The Theory of Everything

He had an IQ of 160 and was one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history. Although he became physically disabled with a disease that could not be cured, his brain, his mind, was left ‘untouched’. His lifes’ work revolutionized ‘the field’ and his books have been bought by people who know nothing about his area of expertise. His knowledge, research and work has made an imprint over several generations. He was Stephen Hawking.

“The Theory of Everything” is the film about Stephen’s life and how his disability affected his work. The film is an adaptation of Stephen’s life in the book “Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen” by Jane Hawking, Stephen’s ex-wife. It goes into detail how the disease ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) affected the life of this genius and how he did not let this stop him in the field of physics. The film shows how, after attending a lecture on black holes with his professor Dennis Sciama, Stephen writes a thesis on black holes. During all of this time (whilst at the University of Cambridge), Stephen’s muscles start to fail and he loses the coordination of his hands. Eventually, this causes Stephen to fall and hit his head. The diagnosis from the specialist was Motor Neurone Disease (the English version of ALS), which would affect his movement, swallowing and even breathing. In 1963, he was told that there was nothing that could be done and that Stephen had roughly two years to live. In reality, Stephen lived to 76 years of age, beating the ‘two years’ by 74 years!

Stephen Hawking himself said that his goal in life was to gain “a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is, and why it exists at all”, and by doing this, he became the world’s most renowned physicist. From Stephen’s first published book “A Brief History of Time” (1988) to his own documentaries on the nature of the universe, Stephen Hawking became a household name. The determination, curiosity and spirit of Stephen blessed us today with the knowledge he left behind for us.

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8th January, 1942, during World War Two. His parents were Frank and Isobel and they were not wealthy people. Frank was a family doctor, which gave him a good standing in the community but very little money to support his family with. They lived in Oxford when Stephen was born. Before they married, his parents had attended Oxford University themselves but they actually met when Isobel became a medical secretary in a medical research institute in Hampstead where Frank was studying. After they married and Stephen was born, the family moved to Highgate in London. Here, Frank and Isobel had two more children: Mary (born 1943) and Philippa (born 1946), and they adopted Edward Frank David in 1955.

To the neighbors, the Hawking family were intelligent and eccentric, following their own rules. Each family member usually had their noses in a book, even during dinner. Frank and Isobel encouraged their children to study subjects that were not taught in school, and Frank taught them astronomy and surveying. The children were often left to ‘enjoy’ the museums in South Kensington. Not surprisingly, the Science Museum was Stephen’s favorite.

Frank’s career went well and in 1950 he became the head of the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research in St.Alban, Hertfordshire. Thus, the family relocated. Now the Hawkings drove around in a converted London black cab (which had a table installed in the back for playing cards). Their eccentricity was now hitting a new high. The house they moved into already needed renovating, and even more so as time went on. There was no central heating with bookshelves stacked with books lining the walls. There was no carpet, broken windows and few electric lights. The whole effect was a kind of Dickensian gloom.

Stephen attended several schools until he moved to the more exclusive St.Albans School in 1952. It seems that up until then, Stephen had ‘struggled’ in school. He had difficulty in learning to read and his handwriting was ‘awful’. Stephen’s poor coordination made sure that he was not licked for team sports. However, Stephen still showed quite a level of intelligence by passing the 11+ exam a year early. His teachers realized, though, that Stephen’s lack of intelligence was really a lack of effort. “Stephen had no desire to prove that he already understood what they were trying to teach him”.

Stephen had always been a self-learner, even as young as eight years old. Isobel said of her son that he was: “like a bit of blotting paper, soaking it all up”. Frank wanted his son to go to the prestigious Westminster School but they couldn’t afford the fees. As it turned out, Stephen said that his education at St.Albans was just as good as the one he would have received at the Westminster School. Also, this meant that Stephen could stay with his friends. It was with these friends that Stephen constructed a computer which could perform simple mathematical functions. This was a welcome and happy distraction for Stephen , who had the pressures of a University education ahead of him.

Stephen wanted to study mathematics at university but Frank, his father, was more interested in his son’s job prospects. Frank wanted his son to go to University College, Oxford, to study physics and chemistry. Stephen gave in to his father’s ‘requests’. Stephen achieved top marks for the Oxford physics entrance exam, and was so ‘dynamic’ during his interview, that he was accepted ‘on the spot’. Stephen joined the University of Oxford in 1959 when he was seventeen years old. He studied physics and chemistry with a group of four other students. During his second year at Oxford, Stephen “joined” the ordinary student life, and joined the college boat club and even started to socialize. He got a reputation for being lively, witty, popular — and lazy. The attitude at the time was to be brilliant without studying and Stephen fitted this rather well.

