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4. Stephen Hawking As a Celebrity Scientist Please cite this work as: Jeanette Gedsø (May 2019). The Making of a Celebrity Scientist: Stephen Hawking's Life in Physics and in Public. RePoSS #47. Aarhus University, Centre for Science Studies. http:// www.css. au.dk/reposs. The Making of a Celebrity Scientist: Stephen Hawking’s Life in Physics and in Public April 2019 Master Thesis Jeanette Gedsø 201303693 au471818 Aarhus University Department of Physics and Astronomy and Centre for Science Studies Supervisor: Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 Preface This master thesis represents many hours of hard work for me: many frustrations and happy moments too. I would like to thank my supervisor, Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen, for guidance and encouragement. I would actually like to thank the whole Centre of Science Studies for feedback and questions at the Pitch Event on 13th of February 2019. This sparked new ideas for me. I would also like to thank a fellow student, Camilla, for help on topics where she knows much more than I do. In addition, I want to thank my boyfriend, Rune, for loving support when it was tough - but also when it was fun. I hope you enjoy. Jeanette 2 Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 Abstract This master thesis will argue how and why Stephen Hawking became a face of science. His celebrity status is evident in the many obituaries written about his at the time of his death, on March 14th, 2018. This thesis will present some of Hawking’s scientific endeavors to illustrate the significance he had to science, theoretical physics and cosmology. Some of Hawking’s contributions to the public scene are also presented, analyzed and discussed with popular science in mind. Movie productions, TV appearances and rumors are also included here. This serves to demonstrate the point that fame doesn’t merely come from great achievements; the world must hear of those achievements. Thus, work in the public sphere will evidently grant a bigger chance for celebrity. Next, Hawking will embody Goodell’s visible scientist and Fahy’s celebrity scientist. Stephen Hawking possessed certain traits and underwent specific processes and indeed became a celebrity scientist. Lastly, the life after reaching celebrity status is examined and discussed. Tensions between the scientific community and the visible/celebrity scientists are evident and exemplified in the case of Stephen Hawking. Resumé Dette speciale vil kortlægge hvordan og hvorfor Stephen Hawking blev ét af naturvidenskabens ansigter udadtil. Hans berømmelse er tydelig i de nekrologer, der fulgte efter hans død den 14. marts 2018. Dette speciale vil redegøre for udvalgte dele af Hawkings faglige bidrag til naturvidenskaben, teoretisk fysik og nærmere bestemt: kosmologi. Hawking bidrog også til den offentlige sfære på den måde, at han skrev populærvidenskabelige bøger, han optrådte i TV dokumentarer og i TV shows. Disse offentlige bidrag er præsenteret, analyseret og diskuteret ud fra populærvidenskabelige værktøjer. Film om Hawking og rygter om hans privatliv er også inkluderet her. De offentlige optrædener illustrerer, at man skal gøre mere og andet end at bedrive videnskab for at blive en berømt videnskabsmand. Verden skal høre om vedkommendes bedrifter i naturvidenskab. Derefter vil dette speciale analysere Stephen Hawking som legemliggørelsen af Goodells ’synlige videnskabsmand’ og Fahys ’berømte videnskabsmand’. Stephen Hawking vil vise sig at passe på beskrivelsen for den synlige videnskabsmand og efterfølgende have gennemgået processen, som gjorde ham til en berømthed. Endeligt er livet efter berømmelse undersøgt og diskuteret. Det viser sig, at der er spændinger mellem det videnskabelige samfund og de berømte videnskabsmænd/kvinder. Eksempler på dette er belyst ved hjælp af Stephen Hawking. 3 Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 7 2 Stephen Hawking’s Physics Career 12 2.1 Cosmology as a Field 13 2.2 Ph.D. Dissertation 14 2.3 Second Law of Black Hole Dynamics 16 2.4 Hawking Radiation 17 2.5 The Information Paradox 20 2.6 The ‘No-Boundary’ Proposal and the Hartle-Hawking State 21 2.7 Time Travel, Wormholes and Baby Universes 23 2.8 The Information Paradox Once Again 24 2.9 Nobel Prize or Not 25 2.10 Summary 27 3 Stephen Hawking in the Public Eye 28 3.1 Popular Science 29 3.1.1 A Boom in Popular Science 29 3.1.2 Popular Science and Cinematic Science 30 3.1.2.1 Popular Science Literature 30 3.1.2.2 Science in the Cinema 32 3.1.3 Summary 33 3.2 Stephen Hawking in Books, Movies