Day 2 - 234 -- Working to Understand the Universe

I watched an amazing movie today -- The Theory of Everything. It is clear why Eddie Redmayne and the film received numerous awards. It is simply so well done. While the focus of the movie is the relationship between Stephen and Jane Hawking, it shows so much else. It does follow his major theories about time, which are fascinating and explained briefly throughout the movie. Also taking a backseat to the relationship and theoretical physics is the story of breaking new ground medically. Technology has allowed Dr. Hawking to communicate in writing and through automated text-to-voice (albeit with an American instead of an English accent). Over the decades, medicine has learned to manage some of the outcomes of ALS -- trying to improve life expectancy and quality of life. The courage needed to move forward through the adversity is also shown through the movie.

One (and there are many) quotation from Dr. Hawking that I admire is:

"Remember to look up at all the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't give up."

That may be something we all need to read each day to help put things into perspective.

From Hawking's PhD dissertation, his first major work concerning the nature of time, he postulated that travelling backwards through time would help to determine if time had a beginning. His ideas of time warps and curved space are intriguing and often bring questions from others  regarding time travel. That led to the song choice for today. It is by a band that was starting their music career in the UK about the same time Hawking began his physics career. Enjoy!

Traveller in Time -- Uriah Heep