Stephen Hawking was best known as a physicist and cosmologist; however, it was wit and sharp sense of humour that truly set him apart from his peers and made him a household name and national treasure.
With the sad news of his death still resonating, we explore what we can learn from the Lucasian professor beyond the world of black holes.
His theory that black holes radiate heat stirred up one of the most passionate debates in modern cosmology; it contradicted one of the most basic laws of quantum mechanics, and plenty of physicists disagreed. Hawking eventually came around to believing the more common, if no less baffling, explanation regarding this cosmic mystery. His ability to risk defeat all in the name of science also predisposed Hawking to a penchant for wagers, despite his knack for losing them. In 1975, he bet the US physicist Kip Thorne a subscription to Penthouse that the cosmic x-ray source Cygnus X-1 was not a black hole. He lost in 1990.
With such conviction, Hawking pushed boundaries and his fearlessness fuelled an insatiable appetite for further knowledge. In the fundamentally subjective world of design, confidence is a designer’s ace in the hole and often the only weapon at their disposal in the fight for what they believe to be the very best idea.
Having a strong opinion and standing up for what you believe to be the right course of action for your ideas is what will push clients and consumers alike beyond what they already know, outside of their comfort zones and into exciting new territories.
The caveat to all of this though, is the ability to admit when you are wrong. Exploration can lead to dead ends, but travelling a path that turns out this way is not a problem – the problem arises when someone is too proud to u-turn.
The true measure of successful design has to do with collaboration – for that is what allows the most fruitful creative insight, so of paramount import to the design process is a mutual respect and the open mindedness to listen and hear one another.
Professor Hawking had an unrivalled hunger for knowledge and for challenging his mind to unravel the most complex of problems, yet such was his way, his work was made accessible, and not only reserved for the elite of the academic world to pontificate – he distilled his know-how so everybody could benefit.
If we consider then science and design as cousins, the way in which Hawking processed and eventually compressed vast and complex information in similar vein to that which is expected of a designer worth his salt, it emerges that the efficacy of any design begins with strong communication, but also has a lot to do with the presentation of the message.
“Marika Taylor, a former student of Hawking’s and now professor of theoretical physics at Southampton University, remembers how Hawking announced his U-turn on the information paradox to his students. He was discussing their work with them in the pub when Taylor noticed he was turning his speech synthesiser up to the max. “I’m coming out!” he bellowed. The whole pub turned around and looked at the group before Hawking turned the volume down and clarified the statement: “I’m coming out and admitting that maybe information loss doesn’t occur”. He had, Taylor said, “a wicked sense of humour””.
Presenting an idea should feel very much like this – the precious moments that hang in between when interest is first piqued and the immediate weight of expectation that follows, this is where the opportunity truly lies, to make it count. Unfolding your story thereafter, the ‘creative foreplay’ if you like, will further ease your audience into being receptive to the killer blow.
The delivery of the message is as important as the message itself.
It was his unrivalled humility and love of life from which we can all learn the most. Despite the challenges that were dealt him, he delivered some of the most thought provoking and challenging work in science whilst squeezing every ounce out of each day.
We are all part of life’s rich tapestry and in so being, have the power to touch one another’s lives. We are fortunate enough to be in the world of design and have the capabilities to do this through our creative output, and it is in this endeavour ‘it matters that [we] don’t just give up’, that we strive to achieve this in all that we do, each and every day we can.
“I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die,” Hawking said. “I have so much I want to do first”.