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Stephen Hawking has died

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Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#351

Post by callumlocke »

icelancer wrote: post #85
wizardforhire wrote: post #28

Few have accomplished as much while overcoming so little compared to Hawkings. Hawkings is and will always be a hero. To think when he started out black holes were just a myth. He got to witness not only their acceptance and his own vindication but actual gravitational waves as well!

>> Few have accomplished as much while overcoming so little It's weird; I individually understood both achievements but never thought about their combination that seriously until it was worded like this. Very well put.

Shouldn't it be "while overcoming so much"?

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#352

Post by CiPHPerCoder »

mgolawala wrote: post #331
joshumax wrote: post #45

For a second I just couldn't believe this was real. Stephen Hawking was one of those people that inspired me towards a career in science, as well as a pursuit of discovering what mysteries of the universe I could uncover within my (cosmically short) lifetime. He did this not through some major life-altering speech I heard from him (although his talks and lectures were quite interesting), or through some grand quote t…

I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation…

It doesn't have to be any one person, either.

As scientific progress becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, communication becomes increasingly valuable both within teams and with the greater public.

I would be perfectly happy seeing tens of enthusiastic and brilliant physicists stepping up to become the celebrity scientists of the upcoming generation, rather than just one or two.

Until they surface, however, the responsibility falls upon each and every one of us to stoke the fires of passion and wonder in our fellow humans.

I started watching Niel deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos reboot the other day, and the first episode is definitely worth a watch for everyone reading this thread. It was also covered in Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-de...

You don't need a platform or a massive following to ignite a spark of curiosity in another person. Small acts of kindness and encouragement can last a lifetime.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#353

Post by Aloha »

satori99 wrote: post #236
pvaldes wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sagan is a special case. Will be remembered (mainly) as a very good science communicator. Not so many people connect it with a famous and top-class scientist woman. The work of his first wife, Lynn Margulis, changed forever the concept of evolution. If we put Sagan with Darwin we should not forget to add Margulis to this list also.

My rule of thumb is whether or not you get your name attached to some physical phenomena. ie: Newtonian Physics, Hawking Radiation, etc.

That's a fair yardstick

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#354

Post by billfruit »

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 ?

"An Introduction to the Meaning and Structure of Physics", by Leon N Cooper, also another Nobel laureate in Physics. Filled my mind with wonder when I read it some 15 years ago.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#355

Post by nbdev »

castis wrote: post #320
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.

Well at least I'm not impressed with your posturing.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#356

Post by sushisource »

nylonstrung wrote: post #350
mgolawala wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation…

Neil Degrasse Tyson is clearly vying for the slot but seems to make science seem more elitist, more pedantic (read literally any of his tweets) and thus appears to miss the point entirely

Agreed. I feel like he started off great but as he grew more famous has made it very much all about himself.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#357

Post by ASalazarMX »

forgetfuldino wrote: post #243
yesbabyyes wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He fooled Death, staved off it's dance it beat him yet, Longinus' Lance now the bet is in our hands perhaps we'll get another chance: Wise for ever, still funny now The party's on the day of Tau He chose a funny day to die A perfect day: the day of Pi.

14/03/2018?

YYYY-03-14

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#358

Post by nbdev »

davidkuhta wrote: post #322
nbdev wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone like Harvey Weinstein has brought much inspiration and joy to the world too. I'm not arguing against the positive so much as just mentioning some of the ugly negatives.

First, dismissing the subjective appropriateness of commenting immediately upon his passing, while your points on Hawking's personal failings may be completely valid, highlighting them without the context of his successes seems misleading. Second, I believe Hawking's contributions and accomplishments hold greater relevance to the audience of Hacker News (and in my opinion humanity at large) than those of Harvey Weins…

I'm not just saying he had failings. It's an impressive copy paste job, but his meager contributions and many accolades only serves my point.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#359

Post by dragontamer »

nylonstrung wrote: post #350
mgolawala wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation…

Neil Degrasse Tyson is clearly vying for the slot but seems to make science seem more elitist, more pedantic (read literally any of his tweets) and thus appears to miss the point entirely

I think Neil Degrasse Tyson is overall net-positive, but I'm definitely not liking his style.

Elitism is overall fine as long as it doesn't get in the way or make you look like an asshole. And unfortunately, Neil Degrasse Tyson seems to be leaning towards the "asshole elite".

Still, he's a good speaker, there are tons of people who are inspired by his style. I think a kinder, gentler, less pedantic (exactly the right word) person needs to become the next "science champion".

Stephen Hawking was a good balance of inspiration, and expertise. He was "elite" without quite being pedantic or asshole-ish.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#360

Post by dbingham »

nylonstrung wrote: post #350
mgolawala wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation…

Neil Degrasse Tyson is clearly vying for the slot but seems to make science seem more elitist, more pedantic (read literally any of his tweets) and thus appears to miss the point entirely

I feel like this might have more to do with modern social media and celebrity culture, especially Twitter culture, than with Tyson himself. It's toxic. It's really hard to move in that realm with out adopting some of its sensibilities and tone.

In Tyson's defense, the new Cosmos was damn near perfect and had none of the elitism that I detected. Just a love of knowledge and history.

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