Setting the record straight in this brief moment in time
17 March 2018
I expect to be lambasted for publishing this short article, but my need to see that authentic news prevails, fortifies me for the inevitable consequences of daring to go against the grain of 'political correctness'.
At the outset let me state unequivocally that the recently departed Stephen Hawking was a brilliant theoretical physicist. As a neurosurgeon and general neuroscience person let me also acknowledge the maintenance of life and full cognitive function in this individual for most of his life, while afflicted with a potentially fatal condition that usually claims its victims within two to five years of diagnosis. I emphasize ‘the maintenance of life’ since Stephen Hawking was essentially maintained on permanent life support. Available resources provided full ventilation since 1985 as well as other life–sustaining support together with state-of-the-art communication technology, to boot. These are the supportive aids that the 'average' afflicted individual does not have access to.
Stephen Hawking was at least as famous as Einstein in the eyes of the lay public. This was primarily due to the publication of his book ‘A brief history of time’. However in the world of theoretical physics there was a very different perception. Hawking was not the first individual to postulate what was to become known as ‘Hawking Radiation’. It was in fact the Mexican-Israeli physicist, Jacob Bekenstein who first postulated the existence of this radiation as emanating from black holes. According to the physicist Marek Karliner, Hawking initially scorned Bekenstein’s ideas regarding the thermodynamics of black holes. But in setting out to disprove Bekenstein, Hawking found that Bekenstein was correct - and promptly took ownership of Hawking Radiation rather than what would have been the more honest and appropriate approach – sharing the concept with Bekenstein in the form of Bekenstein-Hawking Radiation. For without Bekenstein’s findings, it is unlikely that Hawking would ever have expanded the concept to conclusion – and taken the prize for himself!
In the context of the integration of the neurosciences with psychoneuro-immunology (PNI – the study of the influences of mind states on immune function), a mind state akin to hopeless-helplessness (the stuff associated with existential crises in life) has been shown to predispose to chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation in turn has been shown to pre-empt and accompany many serious medical conditions including Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), which was Hawking’s affliction. I would theorize that it was the apparent existential career crisis that befell Hawking prior to gaining traction in cosmology, which may have set the scene for the development of his condition. This may have been compounded by inherent nurture-deprivation components (he was born in the middle of the war years - 1942) which could have converged as the causative etiology for his motor neuron disease.
I have made a study of several patients who developed ALS. In a significant proportion there was a preceding profile of career and personal crises leading to a major existential crisis. This was so aptly illustrated in one of our national rugby players who died last year, Joost van der Westhuizen.
On the converse side, wellness and performance are enhanced by a mind state of ongoing meaningful and purposeful action, fueled by persistent curiosity. This I believe is what sustained Hawking for so long, in the face of a devastating condition. However in his uncompromising driven quest, the lives of others closest to him had to be compromised sacrificially in order for him to reach personal fulfillment. And here I acknowledge the great value contribution of Hawking’s first wife Jane.
For all his aspired wisdom, Hawking made some questionable statements in the course of his life. In 2011 he pronounced that there was no need for a Creator – everything could be explained on the basis of the Big Bang and gravity. The immediate question that springs to mind in response to this dumb statement is what or who then created the Big Bang and gravity? Physicists (including Hawking) have hidden behind the concept of the Laws of the Universe. Is this very different from the Source Files of the Universe? Perhaps the latter concept gets too close to creationism, which most physicists find abhorrent.
Hawking Radiation remains purely a theoretical concept. It is unlikely to ever be proven. Consequently Hawking was not awarded a Nobel Prize for this work. And so I arrive at the key question – what is the value contribution of Hawking’s work and for that matter, the work of generations of theoretical physicists to our individual lives? I have no answer to this right now. Only time will tell. As regards Hawking, indeed his life was inspirational in having maintained a high-level of cognitive activity in the face of great physical challenges (with the support of people and technology). It stirs us to acknowledge and cherish the blessings that we each have and not to take life for granted. It also reminds us that while we are each unique beings with the potential to contribute unique value to ourselves, to our personal environments and to the environment at large, we are limited in what we can really change in the greater scheme of things. Finally, one element which appears to be somewhat diminished in the Hawking narrative needs to be acknowledged and incorporated into our lives – that of gratitude.
Hawking encouraged us to be curious. Let’s be curious with respect and gratitude ... and a touch of humility.
