News Exercise #228

1. There is a commonly reported misconception regarding Hawking’s life expectancy after his original diagnosis. He clarified it. What did he say?
2. What ironic comment was made about “A Brief History Of Time”?
3. How did the reporter describe the connection between hawking and Newton?
4. Towards the end of his life, how was he able to “speak”?

Answers:
1. There is a commonly reported misconception regarding Hawking’s life expectancy after his original diagnosis. He clarified it. What did he say?
“I was never actually told that I had only two years to live, but I could see the doctors didn’t think my prospects were good.”
2. What ironic comment was made about “A Brief History Of Time”?
The reporter said that ten million copies had been sold but that rather fewer people actually read it.
3. How did the reporter describe the connection between hawking and Newton?
He said that Newton had been Hawking’s predecessor of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.
4. Towards the end of his life, how was he able to “speak”?
By twitching his cheek he could move an infrared beam, thus controlling the computer.