Stephen Hawking



""I'm working on that.""

- Stephen Hawking, on seeing the warp core when touring the Star Trek: The Next Generation set.

Born 8 January 1942 in Oxford, Stephen Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, was a theoretical astrophysicist. In his lifetime he did world-recognized work on black holes, theoretical cosmology, and quantum gravity. The ability to do most of this work entirely in his head led him to be generally recognized as the most brilliant scientist since Albert Einstein. The reason this is necessary is due to his having had what is thought to be ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig's disease, a degenerative neural disorder that left him almost paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, "speaking" through a specially-designed computer (the voice of which is also very well-known). (He was also rather famous for his affliction, as well: if it is ALS, it would be the most protracted case ever recorded -- it hadn't progressed the way ALS normally does, which stymied a definitive diagnosis.)

Hawking was also quite famous for his sense of humor. He appeared several times on The Simpsons, Futurama and The Big Bang Theory As Himself, each time bordering on the line of Adam Westing. Expies of him have appeared in form (Family Guy) and in Charlie and the Chocolate Parody form (Dexter's Laboratory). He appeared as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of Stargate Atlantis. Finally, he was the only person to appear in any Star Trek series As Himself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking was also known to be a fan of Red Dwarf.

Hawking was at one point offered a knighthood, but turned it down in protest of the state of science education in Britain. He was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour, but neither of those qualify one as a knight.

For a professional physicist, he wrote a notably large number of popular books - Wikipedia has a list.

He's got 12 inch rims on his chair, that's how he rolls, y'all. No, he actually did. You thought they were joking?

Stephen Hawking died in 2018, on 14th March (Pi Day), after living 55 years longer than was predicted upon his diagnosis.

"Hawking: I'm working on that..."
 * And I Must Scream: Subverted hard. Even though Lou Gehrig's disease is this played straight, just by having enough sight, hearing and eye movement to control his computer (which did the communicating for him) he was still able to live an active scientifically-contributing life to the world at large. Those thought experiments with scientific theories also stave off the boredom that comes with ordinary And I Must Scream.
 * Badass Boast: Upon seeing the Warp-Core during his tour of the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation;


 * Colbert Bump: His appearances on popular science fiction series and cartoons have undoubtedly made him more famous than any projects he has worked on or contributed to.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Disabled Snarker
 * Determinator: At 21, he was told he had (at most) a year left to live. Ordinary people would consider suicide when diagnosed with an And I Must Scream-causing disease that cannot be cured. He lived past seventy with a positive attitude.
 * Genius Cripple: The Trope Codifier for modern portrayals and interpretations of this trope.
 * Machine Monotone
 * Nerd Glasses
 * Not So Above It All: He was one of the greatest geniuses of our time, perhaps the greatest since Albert Einstein, yet managed to display quite a sense of humor.
 * Not That Kind of Doctor: Amazingly enough, he never had any doctorate other than honorary degrees. When he was first diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, he felt pursuing such a degree would be a waste of time and money, as he'd have likely died before such a degree would benefit him, if he even finished it. Seems everyone is wrong sometimes...
 * One of Us: A huge fan of Star Trek, The Simpsons and Red Dwarf, the former two of which he appeared in as himself.