Stephen Hawking at 70: How has he survived so long?

The mind is the most powerful thing in the universe; "mind over matter"...

Maybe he's faking? Stephen Hawkin 'ran away' with another man's wife (I believe in the 80's). It was his full time nurse. Paralyzed and runs off with your wife, thats takes talent! He is a genious.

Well, part of the reason is that he doesn't live somewhere with that dangerous Universal Healthcare! Imagine what would have happened to him if he had lived somewhere like England where they have that Universal Healthcare and it is all rationed and the Death Panels would have just decided to let him die.......

Oh....Wait.

I can't imagine the sheer force of will within Mr Hawking. To have an active brain suspended within a paralysed body is a fate worse than death to most but he has overcome this and his mind has gleamed even brighter. May he live long enough to see verification of the Higgs Boson and the full realization of the GUT. Rock on Mr Hawking!

His intelligence, which earned him the money to pay for his 24 hr a day care. That's how he's lived this long.

Imagine what would have happened to him if he had lived somewhere like England where they have that Universal Healthcare and it is all rationed and the Death Panels would have just decided to let him die.......

Oh....Wait.

lol, you beat me to it!

Apparently he has a variant of the disease that is slow enough that it won't kill him like it does most others. I think it even took like 10 or 15 years before he ended up in a wheelchair as well. This is compared to most instances of the disease that will generally kill a person within 5 to 10 years.

We are living in the Age of Hawking...

Willow

His intelligence, which earned him the money to pay for his 24 hr a day care. That's how he's lived this long

He lives in England... The awfull place of socialized medicine... No direct costs for him or his family!

I can think of no one that represents the epitome of success in overcoming hardship & handicap in life, as much as Stephen Hawking ........

Congratulations Stephen on your 70th birthday !

willow, by the way, Hawkings wealth is relatively recent. Prior to his books, he was just an obscure cosmologist that lived on a university salary.

But according to willowbrook, only the rich deserve to live. If you're "smart enough" to get your hands on the money it takes for a chronic illness, you've "earned" your outcome.

Poor? Too bad. If you were worth anything you'd have been ruthless enough to grab what you'd need before you got sick.

(See previous posts willowbrook)

His intelligence, which earned him the money to pay for his 24 hr a day care

Well, I was going to tell you you are wrong, but I think you already knew that. You can't possibly be so ignorant you don't know Hawking is a Brit. You can't possibly be so ignorant that you don't know that Brits have the National Health.

RamFla, please show proof that all the care he receives is 100% paid by the govt.

Julkie - you post about me is total bull.

As so many have pointed out before, National Health care only pays for "X" level of care, if you need/want care beyond that, you have to pay. So now, "magically" England provides 100%, no matter what? Not thinking so. I'm betting all those women who have been denied care for breast cancer in England would take you to task. Or the elderly who've been denied hip replacements........

I'm betting all those women who have been denied care for breast cancer in England would take you to task. Or the elderly who've been denied hip replacements........

They aren't denied, those operations are scheduled on a basis of NEED. They DO get done and they don't make you bankrupt. Have you any idea what you are talking about? It doesn't sound like it.

1.1

The mind is the most powerful thing in the universe; "mind over matter"...

Yes, the mind is very powerful and the mind/body connection is demonstrated with Hawking. He is an inspiration to everyone

lib50, it is more than just operations, they are denied medicine as well. Waiting until a cancer is stage 4 is a death sentence.

I found it kind of ironic how they did that special on him a couple years ago, and basically a lot of the other top quantum psychics on the show said "Hey, he's mostly popular because he's handicapped" and placed him "not even on the top 10 list" in terms of contributions by other present day scientists. I'm surprised they would backhand him like that.

And 3 kids, really? hmm

For willowbrook:

“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived.”
- Stephen Hawking

1. You don't have to take 100% of your care from the State - you can start on State and then move to Private or start Private and move to State - some choose a combination of the two e.g. getting a diagnosis from a State GP then choosing to have the treatment done privately. You're allowed to make your own choice based on what you prefer. I don't what Hawking's arrangements are but he has always thanked the NHS for living this long. When my mother's cancer had become terminal the State provided round the clock care - having already provided her with all the chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc. needed during the previous 6 years (which was 4 more than the average for the particular aggressive form of the disease she had).

2. Women aren't denied breast cancer surgery or treatment.

3. The State provides free regular screenings for breast cancer for all women over the age of 50 (this age is soon to be lowered) and all women (of any age) considered to be in a high-risk group (e.g. those with a family history of the disease). This is so the disease can be caught as early as possible and spare the patient as much suffering and distress as possible.

4. My 89 year old step-Grandfather had his hip replacement surgery this very afternoon in a State hospital - free. Both my Grandmother's had knee replacement surgery in their 80s on the State - free.

