Patrick and I went on a date tonight to see the movie about Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything. I have been wanting to see it since I saw the preview a couple months ago and finally we had some time (read: I have a treatment planning exam this week and am on call next weekend, so I wanted to be “normal” and also simultaneously procrastinate).
I was impressed.
Not only did I get to nerd out a little bit (although science and/or medicine weren’t the main focus of the movie), but it was at times funny, and heartwarming and sad, much like life is. It was quite a journey.
Seriously though… I would watch it again. Happily.
Then, we went home and spent an inordinate amount of time nerding out in a different way by looking into how true to life the movie really was, how the actor learned to portray gradual motor neuron decline so well and all that good stuff. Apparently, it is pretty close to life, although there were, of course the odd composite characters and embellishments or sugar coating. And the actor studied a ton with dancers and videos and such to get the movements (or absence thereof).
All in all, a good movie.
And now I want to read the book (written by his ex-wife, Jane). In fact, I saw it while we were out and about today and I almost told Patrick I couldn’t see the movie before I read the book (since that is my general life rule), but I decided against that. And I need to read his book too, because I like to be well-read and because I love science and physics (and I do firmly believe that much of it does point to God).
Also, it reminded me that physicists are some of my favourite kinds of people. Seriously… I work with a ton of them… Not cosmologists or theoretical physicists, but medical physicists who are equally nerdy and insanely intelligent.
This in turn reminds me that before I read these books I should probably study my physics and radiobiology so that I pass them this year (although that is improbable because as a rule that doesn’t happen and we repeat them in 4th year). And that in turn makes me continue to put that stuff off because it is way too early. And as I said, I have a treatment planning exam this week that I need to study more for because it is on prostate and I haven’t worked with a doc who treats prostate in almost 2 months, so I am way rusty (and realistically never got the hang of it particularly well). There is, of course some physics in there, so I guess it all relates back. Kind of.