Professor Stephen Hawking has died at age 76,

[Tennesseer]

More to come.

[weltschmerz]

Oh no! Really?

[weltschmerz]

To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised he lived as long as he did.

Most ALS patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. He was diagnosed at twenty one.

[Tennesseer]

Mar 13, 2018 23:02:45 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised he lived as long as he did.

Most ALS patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. He was diagnosed at twenty one.

A childhood friend of mine died from ALS last year. He did not have ALS for too long.

[weltschmerz]

I recently watched a documentary of his life on PBS. Fascinating.

[thyme4change]

He lived a long ass time, even for a healthy person!

[weltschmerz]

One of the funniest things I EVER heard was ....

"It's a good thing he was born in the United States! He never would have survived under Nationalised Healthcare!"

[thyme4change]

One of the funniest things I have ever heard was that he is proof that a man who is totally paralyzed, can't talk, can't toilet himself, can't eat by himself can still cheat on his wife.

[weltschmerz]

Didn't she cheat on him first, with Jonathan Hellyer Jones?

[mmhmm]

I found a link to a BBC article on Professor Hawkings' death:


link

[weltschmerz]

Mar 13, 2018 23:32:02 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

One of the funniest things I have ever heard was that he is proof that a man who is totally paralyzed, can't talk, can't toilet himself, can't eat by himself can still cheat on his wife.

His wife was an unassuming woman who hated the limelight.
When Hawking became a superstar, the marriage was doomed. She despised it and couldn't take the fame, the fans, and the attention.
That marriage was doomed after 25 years.

[weltschmerz]

"We are stardust"

May Hawking reside in the stars he loved.

[Jaguar]

Go Well,

[Virgil Showlion]

I've read there are dozens of physicists alive today whose contributions to astrophysics are considered more significant than Dr. Hawking's, but there's no doubt he's the most well known outside the community, a pop culture icon, almost as well-known as Albert Einstein.

It will be interesting to see if somebody assumes his role as "The Preeminent Physicist" and "The Genius", and who it will be. Whose name will people invoke in future?

Rest in peace, sir.

[billisonboard]

Mar 14, 2018 9:02:13 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

...

It will be interesting to see if somebody assumes his role as "The Preeminent Physicist" and "The Genius", and who it will be. Whose name will people invoke in future?

Rest in peace, sir.

Sheldon Cooper?

[Artemis Windsong]

Stephen was also a regular on Baywatch but it wasn't mentioned in the list of shows he appeared in.

As I recall, he did not believe in an afterlife.

A brilliant mind will RIP.

[Virgil Showlion]

Mar 14, 2018 9:06:30 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Mar 14, 2018 9:02:13 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

...

It will be interesting to see if somebody assumes his role as "The Preeminent Physicist" and "The Genius", and who it will be. Whose name will people invoke in future?

Rest in peace, sir.

Sheldon Cooper?

I'm pretty sure it'll have to be somebody real.

Many of the situations where "The Genius" is invoked would be undercut if he was a fictional character.

But... who knows.

[swamp]

I wonder what The Simpsons and Big Bang Theory will do to honor him.   

[Tennesseer]

Mar 14, 2018 10:58:36 GMT -5 swamp said:

I wonder what The Simpsons and Big Bang Theory will do to honor him.   

Minimally, expect an in memoriam at the end of this week's BBG. More to come later.

[MJ2.0]

Mar 13, 2018 23:32:02 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

One of the funniest things I have ever heard was that he is proof that a man who is totally paralyzed, can't talk, can't toilet himself, can't eat by himself can still cheat on his wife.

LOL, seriously?

[thyme4change]

Mar 14, 2018 9:02:13 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I've read there are dozens of physicists alive today whose contributions to astrophysics are considered more significant than Dr. Hawking's, but there's no doubt he's the most well known outside the community, a pop culture icon, almost as well-known as Albert Einstein.

It will be interesting to see if somebody assumes his role as "The Preeminent Physicist" and "The Genius", and who it will be. Whose name will people invoke in future?