5. They don't deny pharmaceuticals to cancer patients until it's too late (see my first point). They give you the best drug for the stage that you're at. The only restricted drugs are those that have not been proved effective at that point in time - I believe American Health Insurers also restrict (don't pay for) untested or experimental treatments either. New treatments are under constant review in light of new studies and trials.

6. I had a stroke last year - I had a two week State-funded (free) hospital stay and every test there was (which wasn't always fun). I'm still receiving state-funded (free) specialist neuro-physiotherapy which is why I have enough movement in my hands to type this.

7. There's NO death panels.... where did this nonsense come from!

Wow..I never knew he was married ( twice even) and has three children. Well I can guess one thing on him that might not be Paralyzed..you the man Hawk!

...they are denied medicine as well. Waiting until a cancer is stage 4 is a death sentence.

You should take your medicine, willowbrook... Now, check the statistics.

Thanks, ligeti. There are so many misinformed Americans like willowbrook who have no idea what they are talking about. We used to live in the UK and I loved our docs and the care we got. Prescriptions for kids were free back then (maybe they still are, not sure). We should be so lucky to get the healthcare you all do.

The big difference here is the govt. is deciding for you when and what you can have for treatment. I am a success story of pre-Obamacare health care in America. (Something that is now rapidly disappearing.) I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2007. At no time did the govt. tell me when, where or how I was to receive treatment. I had high-quality Doctors and care that didn't cost an arm and a leg. (I was just stage 1 at the time, but even at that level, it was starting to effect my heart and had I been forced to wait, I probably would have died long before now. The medicine they gave me for my heart problem caused by the tumor had severe, ongoing side effects. I couldn't have endured years of that. The surgery took the kidney and the cancer and I now have no heart problems.) I am now 4 years cancer-free because I was not delayed or denied treatment. Also, I have British friends who paint a much different story than you concerning care in England. So NHC may be great for Hawking, but don't assume it is the same for everyone. (Especially when you rely on only pro-NHC sources for information.)

Persons must retain the right to receive the care they need without interference from the govt. It is our right to choose, not the govt. We are losing a fundamental freedom when we allow the govt. to choose for us.

P.S. Thanks Ligeti for your #1 point, which backed up my posting.

willowbrook,

you really don't have a clue do you?

Hey Willowbrook,

Go and tell the Americans who don't have/can't afford HC; you have no clue.
My father had Loug Gherig disease and he had all the care from doctors,nurses with no bills to pay or being afraid of filing bankruptcy; and again he lived in Europe, the so called Socialist continent according to the Republicans rich Establishment!!!!
You " have no clue"

Lib50,

My pleasure.

Prescriptions for children (over-60s, long-term disabled and several other groups) are still exempt from prescription charges - in total about 95% of England are currently exempted.

Strangely, there are a large number of things British Private Health Insurers won't cover including kidney dialysis, pregnancy, STDs, deafness, eyesight, screening and preventative treatments and many more.

These have to be done on the NHS.

Willow,

The big difference here is the govt. is deciding for you when and what you can have for treatment.

No, the big difference is some rich insurance bureaucrat "deciding for you what you can have for treatment." The insurance company makes that decision based on a profit motive. A government run health care employee is not motivated in ANY WAY by making a profit in making such decisions. Why on Earth would you want the fat cat insurance person making your health care decisions over a government employee executing a health care policy WE THE PEOPLE would have put in place?

Willowbrook,

Though I'm not quite sure to whom you were addressing your most recent point I can assure you that I didn't base any of my information on pro-NHS sources or websites - I based my information entirely on personal experience and the experiences of family and friends from over the last 7 decades of the NHS's existance - all of whom have nothing but praise for their carers and the treatment they received.

Survey after survey by respectable independant companies such as Mori and Gallup show that the NHS is the most respected and loved institution in the UK with only the BBC rivalling it. It is considered one of the greatest achievements in Britain to have a system of 'universal healthcare, free at the point of delivery' irrespective of class, colour, gender (etc.) or ability to pay.

I didn't back up your point at all. I had the humility to say I don't know what Stephen Hawking's current care provision is - as the nature of this is covered by the Data Protection Act and Patient Confidentiality laws it will remain unknown until such time as Hawking himself chooses to clarify.

However, as Hawking didn't make any more than a British academic's salary (which are notoriously low) until the success of A Brief Of Time (published in 1988) it is logical that all of his care from 1948 to 1988 was state-provided. To repeat the words of the man himself: "I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS. I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived".

In the UK, people retain the right to receive the care needed without interference from Government: they can choose hospital, doctor and timing. They can choose to go Private and 8% of the population do just that without losing their right to chose to return to the NHS (if, for example, they should have recently bankrupted the bank or insurance company they work for). The Government does not make any choice over what treatment they get: the GP/Doctor that they choose recommends the treatment they need. Equally, the patient can choose not to have any care at all.

