Stephen Hawking died earlier today.<\/p>\n
Hawking was diagnosed with ALS in the year I was born, in 1963.<\/p>\n
Defying his doctor’s predictions, he refused to die after a few years. Instead, he carried on for another astonishing 55 years, living a full life.<\/p>\n
Public perception notwithstanding, he might not have been the greatest living physicist, but he was certainly a great physicist. The fact that he was able to accomplish so much despite his debilitating illness made him an extraordinary human being, a true inspiration.<\/p>\n
Here is a short segment, courtesy of CTV Kitchener<\/a>, filmed earlier today at the Perimeter Institute. My friend and colleague John Moffat, who met Hawking many times, is among those being interviewed:<\/p>\n