Timothy Birdnow

I agree.

Stephen Hawking was very smart, of that there is no question. And his disability helped him; he admitted as much, saying he got dragged about to parties and dinners and since he couldn't so much as move his head he had nothing to do but think, so he usually was working when he was out and about.

Hawking was a great promoter of science and his books were to make the general public understand some very complicated issues in science. It was that that made his fame, not his research, which was never that important to the field of Cosmology. Hawking DID divine what is now known as "Hawking Radiation" emitted by black holes which eventually whittled down the enormous vacuum cleaners. But it wasn't enough to earn him a Nobel, and most people in his field thought of him as a competent but rather plodding scientist.

It was his story that made him such a cultural phenomenon. Stuck in a chair with a monotone computer voice (which he generated by blowing in a tube to move a curser on his computer) Hawking had a mysterious quality that is reminiscent of something out of a Greek myth. He was the Old Man on the Mountain, speaking mysterious things with a mysterious voice. This appealed to the public by touching on ancient impulses. He was like the Oracle of Delphi, giving answers that were indecipherable. Hawking had an unworldly feel about him, being trapped inside of his own body as he was, as if he could see a higher reality.

He was a legend. A good legend, certainly, but a legend.

That's not to take anything away from him. I couldn't do anything he did, nor would I have had the strength to face life that way. I'd have given up. It's an inspiring story, no question.

The author also mentions Helen Keller as someone whose legend is bigger than their lives and he's right. I would add Mother Theresa of Calcutta to that list. Mother Theresa is a saint in the Catholic Church (meaning she is known to be in Heaven and not in Purgatory or that other place) and she was indeed a holy and pius and good woman. No question. But there were other nuns, or priests, or even lay people who did as much as did she and were just as holy but for whatever reason Mother Theresa got the good press. She ran with it because it brought in money to help her in her hospice ministry, but she probably didn't care much for the fame. Still, she was feted for the wrong reasons, frankly. She was to many a trendy symbol, a kind of virtue signaling for liberals. She should have been applauded for her deep love of God and faith in God, which is not what we saw. It was her accomplishments that got her all the fame.

This is a common human attribute. Look at the legends surrounding Daniel Boone, or Davey Crocket, or the Old West folks like Wyatt Earp or Wild Bill Hickock or Jesse James (why did Jesse get all the good press when his brother Frank probably was the brains and he had the Youngers as partners? It was because Jesse was a kid and had been forced to spend his whole life as a raider since the Union army refused to accept his surrender.) Washington and Lincoln are both myths and not just men now. Kennedy too. So is Teddy Roosevelt and FDR. Human beings need myths and legends and when they don't have any they make them. In the South during the Civil War Robert E. Lee attained godlike status among most Southerners, even though he never sought that and in fact had his own flaws.

Humans are mythmakers because we want to believe in a higher power but so few want to believe in God the Father or Jesus Christ. So we are always making heroes, and often gods, out of people, be they ordinary or extraordinary (as was Stephen Hawking).

And we expect wisdom from our heroes, whether they are wise or not (many are smart but few on Earth are actually wise - there is a difference). Hawking was smart, but you could not call him wise. He rejected God before he died, for example, and THAT is most unwise indeed. I can understand the temptation; God had done something very hard to accept to him. But when you know you are leaving this world wisdom would suggest you hedge your bets. Hawking didn't and he died not long after coming out as an atheist.

I suspect that's why he lived so long in that state in the first place; he had to make up his mind but couldn't. When he finally did he was gone.

At any rate I agree with this essay. Hawking was a man and the adulation he received in his life says more about us as a people than about him or his accomplishments. I would also add that this is the thing that turns an ordinary man like Caesar into a demigod. It's a dangerous impulse, even if it is a very natural one and beneficial to a degree. We transmit our culture through our legends and heroes. But when we deify our leaders there is real danger. Look at Obama, who used Greek columns and put reverb in his speech to make him look godlike. His people were trying to make him into a Legend. Thank God THAT failed!

BTW being a legend isn't all it's cracked up to be. Yes, you get acclaim and applause, but it's not YOU they are cheering but a fictional character with your name and appearance. Even when you die it's not you who is being celebrated but this other fellow, one you never knew. Better to be beloved for you and what you did yourself and not what some people say about you. 

Hide Comments | Add Comment