Born 1942: Stephen Hawking
His contributions to science combined with a flair for telling about it in accessible terms allowed his fame to reach beyond academia to popular culture — including an article in last year’s Starship Century Symposium edited by the Benford brothers.
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There ought to be some significance to Hawking’s having been born on the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.
And you won’t have to look very far to find it. Consider that the battle was fought after the peace treaty was signed…. How’s that for some time-is-out-of-joint doodah? [Cue eerie background music.]
It seems like a bazillion years ago but the when my 23 year old baby was just about 8 we were in Old Town Pasadena. Walking towards us was a gaggle of geeks and in the middle of that entourage was Stephen Hawking. I used that moment to tell her that the man in the wheelchair was the smartest man in the world.
But the peace treaty wasn’t ratified by the US Senate until the following month, so time was only slightly out of joint.
Please excuse the error in my earlier request, which requires reiteration.
Mr. Tarpanian, were you able to introduce your daughter to Dr. Hawking and say in his presence to your daughter that he was the smartest man in the world, and if so, would you be willing to describe his response?