How Did He Type?

 

Some of Hawking's work

People forget how disabled Stephen Hawking was. I use one finger to type. He didn't move an arm. He didn't use any fingers and he typed!

You didn't hear his voice. That was computer generated. He first had to type what it would say. It took me forever to figure out how he did this.  Maybe if my eyes were better back when I looked I would have seen. I see it now.

Stephen Hawking had one small muscle in his cheek on his face that he could flex. He would wear a device  or modified glasses. It was so inconspicuous that you couldn't tell.

Talking with someone who doesn't speak can be done if that person moves something. Usually movement is opening and closing the eyes. I once had a roommate in the hospital that could raise her arm and I used this for 'yes.' It reminded me of school.

If you can afford it, there are devices for reading brain waves. A person doesn't have to move. The price of the equipment will most likely come down. It's the training that will be difficult. I'm only addressing those who do not need equipment. Hawking had those glasses. The specialists from Intel that he had aren't cheap.

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For those that move something, even if only an eyelid...

THE EASIEST MOVEMENT IS 'NO.' You need two (2) movements. If it is blinking, ONE BLINK IS 'NO.' Two blinks are 'yes.' The reason is so you don't get a 'yes' for something they don't want.

Stephen Hawking probably had this as a back-up, but it is horribly slow and not very reliable.

I like how a friend says Hawking developed ESP. He talks about it at 17:33.