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How Stephen Hawking Has Defied the Odds For 50 Years
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Now aged 70, Prof Stephen Hawking, winner of 12 honorary degrees, a CBE and in 2009 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is an extraordinary man — but what is perhaps most extraordinary about Hawking is how he has defied and baffled medical experts who predicted he had just months to live in 1963, when he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a disease that only 5% survive for more than a decade after diagnosis. Hawking started having symptoms shortly before his 21st birthday. At first they were mild — a bit of clumsiness and few unexplained stumbles and falls but, predictably, by the very nature of the disease, his incurable condition worsened. The diagnosis came as a great shock, but also helped shape his future." (Read on, below.)
Pickens continues: "'Although there was a cloud hanging over my future, I found, to my surprise, that I was enjoying life in the present more than before. I began to make progress with my research, and I got engaged to a girl called Jane Wilde, whom I had met just about the time my condition was diagnosed,' says Hawking. 'That engagement changed my life. It gave me something to live for.' Another important thing in Hawking's life has been his work and at the age of 70, Hawking continues working at the University of Cambridge and recently published a new book — The Grand Design. 'Being disabled, or physically challenged, makes no difference to how my scientific colleagues treat me apart from practical matters like waiting while I write what I want to say.' Finally the grandfather-of-three continues to seek out new challenges and recently experienced first-hand what space travel feels like by taking a zero-gravity flight in a specially modified plane. 'People are fascinated by the contrast between my very limited physical powers, and the vast nature of the universe I deal with,' says Hawking. 'I'm the archetype of a disabled genius, or should I say a physically challenged genius, to be politically correct. At least I'm obviously physically challenged. Whether I'm a genius is more open to doubt.'"
He also has access to an amazing amount of healthcare. Not many people can afford full time staff to maintain their lives both personally and professionally. He has people so desperate to work with him that they train for years to understand his unique communication.
Happy Birthday,Professor Hawking.Your efforts have made physics and science cool.
Geek Hillbilly
Stephen Hawking - is a great person and he has time and again proven many scientists wrong they contently impose stereo types on him because of his appearance or disease and he has made fools of them! Good for you! Stephen Hawking all the power to you :)
Remember when he was held up as a textbook example of the types of people who would "not survive" under a universal healthcare system?
Until, of course, he pointed out that not only was he born in Britain under such a system, but that he owes his life to it many times over.
The retractions on those stories (those who even bothered to correct them) were amusing.
I still think his most significant contribution to mankind is teaming up with Pink Floyd ;) What's a PhD when you can be a rock star? (Brian Cox and Brian May, quiet you!)
To join in wishing him the best: may he live as long as life brings him joy, and joy for as long as he lives.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
Given a reason to live he sure hasn't wasted the opportunity. I'm betting he's never even read slashdot, let alone posted here.
Where as I... oh crap!
I wonder if he was misdiagnosed and has something else? That would be embarrassing.
Another option is the disease might kill old people regardless of how young its diagnosed. I read up on this and the untold medical surprise is he was diagnosed at 21... most people get this diagnosis around 60 and die within a decade, in other words, around 70. Of course most people die around 70 anyway, plus or minus 20 years or so. Its quite possible if he dies around his current 70ish (Although I wish him well and I hope he lives to be a happy centurion, in the good morning america tradition, not the ancient roman tradition) the disease would none the less be consistent in killing people around age 70.
For a similar yet completely unrelated example, genealogical research shows my ancestors uniformly seem to croak in the 80s from cardiovascular disease if nothing else gets them first (like warfare, farm accidents, etc), it just seems to be the scotsman/german way to go, I suppose you could diagnose me with that disease at age 5 if you want, and wait until I croak at 85 like most of my ancestors, but that wouldn't be a medical miracle, more of a very likely prediction.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Not many people can afford full time staff to maintain their lives both personally and professionally. He has people so desperate to work with him that they train for years to understand his unique communication.
That's what grad students are for!
The funny thing is that I've heard a lot of creationists saying his condition is a result of defying God (by being a scientist apparently). If I were a creationist, then the fact that he's defied his condition for half a century would tell me that either 1) Hawkings is stronger than God or 2) someone up there is looking out for.
But I'm not a creationist, so I'll chalk it up to his willingness to fight and his access to good healthcare. And maybe random dumb luck.
No Nobel prize. Less range than a Prius. Lame.
i think it would be an interesting study, even an informal one, to see how many other people have a physical condition that is listed as "unsurvivable within period X" and to see if there is a correlation between them "defying the predictions" and, as hawking himself puts it, having "something to live for".
put another way: how many people have, on learning of their condition, literally lost the will to live, and how many took it as a challenge to fight for their right to life and a purpose?
they havent opened the box yet. He's a mint collectors edition
Stephen Hawking has achieved quantum immortality.
Funny guy.
