Stephen Hawking: Pioneering physicist, pop culture icon

The brilliant theoretical physicist not only changed how we view the universe, but also helped to bridge the gap between academia and pop culture

Yashfinul Haque
Published : 8 Jan 2023, 01:33 PM
Updated : 8 Jan 2023, 01:33 PM

Jan 8 is the birthday of English physicist Stephen Hawking.

Alongside Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking is undoubtedly one of the most famous and respected scientists of all time. However, unlike those other scientists, Hawking’s work is much more uncommon in classrooms. Instead, most of us are familiar with him through television shows such as The Big Bang Theory and The Simpsons. His appearance - a small man in a wheelchair with his head askew - is instantly recognisable. But as prominent as he is in popular culture, Hawking is also a titan in theoretical physics, famed for his unusual theories, some of which were developed early in his career and are now broadly accepted among the scientific community.

Stephen Hawking was not born a miracle child. Both of his parents were academics, but Hawking was considered a very lazy student in his childhood and could be considered mediocre at his best. In fact, he could not read until the age of eight. His interests in science and mathematics sparked late too after he was motivated by his math teacher “Mr Tahta” as a teenager.

During the mid-1960s, he made a name for himself in the scientific world with his support for the Big Bang hypothesis. Because it was a major issue at the time, Hawking decided to focus his efforts on finding evidence for the idea that the universe began with an infinitely tiny and infinitely dense singularity — that the universe was created in a sudden explosion, termed the Big Bang. Hawking was still in his twenties when he came across the breakthrough.

Hawking's work with singularities continued afterwards as he shifted focus to black holes. His work on the subject would ultimately become his most quoted work. In 1972, Hawking proposed another idea unusual for the time, that black holes emit radiation. At the time the general physics consensus was that black holes didn't emit any light or matter. But, Hawking took the gamble and proved otherwise. As he would so eloquently put it in his book A Brief History of Time, “Black Holes ain't so black”. 

Today, the X-ray beam emitted by black holes is known as ‘Hawking Radiation’, and it is a fundamental element in detecting and studying black holes. But, despite being in his 30s and having made two significant discoveries, Hawking was far from finished. In fact, he was about to face his stiffest challenge.

In 1982, Stephen Hawking became obsessed with writing a book based on his "long" career of findings. But, early on, he made a decision. Hawking intended for the book to be written in simple enough terms that it could be sold at airport bookstores. However, when he approached a literary agency, he was told that there was no chance of it and while "it could sell well among students and academics, but it was nowhere near the bestseller territory." So as a bet, Hawking accepted the challenge and wrote A Brief History of Time. When he eventually released the book in 1988 after multiple rewrites, it became an instant bestseller. The book has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 147 weeks and the Times of London bestseller list for a whopping 237 weeks.

Hawking had accomplished his aim of writing a theoretical physics book that could reach a mass audience. The New York Times called it "a jaunty and totally clear little book" and The Guardian described it as "succinct, entertaining, and brilliantly lucid". The book's popularity catapulted Stephen Hawking into the mainstream consciousness. His ability to explain complicated subjects in brief, and with a perky sense of humour won over people who were formerly intimidated by such material. It also gave people a perspective on science no one had done before, thus forever sealing the association of his name with black holes, time, and the universe.

In A Brief History of Time, Hawking never passes up an opportunity to make a cheerful joke, whether at the expense of himself or others. In his television appearances, he maintained that persona. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, he played poker while teasing Newton about ‘that apple’. In his first live TV debut, he appeared alongside Jim Carrey. In several appearances on Futurama, he was a talking head and a member of Al Gore's Vice-Presidential Action Rangers, capable of shooting lasers out of his eyes. 

Despite his limited appearances, he always delivered his quips with sass. In his appearance in the hit The Big Bang Theory, he is Sheldon's idol but schools him during their first encounter. Hawking’s cameos in The Simpsons as himself probably catapulted him to even greater star status. In the animated show’s tenth season, he used his advanced wheelchair to save Springfield from the rogue Mensa members. He came back several more times, but whether he was performing as a DJ or solving a mystery, Hawking never missed a cue to make us laugh. These recurring roles in hit TV shows made Hawking a pop culture icon, which no other physicists of his calibre has ever achieved.

Another aspect of Hawking’s popularity was his robotic computerised voice. After he lost his voice due to pneumonia in 1985 during a visit to CERN, communication became a severe issue for Hawking. When he started using a text-to-speech synthesizer in 1988, it instantly became popular. Today, his distinctive delayed mechanised voice is recognised by millions, thanks to his notable appearances. The voice is so iconic that people tend to assume the scientist is American, though he is originally from the UK. 

Hawking is also well-known for his appearances in various Discovery Channel specials, as his meticulous, succinct, and detailed ability to explain complicated subjects with funny but clear explanations made him a perfect candidate for documentaries.

Hawking went on to write several other books after A Brief History of Time, including a comic with his eldest daughter Lucy. Although most of his later works did well, none could ever match the success of his debut.

Hawking was also recognised for being the longest-living individual with Lou Gehrig's Disease, better known as ALS. Hawking was diagnosed with the condition when he was just a 21-year-old Trinity Hall graduate. He was given at most two years to live after his diagnosis, yet he battled on and survived several decades on the strength of his dedication. His struggle with ALS was brought to the silver screen by Eddie Redmayne in the biopic The Theory of Everything, which also went on to win several notable awards.     

Despite being paralysed by an incurable disease, Hawking did not give up. Instead, he carved out a space for himself in the scientific community and in popular culture by effectively making science relevant once to everyone and motivating an entire generation in the process. 

This article was written for Stripe, bdnews24.com's special publication with a focus on culture and society from a youth perspective.