In fact, anyone who has a little interest in physics knows that Hawking's academic achievements are actually asymmetrical to his current fame and social status.
There is such a question on Zhihu:
Hawking dies at 76. How high is his status among physicists? Can it be compared with Einstein and Newton?
This is of course also what most people think. A colleague said to me yesterday in a tone that seemed conclusive:
This Hawking should be as powerful as Einstein.
So I forwarded one of the answers to this question to him.
Physics is like this. Archimedes dug a cave where people could live. Galileo thought the cave was too primitive, so he dug a hole and wanted to build a house. Newton, the foreman, brought Kepler, Hooke, Descartes and a group of younger brothers to lay the foundation. A few hundred years later, a group of physicists, including Faraday, built a house that looked beautiful and perfect. Then Kelvin said that the house was finished, everyone should go to live, it was perfect, the physicist had nothing to do, but why was the sky so cloudy, and there were two dark clouds on the head? As a result, the creator of the dark cloud, Maxwell, struck two lightning bolts and the house collapsed. Maxwell said, Can Ganima's house have a long-term vision? "Actually, the dark clouds were not created by Maxwell, but Maxwell's equations predicted that the speed of light would remain unchanged. As the fourth-year-old in physics, he must be given a domineering job, which is to demolish the house." So the foreman Einstein appeared, and he led the Lorenz and other younger brothers built a floor of "special relativity", and later his younger brother didn't use it, so he built an entire building by himself! This building was built but not renovated. The scientists behind, Schwarzschild, Hawking, were all decorated on the Einstein building. Hawking probably installed a wall. Contemporaries of Einstein, Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg and others, oh, and Einstein, they built another building, which is quantum mechanics, and these people built it together, without a contractor , This building seems to be more powerful now, and Yang Zhenning, built an elevator shaft in this building, and used a standard model to run through this building. Therefore, Yang Zhenning and Hawking can judge who is higher and who is lower. One has renovated the wall and the other has built the elevator shaft. As for Einstein who built the building and Newton who built the foundation, forget about it. Later, people found that the two buildings could not be connected, so people like Witten used strings to build a bridge there. At present, it seems that it is just a rainbow bridge. People cannot leave, and the future is uncertain. Maybe the rainbow bridge is the truth. Source: Silkworm Cocoon 123
Seeing this, I think you should be able to understand that although Hawking is a great physicist, in the eyes of the general public, he is actually a little too divine.
So, how did Hawking's "God" come about?
Science is different from other things, such as singing and acting, people can feel it just by seeing and hearing, or like sports, just looking at one result can distinguish high and low.
But science is different. It is a series of complex theories and data. Not to mention the power of it, just understanding requires a sufficient threshold. This is also destined to always have a sense of distance between science and the public. Even though everyone has an unconscious reverence for science, in the final analysis, it is still too profound and distant.
Therefore, there should be a bridge between science and the public, and Hawking is this bridge.
Two of Hawking's works: A Brief History of Time and The Universe in a Nutshell.
The former explores the origin of the universe. With rich imagination, subtle ideas, and every word, it explains the future changes of the universe, which is magical and wonderful. The book has a cumulative circulation of 25 million copies and has been translated into nearly 40 languages. The latter is Hawking's most important work after A Brief History of Time. In his book, Hawking once again brings readers to the forefront of theoretical physics, explaining the principles of the universe in plain language, which is also popular all over the world.
As a result, Hawking brought science to the public in a way that people like to see and hear, so it is not surprising that people know him best.
Secondly, Hawking satisfies a kind of personality. Positive, upbeat and hopeful.
I think in the countless tweets about Hawking in the past two days, there must be this sentence:
"Remember to look up at the stars, don't look down at your feet. No matter how difficult life is, please remain curious."
Anyone who encourages anyone needs a symbol, and Hawking is that symbol.
Not to mention Hawking's illness, his struggle and persistence, and his optimism in the face of it all.
Including participating in various film and television works, "open mouth" in interviews, like to use wheels to crush people's feet...
I don't know how I would feel if I was told at the age of 21 that I didn't have two years to live, and I don't know what it would be like to watch my body shrink day by day and only have three fingers to move.
Hawking proved that as long as a person has strength and will, there is always a way to succeed.
It is all of the above that has made Hawking's attention today.
In addition, yesterday Zhang Jiawei had a small suggestion that I think is particularly good:
I think that while everyone is mourning the deceased and showing their love for science, from now on, they can also consider doing something within their ability, such as cherishing and praising the masters who are still alive. After all, one of the greatest physicists still alive, Mr. Yang, is living in China right now. And, like the vast majority of scientists, he never received the popular accolades that matched his achievements.
Another addition.
There are a lot of film and television works about Hawking. Instead of following the trend and forwarding a few news in the circle of friends, it is better to calm down and follow the camera to feel Hawking's real life. (if you really admire him)
Yesterday, I swiped "The Theory of Everything", which has been on the online disk for many days. Although the story is a little mediocre, the acting skills of the two leading actors are really moving. The film made me cry several times, probably because of the hardships Hawking suffered and the tenacity of himself and his ex-wife.
Hawking himself cried when he saw this film, presumably because he felt that it was too difficult for him to walk all the way, and he also had such an ex-wife who had no complaints and no regrets.
If you want to watch it, follow the official account "Future Past" and reply with the words " Theory of Everything " in the background .
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