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Stephen Hawking has died

bbc.com

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Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#311

Post by sokoloff »

drawkbox wrote: post #268

Sometimes the RNG of the Universe creates people with intelligence, innovation and insight that are one in a billion that make the world better than it was before in immense ways, Stephen Hawking is one of those mountain movers. People like Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Nikola Tesla and even Elon Musk today, that make us look up, innovate and think way out there, bring us together and remind us we are all on this plan…

One in a billion iS usually an overly generous assertion. In this case, it might be under-generous.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#312

Post by mirkules »

purple-again wrote: post #287
mirkules wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is said that a person dies three deaths: First, when their body stops functioning. Second, when their body is buried (or cremated). And the third and final death is when their name is uttered for the very last time in human history. I am fairly confident Stephen Hawking will have only died two deaths.

I was under the impression it was: 1) When your body dies 2) When you the last person who remembers you dies 3) When the last thing you impacted is gone Now existence has returned to a state as if you had never been at all.

It could be. I first heard my version on a podcast (of course, I forgot which one), but looking around it is attributed to a Stanford professor David Eagleman: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/336070-there-are-three-deat...

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#313

Post by mdtusz »

eudoxus wrote: post #208
o2l wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share the names of other physics books that you think are good & readable ?

Many of Lee Smolin's books are phenomenal, and despite being very indepth into their subject matter, are easy and enjoyable to read. Trouble With Physics is my favorite.

"Einstein's Telescope" however, is fairly dry and a bit out of date now as well.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#314

Post by matte_black »

mikekchar wrote: post #210
fhayde wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a good way to say it might be: I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of not existing.

I do not fear non-existence. For most of the history of the universe, I did not exist. I have considerable experience with that. Dying appears to be unpleasant, though.

For most of the universe’s history you did exist, but were dead, scattered into atoms all across space.

The thing is, after a mere billions of years, you managed to consolidate into a form and became alive. Not a bad deal.

But to be dead, is to wait a trillion years for something to happen, only for it to turn out at the end you have to wait a trillion years more, and then you have to continue this forever.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#317

Post by lozf »

unclebucknasty wrote: post #229
mikekchar wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not fear non-existence. For most of the history of the universe, I did not exist. I have considerable experience with that. Dying appears to be unpleasant, though.

Well, you existed. You just were not assembled in quite the same manner.

Like Lego; you build something and play a while... then all the pieces go back in the box 'til next time.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#318

Post by kkylin »

o2l wrote: post #196
troymc wrote: post #190

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, Canada in the 1980s, the library didn't have many good science books. When Hawking's book got published, it was the only thing available like that anywhere around. Remember, this is before you could get any book in existence within one month via Amazon. There was no Amazon. I got A Brief History of Time and read it, and it's almost cliche to say so, but it changed the course of my…

Can you share the names of other physics books that you think are good & readable ?

I really liked Kip Thorne's Black Holes & Time Warps. Some overlap with Brief History of Time in content, but much bigger and detailed but still reasonably accessible (I thought).

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#320

Post by castis »

nbdev wrote: post #261

Not one negative comment in this whole thread. Everyone is enamoured with Hawking, huh? Ask the women in his life what they thought of him. Ask the scientists, including Peter Higgs, who complained about his undue credibility and attention given to him. Disagree with me? Think I'm speaking negative about the dead? If you call yourself inspired by a scientist, admiring a scientist, then you should seek the truth. Emot…

This sort of behavior may earn points on facebook or reddit, but no one here is impressed with classless posturing.
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