However, in a solely private healthcare system aren't the poorest 60+ million who cannot afford any health insurance losing a fundamental freedom to choose solely because they are lower-waged? And ultimately aren't some losing the fundamental right to life?

I am sorry to hear about the poor experiences that your British friends relate. However while the NHS is held in high regard it is (just like equally highly-regarded British Institutions including the BBC, the Monarchy, not being able to get a good cup of tea) a frequent cause of grumbling - because that's what the British do - we grumble about everything often having just told the someone 'well, I can't complain'. It is because the NHS is so highly regarded that it attracts criticism.... because we expect so much from it.

I am curious to know whether you also wish to go back to the days when there were only private fire brigades that were run by private insurance companies and would arrive at a burning property, check the building's 'fire mark' (i.e. which insurance company it was insured with) and then leave if it wasn't theirs? Is it not a fundamental freedom not to have the Government choose which properties get extinguished?

From the narrator and the originator to then the responder and the criticizer,

.......

From a conversation to nonsensical gibberish.

I'm sorry, but willowbrook is largely full of it. MY experience with the US system, where for example I currently am paying OUT OF POCKET to see a doctor because he doesn't happen to be in my insurance company's network, is HARDLY choice willow. And , it is NOT the government making me pay, it is a FOR PROFIT COMPANY that is. And I have seen others who are either screwed up the ass by their PRIVATE insurers, or the ATTEMPT is made, as in the case of my mother, who, UNFORTUNATELY for the PRIVATE INSURER actually KNOWS the law AND billing procedures and can call them when they try to bill her. The ONLY death panels Ive' ever heard of are AMERICAN, and they are ALL operated by PRIVATE FOR PROFIT INSURANCE.

I'll take the UKs health care system over our American one ANY day! Cause guess what happens if you cant afford health insurance and you don't qualify for the governments @!$%#ty medicaid or even the insurance designed for low income?? You're completely screwed and the ER becomes the only way you can get some sort of help. And even then, you're still screwed because then you end up with huge medical bills you can't pay and they charge more when you dont have insurance. Its complete bull@!$%# here. They are only out to make money off of you, completely greedy. There are doctors that will tell you not to come back until you have money, never mind if its for something serious or something you need. They just have a "@!$%# you, pay me" attitude here. Better not fall on really hard times or you're up the creek without a paddle. I find it absolutely hilarious that Willowbrook thinks you have a choice in your healthcare. Sure, if you live in la la land. You have a choice, if you have a lot of money, then you can freely choose whatever works for you. Everyone else gets saddled with the bull@!$%# that is our healthcare system or they don't get any help at all. So hell yeah, I would gladly take a healthcare system like the UKs over ours.

It's so nice to find the posters who are pro-NHC. Disparage my posts all you want. The bottom line is, you are giving experiences that have occurred after the implementation of Obamacare. Things are going to get worse than they are now.

I will most likely lose my employer sponsored care 8/1 because of Obamacare, which has caused an escalation of premium increases to a factor of 2 to 3 times pre-Obamacare and the policies are now covering less as well. (For small employers, they are being the ones eliminated first, large employers will get theirs later.) I will have no plan and won't be eligible for the "high risk" plan for 6 months. If I choose that option, I will have to get all new Doctors and drive at least an hour for treatment. (I've already researched this since I'm the HR manager for our company.) I will be going without for as long as I can, since the cost for this crappy policy will be 4 times more expensive than what I currently pay. And since our company has been forced off a decent policy to a maxed out HSA, I'm already paying everything out of pocket, which is far less than paying for the high risk plan. Had Obamacare not been enacted, we wouldn't be having this disagreement. Liberals in America have been hell-bent on following failed European Socialist policies. I don't see the point of copying something that is failing. To those of you from England....how are those "austerity" measures working for you? There will be more to come..... You are running out of "other people's money." Are you going to step up to the plate and pick up the slack? (Oh wait, aren't you ALREADY paying WAY MORE in taxes than I do?????)

Oh and thanks for totally ignoring the success of my pre-Obamacare treatment. Even with my successful treatment, I wouldn't wish kidney cancer on anyone.

Yo, willowbrook, when was the last time you had to pay OUT OF POCKET for even a clinic visit? I'm betting it was NEVER. Must be nice to be able to afford that kind of "health" insurance (which it seems only the rich can afford now, thanks to the overwhelming Love of MONEY your Tea-Tagger heroes have fostered).

You complain about how "evil" that National Health Service is, yet you likely stand at attention and salute when Sarah Palin/Rick Perry/Glenn Beck talk about the need to give our Military Veterans FREE HEALTH CARE (and then only those Vets who "happen" to have been in combat. What, are they really so much more special than any other Veteran just because they were "lucky" enough to have been in combat?). Here's a news flash for you: The Veteran's Administration Hospital Service is every bit Socialized Medicine as the British NHS.

