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Like many others, I am extremely interested in space and the obvious questions such as ‘where the universe did come from? ‘‘How it will change and develop?’ and ‘when and how will it come to
an end?’

It would be a great privilege to ask a question of Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest living scientists. I am familiar with “A Brief History of Time” a book written by Hawking and published in 1998 which has remained a best seller and has become a modern classic as a layman’s guide to the origins of the universe. However, what interested me at the first place was his “The Theory of Everything”. This was an excellent read because in his writing, the great man comes down to the level of the average reader and does not become patronising at all. In this book he does not quote difficult formulae or complex equations which may have made the reading more difficult and less interesting. In contrast, he explains numerous absorbing theories using simple language that could be more easily understand by those with ‘lay minds’ such as I have. This is his key to illuminating and encouraging a young learner’s eagerness for more knowledge, which also shows not only his professionalism, but also his humanity and his understanding of educational processes.

Also interesting is Hawking’s grasp of the concerns and attitudes of the average man and woman, not only in the UK but worldwide. For example during one of Hawking’s speeches at Cambridge University, he talked about his dependence on a computer controlled artificial voice system which allows him to overcome his loss of speech. Later when introducing his ‘The Theory of Everything’ lecture Hawking apologised for the American accent produced by the technology which had been donated by Intel, which is a United States corporation. This illustrates his ability to stay in touch with the ‘common man’ through his awareness of their interests and perceptions.

Hawking is an...