You have to have a particularly large set of balls to doubt that Professor Hawking is a genius.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
Then he could add Television star to his profile. I think that could be a great episode, especially to mark his birthday and all of his scientific achievements.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Pretty decent healthcare. As far as I know, he gets just better than average NHS care. Nothing special. (this includes a semi-permanent helper(s))
His diet is liquid if I am remembering correctly.
Liquid diets are extremely efficient sources of food intake. Soups are incredibly healthy for you, and various other liquid meals.
Since these diets would probably be prepared a certain way to have most, if not all, minerals, it most likely more healthy than traditional liquid diets.
His lifestyle involves doing something he has an absolute passion for.
He doesn't let his condition get him down. He thinks positively.
He is also very mentally active due to the discipline he is in as well, which also keeps his heart active, which would normally end up incredibly weak over the years of inactivity.
These are clinically shown to improve a persons health. The opposite also shows highly detrimental effects to a persons body, immune especially.
He could well hit the 100 if his illness doesn't get any worse, just by these alone.
That seems like a bit of an insult. We know you're a brilliant guy who earned real degrees through hard work and a brilliant mind. We'd like to slap a meaningless extra degree on you so we can try to pretend to be some part of your genius.
Aren't honorary degrees for celebrities who couldn't have earned the real thing?
The controlling of medical costs in countries such as Britain through rationing, and the health consequences thereof, are legendary," read a recent editorial from the paper. "The stories of people dying on a waiting list or being denied altogether read like a horror script...
"People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."
Stephen Hawking both British and not dead.
Michio Kaku
I heard a visiting physics professor speak about sales of his own book in millihawkings.
to think highly of the British model. There was just a story hear about a custom iphone app for the PM that tells him the waiting list. I recall seeing lines for a dentist. I can't fathom either.
Europeans are pessimists, we pay for universal healthcare and unemployment benefits because IT (doom, despair and misery) could happen to us.
Americans are optimists, they hate spending a penny on someone else because IT (the lottery, the dream job, the inheritance) could happen to them.
To me the American is the homeless guy during election year that a EU news crew always find who explains why taxes on the rich are bad. Americans fundamentally believe in the American Dream.
EU people really ain't better human beings, they just think that a better social safety net is good for THEMSELVES. I don't pay taxes to support the unemployed or physically/mentally handicapped because I care for them, I care for myself and think I benefit the most from a society in which they are cared for and I am cared for if it happens to me.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Neither the summary nor the article tell us how Hawking has survived, only that he actually has survived, against professional expectation. I am pleased that he has survived, and greatly admiring of his achievements. But, as far as I can see, we have no idea why he has survived 50 years of a disease that usually kills within five.
Consciousness is an illusion caused by an excess of self consciousness.
blinded. I married a European and as a result have been able to fly over there to get care. My experiences there have been far better, at far lower cost, than any I've ever had in the U.S. The equipment is newer and in better condition. The staff are friendlier, take more time to talk to you, and do better/cleaner jobs with procedures. The overhead of paperwork is far lower. There's a reason I am willing to fly across the Atlantic for medical and dental these days.
Tell it to an American and they will simply invent untruths to aid in their not believing you. Either you're lying or you have some kind of undue influence or they're treating you better because they know you're an American and they want to impress you so that you'll help them to immigrate into the U.S. (yes, I've been told that), or umpteen other nonsensical things. The only thing that they won't believe is the Occam's Razor case. The care is simply better because the system simply works better.
No, that couldn't possibly be it. Everyone knows that that eurosocialistcommunisttotalitarianantiamerican system is completely dysfunctional because biggovernmentneverworksandsocializedmedicineistheultimategovernmentboondogle.
Americans are just that way. There's a reason we're increasingly the laughing stock not just of Europe (where we've always been seen as quaint and ridiculous) but now even in places like the Pacific Rim and parts of Latin America that we still believe engage in a kind of colonial worship of us.
the uses of his name in Science Fiction novels.
People will find ways to honor him because people respect him, some are in awe, but he is truly a rare person.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I've always wondered if he would have been so successful without his illness. If he hadn't suffered from MND, I imagine he would have had various activities and maybe he would have diluted his precious time between numerous tasks. I suppose that to qualifiy as what people call a "genius", you have to be very smart and work all day (either by discipline or by being forced to do so, as in his case). In other words, what if myself, a modest scientist was suddenly forced to think about physics all day long rather than share my time between scientific work, administrative burden, and more mundane tasks (including family and leisure), would I be more successful ? I've always doubted that, but I don't think I'll never get an answer to this.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ZekSOAAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Sharon+B.+McNeil%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BhoLT8r-FNKutweAneTQBg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA
I happen to know about this thesis as my wife is the author. Her interest in the subject arose from her own experiences as survivor of childhood cancer with a 1% chance of survival. That's right, she had a 1% chance of surviving her cancer and somehow did. She has gone on to be a Pediatric Oncology Nurse and is now working on her PhD. She has personal, formal and vocational experience in this area.
Being familiar with her thesis, I can tell you that she found no significant correlation between hope and survival.