Now, about those taxes..... You may pay more in "dollars" -- but I KNOW that you pay less in TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF YOUR INCOME. Go ahead and ask your Tea-Tagger heroes how it is that THEY are somehow unable to live on more than 80% of THEIR $300,000 Plus per year income. Here's a clue: 80% of $300,000 "happens" to be $240,000. Try paying all the bills -- rent/mortgage, gas, electric, groceries, insurance (car AND house AND "health" AND whatever else you need insured), water, etc, etc -- with less than 80% of $25,000 (which "happens" to be less than $20,000), and then add on MEDICAL bills because you just are not able to afford "health" insurance to start with.

It is difficult enough when the only person you have to support on that meager income is yourself, willowbrook. Try doing it when you have to support a yourself, your spouse and three or four kids, too.

Oh, and my heart bleeds for you losing your employer-sponsored "health" insurance, willowbrook, it really does. I haven't had employer-sponsored "health" insurance since REAGAN was President, back when employers were "downsizing" to "save money" because the Economy was doing so horrible under those evil, repressive and Socialist Government Policies enacted by *gasp* REAGAN. Bottom line, willowbrook, is that it just plain stupid (as well as ignorant) to blame ONE MAN ALONE for everything that is wrong in the world you live in.

p.s., I went through cancer about 1 1/2 years after Bush Sr. was President -- WITHOUT any so-called "health" insurance (but there was the VA, and I still had to pay at least 50% of that cost out of my pocket). What's your point about that "pre-Obamacare" stuff?

Remarkable and brilliant man.

Of course, some morons on here have to even polticize this.

MDR

England is mainly socialized medicine, but those who can afford to buy supplimental insurance do. Those that do purchase insurance use Social system as long as something they can get the right timely treatment. If not, they then use their private insurance. Even then there are things that private health insurance doesn't cover.

No mention is made that English healthcare is paying for it, you are making a bad, probably errant assumption.

Dr Hawking probably makes enough money to pay for the 24/7 care or the university sees benefit to him to make certain he receives enough care.

Quacked one - The Democrats are the ones getting the money from health care, health insurance, pharmaceuticals, layers and whatever "other" means.

The Trouble with the numbers I'm seeing is that Obama has pulled in $99 Million and the chart only totals $33 Million. The charge doesn't cover the bundler money which is currently well over $35 Million for Obama and the Republicans have no equal.

HBD Mr. SH.

I can only imagine the wonderful journeys you have taken in that wonderful mind of yours. Hugs and kudos.

you are giving experiences that have occurred after the implementation of Obamacare

This is how clueless and full of crap Willow and his ilk are. What needs to be remembered is that the currently planned Obama sponsored health care plan is what it is ONLY because the anti-care republicans killed any chance of the only plan that makes any sense - the Public Option. This is basically just extending Medicare to include ANYONE that wants it as an OPTION. With this simple, straightforward approach, we wouldn't need any of the complexities of the Obama plan, including the need to require insurance coverage! But, no, the republicans, beholders to corporate greed, killed any chance of that and we now have what we have as at least SOMETHING to not just let those in need die. Amazing that the Willows of the world fight to kill the sensible plan and then bitch up a storm when they win the fight. At some point the realization has to set in that all this is less about what is best for ALL of our citizens and more about being against ANYTHING Obama.

The Quackered One, please go back and actually read my post 1.35 before you respond again. It is obvious that you didn't.

and JSteve - no, not everyone wants the public option. The Republicans knew that and tried to stop Obamacare. They wanted to create legislation that would address the current (at that time) problems with health care. They were shot down repeatedly by the Dems and the White House. Yes, the Republicans did water the plan down, and did so on purpose to try and minimize the damage this bill was going to create. The bill was not well written no matter how you look at it. It doesn't take 2000 pages to fix America's problems with health care. It would be a step forward if the bill did offer Medicare to anyone "as an option." If we would kick the illegals off any govt. care, and those who don't really qualify,(Has a job but refuses to sign up for the employer plan.) we could afford those who are left. And stop interfering with employer sponsored plans. That is an important part of a company's benefit plan and it is hurting companies who are forced to drop their plan due to the cost of Obamacare. It is hurting their ability to keep good employees.

OH, and yes, I'm still fighting, because there is no sensible plan yet. (There has been no win for anyone.) Obamacare will never succeed because it was based on unsustainable ideas in the first place. (I think purposely, so when it fails, the govt. could step in and force Universal Health care.) The majority of Americans knew it wouldn't work from the beginning, and said no, but the ruling party ignored them and forged ahead with this boon doogle. (All the while ignoring the bigger problem of jobs and the economy.)

