Scientists & book lovers recall visionary cosmologist

Eminent scientist and former deputy director of Isro’s LPS Centre P Radhakrishnan summed up the genius of Stephen Hawking in a single sentence – ‘In the line of Newton and Einstein, Stephen Hawking is their rightful intellectual heir.’ Hawking died in Cambridge on Wednesday, he was 76.
The visionary cosmologist, who was the former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, inspired generations of scientists and researchers with his theories on black hole and the origin of universe.
His book ‘A brief History of Time’ rocketed him to stardom. The book remained on the Sunday Times Bestsellers list for a record 237 weeks.
In Kerala, scientists led by Breakthrough Science Society (BSS) mourned his death. His dedication to science despite physical disability made him an inspiration, said BSS convener Francis Kulathunkal.
“Hawking was open minded and corrected himself scientifically while revealing secrets of the universe. He defended scientific temper and issued public statements refuting the belief that a supernatural force is responsible for the creation and evolution of the universe. He openly protested against Vietnam war and spoke against the perils of unequal distribution and unfair practises,” said IIST scientist P Rajeevan.
On the reasons why, Hawking was not conferred the Nobel Prize, scientists said that prize guidelines insisted on the need for theories to have observational evidence. Hawking himself had said that it was very difficult to observe the things he worked on.
When it comes to books, he was one of the most-sought authors and most bookshops had at least one copy on the shelf that would be replaced the moment it was sold.
“We always had buyers for his books, especially ‘A Brief History of Time’. Even an average Kerala book lover preferred to buy a copy over the standard novel or fiction. Even unauthorized translations of his works in Malayalam were in demand. The only reason why it probably moved less from the shelves in the recent years compared to 90s and 2000s was because of its saturation. Even his books like George’s secret key to the universe were popular among children,” said Ravi DeeCee, Managing Director, DC Books.
“The fact that he was a scientist who managed to author books despite his motor neurone disease was also a matter of interest to many readers. His simple writing was acceptable to many readers who came looking for his books after knowing about it from others,” said Krishnadas, Green Books, Thrissur.
“A Brief History of Time was fascinating because it talks of a cyclic process of the universe from a black hole to a black hole and the book is written in simple language that draws you despite it not having a story line,” said VPN Nampoori, photonics scientist.