Sorry to read this about Hawking. I always admired him, not just for his forays into the more esoteric areas physics, but for his courage in dealing with his disability, and his efforts to popularize science.
I have his book (gave me a headache too, LOL) and I was (for 2 years) a physics major before I switched to EE. Trust me, thinking about physics too much or too long can mess your head up as bad as LSD. Realtime life and human interaction becomes irrelevant
It's not that IQ "don't mean a thing".
In theory, IQ tests are supposed to be a measure of raw processing power, but I don't really trust them. I mean, who writes the IQ tests? Are there social or cultural influences? etc., etc., yadayadayada. Quantifying raw processing power of a neural network is hard to do.
The problem I have with IQ tests is that if you load a super computer with a crap program, you're gonna get crap. On the other hand, if you load a super computer with a great program, it'll give you great results, but ONLY for the specific answer that you asked.
From what I could find, Hawking and Einstein have (had) estimated IQ's of 160. Estimated I.Q. of Famous People
They were both great a solving specific problems, but I wouldn't trust either of them to boil water.
On that same IQ list you have Hitler and Hitlery almost tied at 141 and 140. She's supposed to be incredibly smart, but is a complete failure as a wife, mother, and human being.
The point is that a high IQ is not something to be ignored. In Hitler and Hiltery's case, it can incredibly dangerous.
On the lighter side, I'll never forget reading some Playboy (I swear, I only bought it for the articles, LOL) that featured "smart" women with IQ's of 130. Despite the bimbo's physical assests, all I could think was "if y'all are so friggin' smart, why are you buck nekid in a men's magazine?"
A darn good assessment of the difference between smarts and IQ. But then, I'm blonde.....what do I know.....