Willlowbrook,

I apologise for ignoring your successful treatment for kidney cancer - it was rude of me to do so. Having witnessed the devastating effects of various forms of cancer I would not wish such a disease on anyone and I sincerely hope that you continue to live a life that is cancer free.

I cannot (and have not made) comment on Obama-Care or Pre-Obama-Care systems: it is not my place to do so and I do not have the full facts at hand.

Many in Britain would baulk at being considered a European country (we may have joined the EU to be part of a Trading Block but the creeping reach of EU bureaucracy and the attempt to enforce European-style ideas on the populace have led to inreasing calls to exit all but the most useful parts of the EU) and Socialism has never held much sway as a concept in the UK. The (British) Socialist Worker's Party has never been elected and barely polls a fraction of 1% of the vote. While State Welfare Systems across Europe were founded on Marxist/Socialist platforms in Britain this was anathema.

In Britain the centre-left that helped instigate the health and social care systems were doing so because of their Christian backgrounds (often Non-Conformist in nature) in a belief that it was beholden on a society to look after its citizens. The first British Health Minister wrote 'no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means'.

Britain could be considered a paradox of a country as despite the health systems the British people (on the whole) believe in small Government, minimal state intrusion and that you are free to behave as you like (within the law) 'so long as you don't startle the horses' (as the old saying goes). It is generally considered that something is legal unless it can proven otherwise. However, the other abiding British principle, although a terrible cliche, is simple 'fair play'.

Britain's health system has not failed.

(By the way, I do not consider myself to be 'from England', I am from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - according to my passport - England is a constituent nation of a singular entity. I wouldn't refer to someone from the USA as being from whichever state they're from! :)

To the question of 'how are those austerity measures working for us?': our economy is slowly but steadily growing, manufacturers are hiring again, the number of unemployed has stabilized and fell slightly last month (the UK's is 8.3% compared to the US's 8.6%), the housing market has started to pick up again as banks have started lending to buyers again, exports have started rising, the US and the UK have the same interest rate, the inflation rate is a bit higher than yours, budget deficit reduction plans are on target, consumer confidence is returning as evidenced by the Boxing Day sales figures of £4.3 billion (approx. $6 billion) being spent in one day at a rate of £77,000 per second and consumers estimated to have spent £338 million more than over the same period last year - and we still have our Triple-A credit rating.

As for where the money comes from: the UK has a current budget deficit of just under 10%; the US Federal Government has a budget deficit of around 25%.

Most wage-earners pay Income Tax at a rate of 20% (those earning less than £7,445 [approx. $11,000] are exempt). Someone on the average national wage pays about 25% in direct taxation. The top 4% of earners pay a higher rate on earnings over approx. $56,000 and the top 1% of earners (on approx. $225,000+) pay a slightly higher rate still. These rates only apply to the earnings in the respective band.

Total National tax revenue as a percentage of GDP for the UK is about 36%; in the US it's about 31%.

This is hardly 'way more' especially considering the apparent value for money we get: that extra 5 pence in the pound would appear to get us universal health care on top of universal state pensions for the over 65s, unemployment benefit, disability benefit, child benefit, housing benefit, 95% of all prescriptions free, a national education (free up to the age of 18), subsidized tertiary tuition fees, a vast road network, railways, police, fire services, the world's fourth most expensive military (described by the Pentagon as the world's most flexible and quickly deployable), a sufficient nuclear weapons programme, postal system, etc. (Most of which I presume the US has.)

As to living on other people's money (and what we will do when it runs out): Britain's gross debt as a percentage of GDP stands at 82%; the USA's is 100%.

If we hadn't had to bail out British banks damaged by the collapse of America's virtually unregulated financial sector the figure would have been more like 40%.

So, the USA has been living on far more of other people's money (and for longer) than the UK, runs a higher budget deficit but its people pay a similar level of taxation.

Which really begs two questions: what is your Government doing with all the money and what happens when China stops lending?

Willow,

It would be a step forward if the bill did offer Medicare to anyone "as an option." If we would kick the illegals off any govt. care, and those who don't really qualify,(Has a job but refuses to sign up for the employer plan.)

Amazing, we agree. This works for me. There is less crap in you than I thought. However, this is what Obama and the Democrats wanted originally but the Public Option (which is what you wrote) was a total non starter with the Republicans. So we ended up with the current plan. Too bad we can't just shake on it and make your quote law. If we could, I agree we wouldn't need what you call "Obamacare".

Willow,

One minor caveat. I can live with making those already covered by an employer ineligible for the public option but only IF they were accepted by the employer's carrier. If they were not accepted (pre-existing condition), they would be eligible for the option. Deal?

I tell myself that.

