Stephen hawking. One of the smartest men ever to exist on the face of the Earth. One wouldn't expect a person that appears as he does to be so intelligent. Which is why you should never judge a book by its cover.
Before, Stephen Hawking just appeared to be your typical "nerd" as some say. He married his wife and lived a happy period of time.
However, at the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. ALS is a disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When somebody has ALS, they lose control of the muscles in their body; completely immobilizing them. One who as ALS normally doesn't last 10 years. However, Hawking lasted over 50 years with this disease. Not only has he suffered from this, but in 1985, he caught pneumonia. This wasn't just your average case of pneumonia. A tracheotomy was performed, which resulted in the permanent loss of whatever possible speech he had. However, that didn't stop him from communicating with society. Originally, he used what is known as an Equalizer. To use this, one must hit a button on a remote. That will send a cursor across a screen, hovering over letters. When it is stopped by the pressing of a switch, the letter it is over is selected. With this, Hawking could type 4 words per minute. However, he was unable to communicate. Later on, David Mason added on a computer that would analyze the words and repeat them in a robotic, American voice that became Hawking's new voice.
Now, he uses the DECtalk. Instead of hitting a switch, he twitches his eye to select certain letters. He is only able to type 4 letters per minute, yet he is still so determined to communicate with us.
Stephen Hawking truly is an amazing man, despite his appearance.
