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Stephen Hawking has died

bbc.com

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Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#451

Post by eloff »

3pt14159 wrote: post #334
eloff wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right now the only thing that somewhat limits the accumulation of wealth by the wealthiest in our society is that they eventually die. Even if they pass it on to their offspring, those offspring are often ill-equipped to run their parent's business empire. Eventually the dynastic wealth fades away and others can take their place. If people could live forever there would be no limits on how much wealth individuals cou…

Ultimately, we should just have a redistributive, progressive wealth tax with a basic income and optional state provision of staples like Healthcare. It's the only longterm stable system that sets incentives correctly. We should also completely ban negative things that cause feedback loops, like high net worth individuals subverting the political process via money. But if Steve Jobs clone 2.0 is 400 years old and sti…

That is part of the solution, but you're dreaming if you think you can tax people at 90% and expect them to continue to produce. I've packed up and relocated for less. I've also turned down work that I otherwise would have accepted, just because I know the government will take half. There would have been no Steve Jobs (at least not in the US) at 90% marginal tax rates.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#452

Post by ekianjo »

coldtea wrote: post #153
ekianjo wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inequality is not that bad when everyone is getting richer even at the very bottom. Inequality speech is the tree hiding the forest.

Only people have not been getting richer for a long while in some places, including the US. If anything the opposite. https://hbr.org/2017/10/why-wages-arent-growing-in-america That's difficult for those in upper middle class jobs to comprehend though, but in less fortunate areas and slices of the population, it's everyday life.

The world is not limited to the US.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#453

Post by elliottkember »

jxramos wrote: post #432
state_less wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee." -John Donne I'll miss him a…

I've been long familiar with that poem, but for the first time today I realize that its connected to our nature in how we're brought into the world. The long succession of mother and fathers springing forth new life. No human has ever just sprung up independent from prior human life or some lesser organism.

“We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean "waves," the universe "peoples." Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.” - Alan Watts, I highly recommend his talks

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#454

Post by Liron »

madengr wrote: post #440
Liron wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without Elon Musk, do you think humanity would currently be in possession of reusable rocket boosters? (Regardless of Page and Brin's accomplishments.)

Yes. The space shuttle had reusable boosters. Retro rockets for landings were used in th Apollo and Viking programs.

Can you link to a specific rocket booster that was reused? Doesn't count if it's a retrorocket helping slow down some capsule that also has a parachute.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#455

Post by 3pt14159 »

eloff wrote: post #451
3pt14159 wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ultimately, we should just have a redistributive, progressive wealth tax with a basic income and optional state provision of staples like Healthcare. It's the only longterm stable system that sets incentives correctly. We should also completely ban negative things that cause feedback loops, like high net worth individuals subverting the political process via money. But if Steve Jobs clone 2.0 is 400 years old and sti…

That is part of the solution, but you're dreaming if you think you can tax people at 90% and expect them to continue to produce. I've packed up and relocated for less. I've also turned down work that I otherwise would have accepted, just because I know the government will take half. There would have been no Steve Jobs (at least not in the US) at 90% marginal tax rates.

I don't want to tax income, I want to tax wealth.

And we need better international coordination. In this future scenario the super rich that take their marbles and go home will be banned from travelling into the countries that co-operate. The super rich act like they gain nothing of value from our social safety nets, but they do. Happy liberal cities cost money. I don't want a world where the Koch Brothers can leisurely enjoy a city like Toronto, Paris, or Tokyo without contributing a dime to the others around them that made them rich.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#456

Post by Eylandos »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #115
martinpw wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From that obituary, this line resonates: Those who live in the shadow of death are often those who live most.

That quote resonates a lot with me. My lowest points are when life becomes too easy. When I start to miss the point of living. I quit my job and moved to a new country because I was becoming complacent, repeating the same thing every day. It's the moments closest to death when we are truely alive. Whether it's being struck by a disease, as Stephen Hawking tragically was all those many years ago, or climbing a mountai…

If you don't mind sharing, how are you right now?

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#457

Post by beirut_bootleg »

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…

If there is not one person who will be it, then we must make our own. You don't need to inspire all people everywhere in one go, so you don't need 12 million followers to do that.

You just need to look around, and then do your best: volunteer at school or uni, post Kerbal Space Program let's plays, or use a top to explain angular momentum to a 2nd grader.

We can't rely on one or two celebrities and then sit on our hands. We take our telescope across Africa and inspire a few kids at a time, all the time.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#458

Post by skookumchuck »

gowld wrote: post #450
skookumchuck wrote: post #386

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nye acted for years on Almost Live, a comedy show. He's also got an ME degree, not an advanced science degree. It's just hard to take him seriously as a science spokesman.

ME is an advanced science degree.

ME is short for BSME, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#459

Post by exikyut »

krapp wrote: post #230
exikyut wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I consider no black bar: - a violation of the principle of least surprise - a statement of discrimination Precedent has been set by the fact that it has been used in the past. If its usage is being wound down, I reckon this more than qualifies as exceptionally justifiable.

Your comment illustrates perfectly why the black bar is a bad idea... unless it gets used for every death posted here someone will feel discriminated against and offended that it was omitted for someone they like. And if it is used for everyone, people will feel that its meaning has been degraded, because the black bar has become a status symbol - something to be "earned" or "deserved". And inevitably there will be t…

My reply/argument is this:

This post has just disrupted the previous HN top post of all time.

I would have used the black bar this time around.

However, as it's such a source of contention, I can see not using it on this post, to set precedent for not using it.

Incidentally my last account (https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=i336_) ended up closed on this issue (you'll need showdead turned on to see its last comments). By "closed" I mean I said "okay I need a break" and set noprocrast to a high number due to there being no documentation about what the number represented (I thought it meant seconds, learned the hard way it meant hours!).

Re: Stephen Hawking has died

#460

Post by pdcerb »

Aloha wrote: post #121
satori99 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, two-way communication, sure. But his words and ideas will continue to be communicated for a very long time. He is one of the very rare human beings whose names will never be forgotten.

Arguably he's probably there with Newton, Sagan, Darwin and Einstein

Although Sagan was a great educator, Maxwell and Feynman deserve much more credit than him.
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