Amen

Maxeems, that's rediculous. There is no cure...and what would you say to the families of "believers" about why your god did not save THEM? They believed and died anyway. What a surprise.

Mr Hawkings doesnt appear to have been suffering for 70 years. He's enjoying life.

Maxeemas, <i>my</i> God is a loving God. I don't think you're witnessing very well for him when you imply God brought this on Hawking for his lack of belief. That sort of thing goes directly against the teachings of Christ.

Maxeemas, that's the most disgusting thing I've ever read. I imagine there being people praying each day for a miracle cure to their and others ailments, to which no answer is received, and you have the audacity to know truths about god curing ALS by just believing? How embarrassing it is to share a world with someone like you.

you guys are blind, read some of my comments below if you can see...

"God could of cure him too if he believed in him but he choose the hard way and it cost him 70 years of suffering"

What a silly thing to say. Sure, he may not believe in God, but I'm not convinced God is entirely as vain as many would suggest. Or as vindictive. Or as Old Testament.

By extension, you're suggesting that God is deliberately not helping ease the pain of children and those who DO believe, yet still suffer inexorably.

I, for one, don't presume to know any of God's intentions or question his motives. Why can't life just be what it is?

Though, as a human with many faults including vanity (i.e. being created in his Likeness), I would like to think God has kept him (Hawking) around to help us question the Universe and reveal it to us. Great physicists (though perhaps not Hawking), have said that there is no direct incompatibility between the existing of God (or supreme Existence) and science - both require faith in something.

I feel sad sometimes that I haven't accomplished as much for being so capable. Stephen is a credit to our species. I applaud his great intellect and humanity.

you guys are blind, read some of my comments below if you can see...

Thanks, but no thanks. I run across plenty of loony opinions expressed with poor grammar and atrocious spelling by chance. I don't need to go looking for them.

"He maybe smart! God could of cure him too if he believed in him but he choose the hard way and it cost him 70 years of suffering"

Then your god is a sick beast. But then, he already lets thousands of children die of horrible sickness and starvation every day. And presumably if they have not accepted Christ, they will burn in hell.

Good thing hes and imaginary beast.

'god' is an idiotic idea promoted by immoral people to control and pacify the weak minded. It's really not even worthy of serious consideration, and it certainly doesn't take someone with the intellect of Stephan Hawking to figure this out.

Maxeemas - not only do you appear to be a religious zealot, you appear to be an ignorant and illiterate one at that. A true Christian wouldn't spout the BS you've been writing - and someone who was literate would be able to construct a proper sentence every now and then.

better to be a believer than a mischiever !!..although, science has done a lot..science has Not made the blind see, science has Not a Cure for Cancer..science has Not Brought back the dead, as ONE MAN DID for proof..please be humble, i say, for someone is quite familiar with your way..as the the ONE & ONLY was revealed to himself the Way......

The Lunatic : that explain why you talk like that you Lunat...

Catch 22 : this is a catch you will always miss!

Jeeesus : not sure what to make of your comments!

Max: please check yourself into a clinic. You need some serious help. I may believe in something out there, but I certainly don't place my entire faith in it. This man clearly has a will to live and it's as simple as that. The mind is greater than any god you believe in.

I go to lunch, come back, and discover the thread's filled with escapees from the looney bin.

Charming.

Daniel : I have been to the clinic and I am all right! have you checked in to the clinic LATELY? MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHECK YOURSLEF ASAP!

Ed - I think "the lunatic" is the only on this thread who is making any sense.

Max: I don't need to. I am not the one who is insane. Bye.

maxie, show us on the doll where the bad priest touched you...idiot.

Maxeemas,

Your statement implies that the existence of GOD is somehow proven because of Mr. Hawking's disease and that he would have been cured if he had prayed to GOD.

Ask yourself this question: Does GOD hate amputees? In the history of the world, he has not once cured a single amputee.

Why does GOD answer every other persons prayers for Health except those damned amputees?

Does GOD hate amputees like he hates Mr. Hawking???

That s it! that s all you guys got? Daniel, Jackie and others.. I am waiting for your lovely comments! the Devil Loves you! keep going yo...

The concept of the devil is just as ridiculous as the idea of a god. Grow an IQ and maybe you'll figure out that it's just a silly fairy tale.

It's a good thing they don't call it Lou Gehrig's Disease in the UK. They would all be asking "Who the Heck is Lou Gehrig?"

e maybe smart! God could of cure him too if he believed in him but he choose the hard way and it cost him 70 years of suffering

This is one of the most hateful, vile things I have ever heard someone say without using the words death and @!$%#.

Christians can just stay away. I am so sick of you people and your patronizing horse@!$%#.

Maxeemas, assuming your correct about the existence of god, could you do me a favor and pray for the ability to spell? BTW, in case he doesn't answer, there is a spell check available when you post your rediculous beliefs just above the input field.

