Read without ads and support Scribd by becoming a Scribd Premium Reader.
See Premium Plans
 
Hawking, Stephen W. "Stephen W. Hawking - Disability Advice."
 Professor Stephen W. Hawking 
. Web. 21Sept. 2010.<http://www.hawking.org.uk/index.php/disability>.
A Scientist and his Advices on DisabilityIn an article posted on his official website, professor Stephen Hawking narrateshow his life changed after learning that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Hawking isan internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist, whose theories and works on thesubject are highly respected. Not only is he known for his remarkable gifts tocontemporary science, but he is also considered a public figure because of his numerousapparitions on television and other media. To many, Hawking may seem like a complexcharacter surrounded by many question marks. This might be why he decided to publishthis small article, as to clear up any misconceptions on his condition and to explain howhe attained such a high level of recognition. The article contains a lot of information, suchas his life before the announcement of his illness, his life afterwards and his presentsituation.Hawking starts off by telling the events prior and leading up to the discovery of his illness. As a child, he was never really into sports or any other physical activity and hespecifies that he
″ 
had never been very well co-ordinated physically as a child
″ 
(Hawking). He began to notice a difference in his daily physical activities and generalwell-being around the age of seventeen. A few years and incidents after, his father took him to a doctor, which then referred him to a specialist to take some tests. It was at theage of twenty-one that he learned about his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He goes on todescribe a darker phase in his life, one where he was not sure if he would survive tocomplete his PhD. As time flew by, he began to live for the moment and eventually got to
 
live a lot longer than the doctors had predicted. Hawking continues to elaborate on hisadult life, briefly going over his relationship with his now ex-wife called Jane Wilde andexplaining how he managed to get around on campus or in his house. Finally, heconcludes on the recent years of his life, when, following a tracheotomy, he completelylost the use of his voice and reverted to using a speech synthesizer. His final remark is amessage of hope to the public. With this article, Hawking aims to both inform andentertain.Building up on these two goals, Hawking achieves to inform us while entertainingus. The accuracy of the information presented relates more to the source of theinformation, rather than the information itself. Since the nature of the information is biographical, it is hard to judge whether or not it is accurate or not. However, the websiteon which the information is posted has an influence on the credibility of the article. Thewebsite claims to be the professor’s official website, and there are other evidences thatconfirm this. For example, there is a lot of information on Hawking, both concerning his private and public life. It also contains a list of Hawking’s lectures, all of which he wrote,and contact information. All of this documentation gives a feeling of authenticity and, toa certain degree, a level of accuracy. There is also the question of the significance. Thisaspect is inherently related to the purpose of thetext, because without a purpose, there is no wayof knowing if the information is useful or not. Inthis case, the purpose of professor Hawking is todemystify his physical condition and giveinsights on his personal life. His examples and
 
contexts are significant because they help understand how his condition evolved and howhe managed to deal with his day to day problems. There is also another side to the cointhat is this article. Hawking gives a different tonality to his text, which is meant toentertain. There are many instances where he uses words that lighten the mood of thearticle. For example, he writes that he
″ 
seemed to be getting more clumsy
″ 
(Hawking).He also says that the only problem with his speech synthesizer is that
″ 
…it gives me anAmerican accent
″ 
(Hawking). Humour is present in the article and many words have aconnotation that implies a sense of self-deprecation used for humorous purposes. Thisidea ties in well with the goal of Hawking, making the mood of the article a little lessheavy and dramatic.For me, this article was really interesting and fascinating. Having a physicaldisability myself, I understand how hard it can be to manage all the aspects of life.However, I had no idea what his illness implied and how much it affected his dailyroutine. After having read the article, I had a newfound respect for the person that I onlyadmired as a scientific genius. It is hard to agree or disagree with the events thathappened in someone’s life, because things are what they are. Nonetheless, it is possibleto agree or disagree with Hawking’s attitude towards the events that happened in his life.Professor Hawking is a fighter, and he did all that was necessary to live a happy andfulfilling life. Thus, I think that his attitude and mental strength are a positive force to bereckoned with. The nature of his character helps support his main goal and make itrelatable for everyone, physically disabled or not.To conclude, the author manages to make his point through this passage about hislife and disability. Like any other type of celebrity, there are a lot of questions
Search
Search History:
Searching...
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
  • p.
    • Notes
    Load more