After Oxford, Stephen wanted to study cosmology at Cambridge. By the ‘skin of his teeth’, he achieved this and moved into Trinity Hall at Cambridge in 1962 when he was twenty years old. Stephen settled into a new routine, gaining an understanding of Einstein's general theory of relativity. In 1962, the Steady State Theory of the universe was still in direct competition with the Big Bang Theory. The question of whether the universe had a starting point was still unanswered. It was irresistible to Stephen to explore cosmology, which was unchartered territory at this time, and so he dived into his work.

It was also at this time that Stephen’s physical ‘problems’ started to show themselves. He had already noticed that he was falling over too much at Oxford, but at Cambridge he was starting to walk lopsided and he had trouble talking, not even being able to tie his shoelaces some days. Going home for Christmas, his family began to see the seriousness of this, and Frank took his son to the family doctor. Stephen was referred to a specialist at St.Bartholomew's Hospital in London and the diagnosis was bad. Stephen had ALS (Motor Neurone Disease) and he was given only two years to live.

Describing the moment that he discovered he had ALS, Stephen said: “The realization that I had an incurable disease, that was likely to kill me in a few years, was a bit of a shock. How could something like that happen to me? Why should I be cut off like this?” Frank used every contact he knew to get the best care for his son, but the doctors did not change their diagnosis. Stephen battled deep depression and thought that he had nothing to live for. The depression didn’t last long because of a dream he had. “I suddenly realized that there were a lot of worthwhile things I could do”.

With a lot of support from the doctors and his teachers, Stephen recommitted himself to his studies. He traveled to London to hear Narlikar and Hoyle present the Theory of General Relativity (June 1964). He surprised everyone when he stood up and challenged their presentation. By challenging his superior whilst leaning on a cane, Stephen cemented his reputation as a man with a brilliant mind who was not afraid to challenge the ‘status quo’.

Since he was fifteen, Stephen was preoccupied with questions and finding the answers as to how the universe came into being. He had found an intellectual pursuit that he could ‘sink his teeth into’, and realized for the first time in his life, that he was enjoying his work. In 1963, Stephen met Jane Wilde, who was smitten with him. She saw Stephen as intelligent, unusual and a little arrogant. Their romance was ‘rocky’, with Stephen thinking that because he would not live long, there was no point in making plans, afterall, Jane knew he had ALS. Coming out of his deep depression, however, Stephen realized he still had much to give and proposed to Jane. The couple married on 14th July, 1965, and they had three children: Robert (born 1967), Lucy (born 1970) and Timothy (born 1979).

Jane was exceptionally supportive of Stephen and his ‘condition’. She allowed him to do as much as he could for himself. As his health worsened, Stephen found that, by the late 1970’s, there was almost no movement left with very little speech. Stephen now lost the ability to write but nothing would stop this unique man, either from imparting knowledge to others or researching and finding even more answers to his very deep questions about the universe.

In 1985, (in Switzerland), Stephen had an emergency tracheotomy after contracting pneumonia. This saved his life but took away Stephen’s ability to speak. A computerized speech synthesizer was now needed. Stephen now had a team of medical and personal helpers, and the family’s home was taken over by a whole team of doctors and nurses. Stephen and Jane drifted apart and divorced in 1995. Stephen married one of the nurses, Elaine Mason, but they divorced in 2007. Everyone still continued to help Stephen, medical people, friends and family.

During his life, Stephen accomplished what an able-bodied man would find difficult to do. His first published book “A Brief History of Time” was translated into 35 languages and sold over 10 million copies in 20 years (for example). “The image of Stephen Hawking in his motorized wheelchair, with head contorted slightly to one side and hands crossed over to work controls, caught the public imagination as a true symbol of the triumph of mind over matter. Physical impairment seemed compensated by almost supernatural gifts”, Penrose, 2018.

“I relish the rare opportunity I’ve been given to live the life of the mind. But I know I need my body and that it will not last forever.”

“My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus”.

“I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these how and why questions. Occasionally I find an answer”. Stephen Hawking.

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