Footnote:
Based on comments received after publication of this article, I decided to seek out more background information as well as Bekenstein's personal view on the subject that was dealt with in this article. Bekenstein did indeed pre-empt Hawking in proposing both black hole radiation as well as entropy, published in 1972. Towards the end of that year, at a conference in France, Hawking angrily challenged Bekenstein publicly about his erroneous assertions. In 1974 Hawking mathematically proved Bekenstein correct on both the radiation and the entropy, but kept it under wraps so as not to expose his original mistake. Hawking then expanded on the radiation component beyond that which Bekenstein had elucidated. Ultimately Bekenstein accepted that the radiation be called Hawking-Bekenstein, since Hawking had taken the concept further in the definition of the radiation, but requested that his own name come first on the entropy component - hence it is referred to as Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In regard to the radiation, the march of time has resulted in it being referred to simply as Hawking Radiation by the physics world. Interestingly, Bekenstein was a very spiritual person with strong leanings towards creationism as opposed to Hawking's atheism.
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Archive
11 December 2018
The perch on your shoulder 28 November 2018
Harry, Sally and Fay 24 November 2018
Beyond the mire 14 October 2018
Change reaction 5 October 2018
An Ode to Roxy 15 July 2018
Indulge in the virtues of stoicism 24 June 2018
A ghost in the machine 11 June 2018
Death de-mortified 4 June 2018
Exposed! 12 May 2018
A tall story 8 April 2018
Transcending the mist 4 March 2018
An authentic desert 11 February 2018
The hateful and the cruel 2 February 2018
Neuroscience is a joke 14 January 2018
To have and to hold 1 January 2018
Superconsciousness 22 December 2017
The Lethal Cocktail of Fear with an Existential Crisis 9 December 2017
Reflections in a cemetery 3 December 2017
Go forth and multiply 15 November 2017
Reflections of a mirror 29 October 2017
Dumbing down 26 October 2017
Avoid the brain drain 4 September 2017
An authentic lead 30 August 2017
Pop 23 August 2017
Respect begins at home 16 July 2017
An awe-full story 3 July 2017
Mushroom soup 2 June 2017
Relativity, relatives and other relationships 29 May 2017
Inflamed and smoked 25 May 2017
An Ode to my Mentor 10 May 2017
Counter-evolutionary 27 April 2017
Inspire 16 April 2017
Lost in an expert fog 12 April 2017
Don't be short-changed 30 March 2017
A brAIve New World 15 March 2017
The problem with Gus 12 March 2017
United in Energy 5 March 2017
Transcending emotions 25 February 2017
In the blink of an eye 25 February 2017
The real story about emotions 27 January 2017
Meditation Re-visited 21 January 2017
As a light to a flame 31 December 2016
Drowning in snake oil 24 December 2016
In the glow of an aura 19 December 2016
Mindfully yours 14 December 2016
Time to transcend the Flat Earth Society 4 December 2016
Prejudice and other violations 20 November 2016
Lighting up the Abyss 12 November 2016
Embrace the Zeitgeist and Transcend 9 November 2016
A Curious Life 8 October 2016
Perhaps we ought to read the stars? 22 September 2016
The truth about truth 27 August 2016
Conscious Integration 21 August 2016
The Toxicity of the Social Media 3 August 2016
Time to Integrate 24 July 2016
I Believe ... 16 June 2016
Crime, punishment and the brain 4 June 2016
The Essence of Effective Leadership 22 May 2016
Engage with the Eloquence of Neuromodulation 15 May 2016
Peer Reviewed Publications: A Trust Issue 28 April 2016
A Cathartic Therapeutic Moment 11 March 2016
Gateway to Consciousness 9 November 2015
Drivers of Success and Effective Leadership 2 November 2015
A Two-Point Solution 20 October 2015
All Black Rugby: The Eloquence of Applied Neuroscience 8 October 2015
In Mitigation of Limiting Deprivation Determinants 20 September 2015
Lamenting our intellectual malaise 13 August 2015
Respectful Intervention 25 July 2015
The Creative Leadership Zone 16 May 2015
Coaching to Pleasure 6 May 2015
Glowing the Void - Thoughts under a May Full Moon 1 April 2015
Context and Integration 7 February 2015
Add some Awe and become Awesome 11 January 2015
Effective Intervention 3 January 2015
The re-emergence of the right hemisphere 26 November 2014
Where is consciousness? 11 May 2014
A Strong Determinism 15 February 2014
The Physiology of Mindfulness 16 August 2013
The Triple Wheel Combination Model of Value-based Leadership 1 June 2013
Authenticity and Leadership 13 January 2013
The Neurobiology of Empathy 29 November 2012
Neuroplasticity 8 June 2012
The brain as a deterministic blueprint 21 April 2012
That 'Aha' Moment 17 April 2011
Rewarding Value 28 December 2010
The Dangers of Cyber-space 27 November 2010
Enhancing Gratification 23 June 2010
Systemic Degeneration 14 June 2010
Meaning and Purpose 3 June 2010
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