the world around us. His theories of relativity and his works during the world wars earned him a Nobel Prize in physics, to name one of the many he deservingly received.
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
In "Darkness at Noon", Harold Krents vividly describes some of the everyday prejudices disabled citizens must face. Presented in an often humorous fashion, the author opens the reader’s eyes to the cruel ironies of society’s preconceived and inaccurate judgments, and their long reaching effects on his life.
A field of study that Stephen Hawking is known for is cosmology. Cosmology is the metaphysical study of the origin and nature of the universe. A brief synopsis of Hawking indicates that, according to Hawking, "there is 'no place for a creator', that God does not exist." In his quantum cosmology, he indicates, "there would be no singularities at which the laws of science broke down and no edge of space-time at which one would have to appeal to God or some new law to set the boundary conditions for space-time . . . The universe would be completely self-contained and not affected by anything outside itself. It would neither be created nor destroyed. It would just BE . . . What place, then, for a creator?"(Smith 2005)Theists have argued against this position, specifically, "that even if Hawking's physical laws are true, that fact does not entail that the God of classical theism does not exist or even disconfirm the classical theistic hypothesis." It would appear that Hawking did not inhibit himself to simply one theory when asking the question where did we come from and why. Rather, he points out that "if we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason for then we would know the mind of God."(Smith 2005)
The first thought that crosses the mind of an able-bodied individual upon seeing a disabled person will undoubtedly pertain to their disability. This is for the most part because that is the first thing that a person would notice, as it could be perceived from a distance. However, due to the way that disability is portrayed in the media, and in our minds, your analysis of a disabled person rarely proceeds beyond that initial observation. This is the underlying problem behind why disabled people feel so under appreciated and discriminated against. Society compartmentalizes, and in doing so places the disabled in an entirely different category than fully able human beings. This is the underlying theme in the essays “Disability” by Nancy Mairs, “Why the Able-Bodied Just Don’t Get it” by Andre Dubus, and “Should I Have Been Killed at Birth?” by Harriet Johnson.
Initially, Albert Einstein was the person to predict the existence of black holes through his General Theory of Relativity, in which he had created several general equations that show the interaction of gravitation as a result of space being curved by matter or energy. In 1915, he published Einstein’s field equations, which specify how the geometry of space and time is influenced by whatever matter and radiation are present, and form the core of Einstein's general theory of relativity (Redd). The general theory relativity was the initial step in the process to finding out more information about black holes. As time went on, there were a few main contributors that solved these equations to help develop better theories on black holes. One of the most important contributors to the development of a better u...
Humans have a natural sense of curiosity. How does this work? Why does that happen? What makes this do that? Among us, there will always be those who strive to find the answers to questions like these and more. One of these people was Albert Einstein, perhaps one of the greatest human minds this world has ever known.
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” The man who made countless mistakes and learned greatly from them spoke these wise words. Of all the scientists to originate from the nineteenth and twentieth century, his name is acknowledged by nearly all living people. Albert Einstein, a man whose name is practically parallel to a genius, is one of history’s most noteworthy figures (Willsey). He had made a remarkable, positive impact on society through his works and contributions to science.