Inspiring people: The Professional

STEPHEN HAWKING, THEORETICAL PHYSICIST

Not only is Stephen Hawking a household name when it comes to ideas about general relativity the time-space continuum multiverse theory and black holes he was also an avid proponent of the fact that science education and learning should be accessible to all. Living with a motor-neurone disease called ALS which paralysed him he spoke through a text-to-speech program specifically designed for him giving him his trademark robotic voice. He wrote a couple of books on popular science: the most popular A Brief History of Time stayed on the best-seller list in London for nearly 4 years. His incredible work on black hole background radiation is named after him.

“So remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and hold onto that childlike wonder about what makes the universe exist.”

- Stephen Hawking

The Professional loves to share their knowledge with anyone and everyone who'll listen especially in the form of trivia or random facts. Like did you know that dolphins have been shown to possess the capacity to be empathetic and altruistic - doing things just to be nice with seemingly no benefit to themselves? That's a trait that we always thought was just for humans but nope: dolphins will rescue drowning sailors help other dolphins whales and seals come to get air if they're struggling and grieve and mourn lost friends. How's that for a cool fact?

Politics theories and research are the Professional's bread and butter so while they're not really the type to get their hands stuck in and get them dirty they're always loud and proud about what they care about. Stephen's political life was always very adamant and well-researched and he didn't shy away from showing his support for the causes that he felt were right. That's something we can all be inspired by!