Maxeemas

So basically you are saying that we dont have free will, I mean if God knew Hawking wasnt going to believe in him and he was going to make him gifted but that he would reject Christ regardless of the disease that God inflicted on him (hence your statement that he got the disease by God so he would pray which is impossible because you said that God knew he would never change his ways and believe) then basically there isnt any free will and we are all pawns of Gods favor?

Do I have that right? And to further explore that thought, How can any of us have any sort of free will with and Omnipotent God, its an impossibility for us to have free will if God already knows what our actions will be and what the end outcome (aka heaven or Hell) will be.

So what was the point of your statements? I thank God that I am agnostic. If you truely have faith in God and the Bible I suggest that you go back and read it from cover to cover because your pedal standing is in direct violation of Christ's teachings. Just ask yourself is your attitudes and demonstrations something that Jesus would do?

it cost him 70 years of suffering

He wasn't born with it. He was diagonsed when he was 21.

If ignorance is bliss, this Maxeemas guy must be in paradise! The fact that you guys keep wasting your breath on this obviously misguided idiot is astounding. Give it a rest. Some people don't want to see the truth of things no matter how many ways you tell them or show them. Even if he does manage to understand an inkling of what you guys are all saying, he will continue to be willfully dense just to spite you. If lost is what he prefers to be, so be it. All you can do is hope that one day he will get a clue and find his way.

So "God could of cure him too if he believed in him but he choose the hard way and it cost him 70 years of suffering"...... Guess that means every child who has ever prayed to be cured of whatever disease THEY have must not "really believe", either. Tell ya what, Maxeemas, go get yourself a really fatal case of flesh-eating disease -- and then just pray it away.

Using Modern Medicine in any way automatically disproves your claim that all anyone has to do is "believe in God".

Hey Maxeemas, you're saying that because "God knew Stephen Hawking would be an atheist before he was even born" (yes, I changed the wording to make it intelligible), Hawking has been made to suffer this horrible, crippling disease. God also makes little children suffer just to see whether their parents (and those little children) really "believe in God".

Well, I guess that means that God doesn't really care at all about anyone but himself, since only the most cruel, heartless cad would make someone suffer no matter what choice they made in their life. But then, it does take a cruel, heartless cad to make someone suffer like that when the cruel, heartless cad knows that their victim is not going to worship them anyway -- which your God already knew about Stephen Hawking "before he was born". Either way, your God seems to be that cruel, heartless cad.

@ejv122086

Maxeemas, assuming your correct about the existence of god, could you do me a favor and pray for the ability to spell? BTW, in case he doesn't answer, there is a spell check available when you post your rediculous beliefs just above the input field.

Why do so many people insist on being the Spelling Police? Seriously, no one deserves to be ridiculed for this. Not even you ejv122086. Unless of course you enjoy being ridiculed yourself.

assuming your correct

Hmmm, shouldn't that be you're? Oh wait, there's more?

your rediculous beliefs

Rediculous? Let's try ridiculous next time, ok? Put it to rest ejv122086.

I have been a long time admirer of Stephen Hawking and I hope he stays with us for years to come. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be alive to see at least one of his theory's proven? I wish Mr. Hawking the absolute best and a very, very Happy Birthday!

And hopefully we'll figure out a way to preserve that incredible brain... simply an amazing man.

We should download his neural patterns into a giant robot. 8D

Dammit - and all I picked was the power to get a parking spot close to the store entrance!

Stephen Hawking is HUGELY respected in the scientific world, but remember his theories COULD be wrong....

Yes, they might be, Fed-up with Crime, but that doesn't stop them from being interesting.

CCW, You are RIGHT about that one!! I Am a follower of Hawkings and have studied much about him and his collegues in the field. Even Einstein has been wrong on a few occasions. It sure takes a long time for others to figure it out (what he knew many years earlier).

MY FAVORITE QUOTE:

Einstein never had a formal college degree, and was asked once why he did not have a Phd. To that he responded, "I never found anyone smart enough to give me one!"

Stephen Hawking is HUGELY respected in the scientific world, but remember his theories COULD be wrong....

A theory is only a theory if it can be falsified, which means that the theory makes a prediction that can be tested.

This is why religion is not science. Religion does not make testable predictions. Therefore it is useless for advancing our knowledge.

However, after you've tested a theory over and over again as Hawkings' have, and you keep getting hits and not misses, you are no longer in the realm of "could be" but "probably is."

Now, Hawking's theories may be exploded in the next century. That's a possibility. But in his field, theories generally do not rewrite their predecessors, but rather build on them. Galileo, Kepler, and Newton came up with what now forms the basis of modern physics.

