Stephen Hawking, world renowned British physicist, died today at the age of 76. While it’s sad to see him go, his death should be taken with as much positivity as possible, considering the man lived roughly 50 years longer than he was given at the age of 21 when he was diagnosed with neurone disease. During his life he reveal the universe’s darkest secrets and became a medical miracle at the same time. According to the ALS Association the average lifespan of people diagnosed with the condition is between two and five years while less than 5 percent make it past two decades.
Back in 2011 he told The Guardian that “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.”
In addition to being a great and successful scientist, possibly one of the greatest one of our time, he was also a critic of ideas of the afterlife and an all-powerful god.
Although Hawking had to live most of his life in a wheelchair and in order to speak he had to use a voice synthesiser, you could say that he kind of won with a lottery. Obviously, getting the disease in the first place is bad, but the life he managed to live after, the life he managed to life because of how strong of a person he was, is something way better than winning with a lottery. And if that’s possible, winning with a lottery is definitely possible as well, and you might as well go and buy powerball tickets right now. What Hawking’s life shows is mainly one thing – everything is possible. And one should never give up. One should never stop believing. Believing in life. In oneself. In miracles. Obviously, one shouldn’t just wait for miracles to happen but do their best do make them happen.
When thinking back to the time Hawking found out about his illness, he said “I was bored with life before my illness. In fact, although there was [now] a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before.”
Stephen Hawking died on Wednesday, March 14, 2018.
