Stephen Hawking was a brilliant, complex man and scientist. Diagnosed at 21 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he had been expected to live a few more years. Hawking lasted another 55. He made his name as a young Cambridge cosmologist with breakthroughs as awesome as anything religion offers: proving that big bang theory must hold true and elucidating the link between gravity and quantum mechanics. From his wheelchair, Hawking’s mind roamed the multiverses. It was his 1988 bestseller A Brief History of Time, about advances in cosmology, that made him a pop icon. It kindled Hawking’s showmanship: when asked what his book was about, he replied “the mind of God”. Despite his brilliance, Hawking never won a Nobel prize, as they are not awarded for theory unsupported by observation. Humankind’s new-found ability to generate mini-black holes may mean he will be proved right. Hawking stood out in an age remarkable for secular triumphs. He was proof that more than beliefs were required to win arguments – defending feminism, the EU and the NHS and warning against demagogues in a familiar American-accented voice. Hawking was a way for the cosmos to know itself. His death will mean we know a little less about ourselves.
