The Strategist

Stephen Hawking Started to Talk About Euthanasia Again



06/03/2015 - 19:57



Stephen Hawking said that in the future he would probably resort to the help of euthanasia. This thought the famous physicist said during an interview with a TV presenter Dara O'Briain, which will soon appear on the BBC TV channel. The words of the scientist are quoted by The Guardian.



"To maintain the life of any man against his or her will is an absolute humiliation. I'll start thinking about euthanasia if I become a burden to others or when I will have nothing more to give to the humanity "- said Hawking.

However, meanwhile the physicist plans to make much more discoveries and create a lot of theories. "I'll be darned if I am going to die not having discovered new mysteries of the Universe" - said the scientist.

Hawking also expressed his regret about how difficult for him is to communicate with other people. According to the physicist words, his colleagues and fans often hesitate to come up and start a conversation. “Sometimes I feel really lonely: people are afraid to talk to me. I often feel shy and tired,”- confessed Hawking.

Earlier, the physicist has already spoken to euthanasia in an interview with BBC. Hawking believes that those people who help their relatives truly willing to pass away should be saved from the criminal prosecution.

The famous scientist is known for his works on cosmology, as well as the popularization of science. Thus, he published an article for the first time where he said about the ability of black holes to evaporate.

It has been recently known that Stephen Hawking began the registration of his name as a trademark. The physicist has already submitted the necessary documents to the UK Intellectual Property Office, which started the procedure of registration of the rights to the commercial use of his name. Funds that a scientist can get for the sale of the products with his name Hawking is going to spend on charitable purposes – on the fight against AIDS in particular. The representative of the University of Cambridge, where the famous scientist works, commented the news as follows: “This is a private matter of Professor Hawking, and not of the university, but I think he made the right decision to protect his name.” Now on the Internet you can find souvenirs and underwear with the scientist’s picture on them.

While being a student, Hawking developed a rare disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which could cause the muscles atrophy. Currently, he is almost unable to move and speak. A special computer system developed by Intel helps the physicist communicate with other people. It analyzes the movement of the eyes pupils and offers a suitable set of words.

The disease does not prevent Hawking from publishing scientific works, as well as acting as a character in a variety of media talk shows and movies. For example, the latest film about him (“Theory of Everything”) was awarded the “Oscar” for best actor (he was the British actor Eddie Redmayne). He also took part in such TV series as “The Big Bang Theory”, “The Simpsons”, “Futurama”, etc.

source: theguardian.com