Plenty of people are saying it at the moment, because it couldn’t be more true – Stephen Hawking was quite simply one of the greatest minds of his generation.
Professor Stephen Hawking, who has died at the age of 76, will be sadly missed. He will also continue to inspire millions of people for many, many years to come.
If you haven’t read A Brief History of Time yet – go out and get or borrow yourself a copy. It is mind-blowing and you really don’t need to have a scientific mind to read it.
As well as inspiring us with his science and his mind, Prof Hawking was a true inspiration for the way he defied his illness. Told at the age of just 22 that he had just years to live, Stephen Hawking went on to live a full and highly productive life to the age of 76. A message to us all never to give up.
It’s also been said by those that knew and met him that despite his motor neurone disease and his serious work, he was a very funny man with a great sense of humour.
The way Prof Hawking made us think about the universe can make us feel extremely small and insignificant. We are millions of times more insignificant than a speck of dust when it comes to what is going on out there in our skies and beyond. And yet, there was nothing small and insignificant about Stephen Hawking and his work – he certainly made a huge impact on this tiny planet of ours.
Thank you Stephen Hawking for giving us all inspiration and motivation to ask questions; for making us think!