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Renowned British Physicist Stephen Hawking Passes Away At 76

byJinal Bhatt
14th March 2018
2 minute read

“One of the basic rules of the universe is that nothing is perfect. Perfection simply doesn’t exist.”

You’re right there, Stephen Hawking. You’re absolutely right. Because in a perfect world, you’d still be here with us, opening our minds to the theories of everything in this cosmos.

Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and the ultimate geek, has passed away at the age of 76 at his home in Cambridge, England, early Wednesday morning.

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Hawking was born on January 8th, 1942 in Oxford, England. In 1963, during his graduate years at Cambridge University, he discovered that he suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neuro-muscular disease which caused the doctors to proclaim that he would live only for two years more.

Hawking was anything but ordinary! He managed to outlive his doctor’s prediction by more than 50 years! He had the stars watching over him, of course.

Stephen Hawking was the ultimate geek as well as the every geek’s ultimate hero. And his life’s work stands testament to this fact.

His book, A Brief History of Time, was published in 1988, and has sold more than 10 million copies. You wouldn’t know a black hole from jack if it weren’t for Hawking’s brilliance. His life’s work has been immortalised in the 2014 Academy Award nominated Theory Of Everything, starring Eddie Redmayne, which won the brilliant actor an Oscar.

Image Courtesy: Universal Pictures

His passing has been a tragic news to wake up to, because, as someone put it, “I thought Stephen Hawking was immortal!”

Well, what do you know, he most definitely is.

1. An intellectual vacuum 🙁

2. Yes, he did have that power, didn’t he?

https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/973772005467025408

3. Hey World, how will you cope?

4. He inspired millions… and will continue to.

5. The world is imperfect, after all.

6. Thank you for a lifetime of these brilliant quotes!

7. The most intriguing mind since Einstein!

8. Hawking wasn’t just another cameo on The Big Bang Theory, he was the ultimate hero for Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj. And here’s one of their own, Mayim Bialik, Amy, paying a heartfelt tribute to their hero with this picture.

What’s an even bigger testament to how extraordinary this man, is that even in his passing, Hawking managed to blow our minds away somehow.

I’m no expert on life after death, but I can picture the genius cruising across the universe on his superhero wheelchair, getting closely acquainted with all his friends.

Rest in the stars, Stephen Hawking. It should feel like being welcomed by your old friends.

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