It's not just about staying alive, it's also a matter of being able to communicate and to participate in the informal but important network of people working on

It's not just about staying alive, it's also a matter of being able to communicate and to participate in the informal but important network of people working on difficult problems. I also feel that medical technology has advanced in staving off the secondary- and side-effects of ALS, including cognitive decline, even though it cannot prevent or cure it. And if, in the end, it actually made no difference, I don't feel that would be relevant to my attitude to how Hawking lived his life.