When Einstein came on the scene his physics supplanted Newton's, but 60 years later when the first astronauts went to the Moon they used Newtonian equations to calculate the trip there and back. Those equations were so dead-on accurate that I remember reading an interview with one of the pilots of the Apollo capsule who said the schedule of events on those missions was frighteningly precise. He had sunrise over the limb of the moon at like 1:31:57 in the morning, and right on queue there it was. Newton's equations had predicted the exact position of his space capsule from 250,000 miles away six months before. That's some damn accurate science.

At any rate, Hawking is right as far as we know, and where he's wrong it won't be because he's WRONG wrong, but because his discoveries opened the door to things he could not have known, and the theory that replaces his will still have the basic features of his theory, and all the theories that preceded it.

Science works.

newtons theories weren't completely destroyed, they are still valid and are still taught (classical physics is newtonian physics), but newtons theories had issues relating to velocity (special theory of relativity) and gravity (general theory of relativity) that required einstein's theories to extend. The Apollo missions didn't have to deal with the conditions where the changes due to speed or gravity or the calculations between two moving points and any of the other myriad ways that newtonian physics fails so it only needed newtonian.

The calculations are much simpler with Newtonian physics and if you can simplify it down to that, then you are better off.

newtons theories weren't completely destroyed, they are still valid and are still taught

I just said that, I think. That comment about the Moon shot still using Newtonian math. I was taught in physics that for all but the most extreme circumstances Newton is still the quick fix. It's when you start dealing with Sun-like masses at Mercury-like distances that you need to worry about General Relativity and its impact on gravity.

What a wonderful comment by thebusymonster. Could not have been explained any better. Thanks!

thisbusymonster ;

I was not comparing science to religion. Newton, Keplar, Galileo,
researched and theorized beliefs that they themselves changed until they ‘got
it right’. Even Hawkings himself has changed some of his theories. With each ‘correction’ we get a little closer to fact. Many theories will take lifetimes to prove or disprove with data we have yet to discover. If a theory is wrong, it is wrong regardless of WHY it is wrong. So I have no idea what “WRONG, wrong” means. The earth is not flat and the belief that it was is wrong, regardless if it was due to ignorance of the times.

Man has learned more in the last 100 years than mankind has learned since he began to walk upright. It boggles my mind as to what is in store for un in the next 100 or 200 years. Surely we will seem to be cavemen compared to what lies ahead. I wish I could even imagine it. We are advancing in areas at light speed! Yet, in some ways we are still on the first step with others, such as our own ability to exist in harmony with our fellow man.

Respectfully.

Exactly what I was thinking. Very well stated Linda.

Uhhhhhhh ..... well maybe not just like him ....

Buy her a wheelchair and some books on space.

Swan - Do not confuse the man with his disease.

I've thought the same thing. Maybe people who die earlier from this disease just don't want to go on living, but he is capable of living a full life within the confines of his mind. Not too many people like that, I would think.

I'm sorry about your dad, Owog. ALS runs in my family as well, and it is a horrible disease. I watched my grandmother die of it when I was young, and my parents were caring for her. Recently, another family member only in his forties died of it as well. A cure can't come too soon!

And a very happy birthday to Dr. Hawking! His life in the face of such challenges is truly inspiring.

So Joe, what is God's plan for babies born with AIDS (pick your disease) and die before they reach a year old? Pretty sure they did not have the time to know Jesus.

Derek, his field is not medical research. If you are going to use that ridiculous argument, then why are the top medical researchers not in the field of physics?

That was my first thought too.

Traci King you are right. G-d is also being merciful and perhaps is endeavoring to prove to Mr. Hawking that He does exist. Mr. Hawking needs the prayers of we who believe in G-d that he will see the truth. Mr. Hawking so far hasn't realized G-d is the one who gifted him with the brillant mind he has. Let's pray that Mr. Hawking will realize G-d does exist.

Traci....I could not have said it better. You are so right.

Exactly what I was going to say. God is giving him time, for he does not want anyone to perish without Him. He may be intelligent, but he who says there is no God, is a fool.

well said traci. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. H!!!!! AND MANY MORE! sadly, it seems people just can't leave god out of this.

I don't think he will ever die from suicied....

Yeh it must be God that's keeping him alive. As long as Stephen keeps spreading the word about the Lord God should look after him.

News Flash Stephen Hawking is an ATHIEST

Agree. Dr. Hawing is a typical of an unbeliever. He may be a smart man who knows all answers of what's happening in this universe, and lives to the fullest. Human's knowledge is nothing. At the latest news; he admits, he doesn't understand what made a woman, a woman.

I'm not sure you're understanding him...in what way would science even understand the question "what makes a woman, a woman?". It's not a scientific question at all, nor does the answer (any answer) have anything to do with Faith or being smart.

You don't have to believe in GOD for God to exist.

"You don't have to believe in god for god to exist" ..... click "No value".....