Stephen Hawking was undeniably a genius in his field, but how well do we really know the man behind the legend? The latest episode of Physics World Stories explores the life and work of the British astrophysicist and cosmologist through the lens of a major new biography.
The book is Hawking: His Life and Work, and its author, Graham Farmelo, joins the episode alongside the science writer Philip Ball, who reviewed the book for the Guardian. With the backing of the Hawking family, Farmelo held exclusive interviews with Hawking’s relatives, friends and closest colleagues. He was also granted access to a trove of previously unseen diaries and letters kept by Hawking’s parents.
Both guests are no strangers to physics biographies. Farmelo’s book, The Strangest Man: the Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius, was named Physics World book of the year 2009. Ball has just finished writing a biography of Nobel-prize-winning Danish physicist Niels Bohr.
Farmelo and Ball tackle some challenging questions in conversation with podcast host Andrew Glester. Hawking could be sparing with scientific credit for his peers, and he was willing to pronounce on all kinds of subjects with questionable depth. The media and the scientific community lapped it all up, and Hawking was sanctified. Why were flaws that would be pointed out in any other scientist of his stature almost universally ignored?
This is not a takedown. Both guests agree that Hawking was extraordinary and remains an inspiration through his science and his life. They simply believe that a fuller portrait of Hawking the man – imperfections included – is a good thing.
- Podcast image courtesy: Maximilien Brice; Claudia Marcelloni/CERN
