“I don’t care much for equations myself. This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down, but mainly because I don’t have an intuitive feeling for equations.”
- January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018
- British
- Theoretical physicist, science writer
- Announced the black hole singularity theorem and Hawking radiation, and contributed to the popularization of science with his book “Talking about the Universe”
Quote
“I don’t care much for equations myself. This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down, but mainly because I don’t have an intuitive feeling for equations.”
Explanation
In this quote, Stephen Hawking humorously acknowledges a personal limitation when it comes to equations, which are the backbone of much of theoretical physics. While equations are essential tools for expressing scientific ideas with precision, Hawking reveals that he did not have an intuitive connection to them in the way many physicists do. Instead of relying on equations to conceptualize problems, he focused more on the underlying principles and the big-picture ideas. This is especially significant because, despite his admission of not having an intuitive grasp of equations, Hawking made some of the most profound contributions to cosmology and quantum mechanics.
Hawking’s self-awareness of this limitation may have stemmed from his physical challenges after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (ALS), which made writing equations physically difficult. However, this quote also points to Hawking’s unique approach to physics, which was driven by visualization and thought experiments rather than just formal calculation. For instance, in his work on black holes and the no boundary condition for the universe, his insights were often more conceptual than purely mathematical, focusing on patterns and the nature of time rather than just the mathematical formulations.
This statement also resonates with the broader challenge that many physicists face: the need to communicate complex concepts clearly to non-experts, especially when the theory is primarily expressed in mathematical language. Hawking’s popular books, like A Brief History of Time, aimed to make profound and often mathematically complex ideas accessible to the general public. Despite his lack of intuitive ease with equations, Hawking’s ability to grasp and articulate groundbreaking scientific concepts, and to visualize the universe in new ways, is what cemented his place as one of the most influential physicists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