and on TV 33 3.2.1 Popular Science Books 34 3.2.1.1 A Brief History of Time 34 3.2.1.2 Black Holes and Baby Universes 38 3.2.1.3 The Universe in a Nutshell 39 3.2.1.4 My Brief History 41 3.2.1.5 Children’s Literature 42 3.2.1.6 Brief Answers to the Big Questions 43 3.2.1.7 Summary 44 4 Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 3.2.2 Movie Productions 44 3.2.2.1 Hawking 45 3.2.2.2 The Theory of Everything 46 3.2.2.3 Summary 47 3.2.3 TV Documentaries and TV Comedy Shows 48 3.2.3.1 Stephen Hawking’s Universe and Into the 48 Universe with Stephen Hawking 3.2.3.2 Star Trek 49 3.2.3.3 The Simpsons 50 3.2.3.4 The Big Bang Theory 50 3.2.3.5 Summary 51 3.2.4 Summary 51 3.3 Rumors and the Paralympics 52 3.3.1 Separation and New Marriage 53 3.3.2 Questions of Physical Abuse 53 3.3.3 Paralympic Games 54 3.3.4 Summary 54 3.4 Summary 54 4 Stephen Hawking as a Celebrity Scientist 57 4.1 The Visible Scientist and Public Intellectual 58 4.1.1 Goodell’s Visible Scientist 58 4.1.2 The Public Intellectual 62 4.2 Stephen Hawking as a Visible Scientist and a Scientific Public 62 Intellectual 4.2.1 First Trait: A Credible Reputation 63 4.2.2 Second Trait: A Colorful Image 64 4.2.3 Third Trait: Relevance 66 4.2.4 Fourth Trait: Articulateness 68 4.2.5 Fifth Trait: Controversy 69 4.2.6 A Public Intellectual 70 4.2.7 Summary 70 4.3 Becoming a Celebrity Scientist 71 5 Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 4.3.1 Process of Celebrification 71 4.3.2 Carl Sagan 72 4.4 Celebrificating Stephen Hawking 73 4.5 After Celebrification 75 4.5.1 Reactions to Hawking’s Celebrity Status 76 4.5.1.1 Inflated Status? 76 4.5.1.2 Rumors and Gossip 77 4.5.1.3 Hawking Continues Working 78 4.5.2 Tensions Between the Scientific Community and Visible 80 Scientists 4.5.2.1 The Role of the University 80 4.5.2.2 Norms of Science 81 4.5.2.3 The Sagan Effect 82 4.5.2.3.1 Did Stephen Hawking Experience the 82 Sagan Effect? 4.5.2.3.2 The Sagan Effect Today 84 4.5.2.4 Summary 85 4.6 Summary 85 5 Conclusion 87 6 Reference List 92 7 Appendix 1 105 6 Jeanette Gedsø The Making of a Celebrity Scientist 201303693 1. Introduction Stephen Hawking died on March the 14th 2018. His death spurred an impressive number of obituaries. The obituaries were featured in a variety of tabloid and broadsheet magazines and newspapers (Ritz 2018, web, Penrose 2018, web). They were seen in news sections on the television, in peer reviewed journals – both British, International and Danish (Castelvecchi 2018, web, Alstrup 2018, web, Hyldal 2018, web). Thus, Hawking had permeated a wide range of public spaces and scientific grounds. This thesis will start from a wonderment at how Stephen Hawking was described in these obituaries. For instance, Stephen Hawking was considered “one of science’s most recognizable faces” (Barr 2018, web). The obituaries depict Stephen Hawking as the scientist – cosmologist - he truly was. Most obituaries tour around his scientific career, presenting Hawking radiation and a few other significant endeavors (Kaiser 2018, web, Page 2018, web). Yet, the obituaries also term Hawking a somewhat special scientist – namely a celebrity scientist (Kaiser 2018, web, Barr 2018, web, Penrose 2018, web). In The Guardian, a Hawking colleague, Roger Penrose, writes that Hawking was commonly perceived as “the No 1 celebrity scientist”, which meant that huge amounts of people would attend his lectures and not just for academic purposes (2018, web). In Physics World and Physics Today, Hawking was named “an icon of modern physics” and “the most famous scientist of the late 20th and the early 21st centuries” (Lloyd 2018, web, Page 2018, web). Castelvecchi agrees in Nature: Hawking was “one of the most influential physicists of the twentieth century and perhaps the most celebrated icon of contemporary science” (2018, web). Hence, Hawking was more than a scientist – he was a celebrity scientist. This indicates that he did more than carry out intricate mathematical calculations. The obituaries also mention his literary contributions to the popular science scene. A Brief History of Time is portrayed to have initiated his extensive fame, after which “Hawking went mainstream” (Lloyd 2018, web, Vanderhoof 2018, web). Hawking wrote other books than A Brief History of Time, yet, this work would prove to be significant for his public life, as he “achieved a level of fame uncommon among scientists” (Conover 2018, web). The other works include, for instance, Black Holes and Baby Universes, The Universe in a Nutshell, and Brief Answers to the Big Questions.
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