As you say you would find such a study interesting, I recommend you read her thesis. It does a good job of defining hope and offers many sources for further study.
"The ferrets, they're every where I tell you!"
Reuters coverage: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/08/us-science-hawking-idUSTRE8070HQ20120108
I have assumed that he has lived because he had something interesting to do, which gives him the will to live. I think most people who have the disease just want to die.
Where is that? All the Public Healthcare Systems in every country I am aware of are going bankrupt.
State-run (or highly supervised) health care systems only seen to work well in homgenious societies such as in Northern Europe. I really do believe the all too common human factor of fearing / resenting those that aren't like yourselves are at the core of right-wing dismantling (NHS in Britain) and blockade (Public Option in the US): 'we' don't want 'them' to benefit, lest 'they' take over even more quickly - and punish us for our past treatment of 'them'.
The Hawkman popped a cap in that disease's ass.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Where the hell do you people get the idea that all of this costs nothing?
The money to pay all of these people in the hospital has to come from somewhere.
... There's a reason we're increasingly the laughing stock not just of Europe (where we've always been seen as quaint and ridiculous) but now even in places like the Pacific Rim and parts of Latin America that we still believe engage in a kind of colonial worship of us.
Don't take names to yourself. Europe has gone through a lot an the US is still relatively young. Those are teething problems.
Which of course is offensive sanctimonious bullcrap.
The truth is it is simple bashing what we don't understand. Which is stupid. It's the nature of the ape of flinging poo at each other. But we have become better apes so we manage to throw poo all over the Atlantic. Either way.
Could be worse. We could still threaten to fling nuclear missiles, Kissinger or Genscher at each other.
20 minutes into the future
anything else. I mean ALS is pretty much untreatable. He's gotten the tracheostomy and a feeding tube but that's pretty standard for ALS. (Although in the US it's hard to get a nursing home if you have a tracheostomy.) I read the article and couldn't find anything unusually that would explain why he's lived this long. (A long guess is maybe his 24 hr nurse can pick up on pneumonia far quicker to make sure he doesn't get really bad but then again does the NHS give all ALS patients their own 24 hr nurse?)
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
Second... Oh... where to start...
For a prominent one, Terry Pratchett has early onset Alzheimer's but can't be put on medications for it because he's too young. That's bureaucrats overriding medical science. Socialized health care isn't interested in improving the quality of life. As a consequence, he will likely be taking his own life soon-- amusingly, in Switzerland. I guess assisted suicide isn't covered in the UK.
How about that the said drug is now actually recommended?
Or the fact that actually there were no limitations to the availability of the drug to anyone, as you could still pay for it yourself (only you'd have to pay the whole thing out of your pocket, or your private insurance's pocket), and particularly not to Pratchett who is a bloody millionaire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NICE#Cost_per_quality-adjusted_life_year_gained
He or she could opt to take the free NHS standard treatment, or he or she may decide to pay out of pocket to obtain the benefit of the new treatment from a different health care provider. If the person has a private health insurance policy the person could check to see whether the private insurance provider will fund the new treatment. About 8% of the population has some private health insurance from an employer or trade association and 2% pay from their own resources.
So that bullshit about him thinking of hopping over to Switzerland to kill himself BECAUSE the ebil soil-she-lized gubermint won't let him have his life saving pill... nice troll.
No... really. Lovely.
Not quite on the holocaust denier level, but close. And it has more charm.
Now... Unlike you, Pratchett is not in it for trolling.
He made the comments about the drug as he is concerned that, unlike him, there are actually people out there who can't afford the extra 2.5 pounds per day cost.
Interestingly, while the Aricept/Donepezil's "cash-and-carry" price is 800-1000 pounds per year in the UK (about 1500$), up until recently it cost twice as much in the USA.
While the high price has primarily to do with patents, I'll leave it to you to ponder how the same drug could cost twice as much in a country which has SIX times greater population (higher demand, ergo - should cost less) and only ~1.4 times greater purchasing parity GDP per capita.
Socialized health care isn't interested in improving the quality of life.
Funny you should phrase it like that.
See... the ACTUAL issue that caused Pratchett to speak out about the NHS policy on the said drug has EVERYTHING to do with improving the quality of life.
Problem is... How do you quantify something as immaterial as "quality of life"?
And remember, you must take in account that different people value different things differently.
And before you ask "Why should you quantify it at all? Isn't all life sacred and precious?" - take a million dollars and threat 100 people with that money. For a year.
But you have to give each one of them the same quality of life, regardless of the fact that they will be chosen completely randomly, just as their age, living conditions and illnesses will be completely random.
And you don't get to know in advance who's the next person coming through the door, or what is their illness, but all of them ARE life-threatening.
Oh and, since you love hyperbole so much - all the people you don't get to help will be considered murders.
Done by you. Personally.
As if you've taken an axe to each and everyone of them.
You sick fuck.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
No text needed.
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