Rest in peace, sir.

I wonder how many pop culture scientists we can support at once? Right now we have Neil Tyson Degrasse. He has some of the same elements that Hawkins had - some distinctive physical trait (sorry, but being a super-smart black guy is still notable to some people), he has a great sense of humor, and a willingness to talk about his field of expertise. Not that he reigns uncontested, but he does show a blueprint for how to get there.

[MJ2.0]

also Bill Nye.

[Virgil Showlion]

I don't know much about Dr. Degrasse.

It won't be Bill Nye. He's too outspoken on topics such as climate change and a bit too pop science-y. "The Genius" is largely apolitical, hangs with the big boys (i.e. still publishes and delivers talks at prestigious events), and is a humble, demure individual. Above all, he (or perhaps she) will be somebody who has made a significant contribution to his/her field.

It may not even be a scientist. It could be a mathematician, a musician, a philosopher, ...  Anybody with the above characteristics.

[MJ2.0]

Mar 14, 2018 15:02:50 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I don't know much about Dr. Degrasse.

It won't be Bill Nye. He's too outspoken on topics such as climate change and a bit too pop science-y. "The Genius" is largely apolitical, hangs with the big boys (i.e. still publishes and delivers talks at prestigious events), and is a humble, demure individual. Above all, he (or perhaps she) will be somebody who has made a significant contribution to his/her field.

It may not even be a scientist. It could be a mathematician, a musician, a philosopher, ...  Anybody with the above characteristics.

did some governing body come up with this qualifying characteristics?

[weltschmerz]

Mar 14, 2018 14:38:52 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Mar 14, 2018 9:02:13 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I've read there are dozens of physicists alive today whose contributions to astrophysics are considered more significant than Dr. Hawking's, but there's no doubt he's the most well known outside the community, a pop culture icon, almost as well-known as Albert Einstein.

It will be interesting to see if somebody assumes his role as "The Preeminent Physicist" and "The Genius", and who it will be. Whose name will people invoke in future?

Rest in peace, sir.

I wonder how many pop culture scientists we can support at once? Right now we have Neil Tyson Degrasse. He has some of the same elements that Hawkins had - some distinctive physical trait (sorry, but being a super-smart black guy is still notable to some people), he has a great sense of humor, and a willingness to talk about his field of expertise. Not that he reigns uncontested, but he does show a blueprint for how to get there.

ALL of them, in response to the current anti-science administration.

[Virgil Showlion]

Mar 14, 2018 15:11:29 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

Mar 14, 2018 15:02:50 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I don't know much about Dr. Degrasse.

It won't be Bill Nye. He's too outspoken on topics such as climate change and a bit too pop science-y. "The Genius" is largely apolitical, hangs with the big boys (i.e. still publishes and delivers talks at prestigious events), and is a humble, demure individual. Above all, he (or perhaps she) will be somebody who has made a significant contribution to his/her field.

It may not even be a scientist. It could be a mathematician, a musician, a philosopher, ...  Anybody with the above characteristics.

did some governing body come up with this qualifying characteristics?

No, but we can intuit them.

He's somebody that has to be taken seriously. That's the sine qua non of the persona. Fictional, too controversial, too pop-sciencey, too arrogant, not accomplished enough to really stand out, not completely beyond reproach in the intelligence department: he's assailable and hence doesn't fit the persona.

[thyme4change]

The first thing is to be interesting and amusing. If not that, no one will care to listen.

After that, it doesn't totally matter, as many people clearly don't critically think about what they are being told by witty celebs.

[MJ2.0]

Mar 14, 2018 17:32:53 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Mar 14, 2018 15:11:29 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

did some governing body come up with this qualifying characteristics?

No, but we can intuit them.

He's somebody that has to be taken seriously. That's the sine qua non of the persona. Fictional, too controversial, too pop-sciencey, too arrogant, not accomplished enough to really stand out, not completely beyond reproach in the intelligence department: he's assailable and hence doesn't fit the persona.

According to the Governing Body Of Virgil.

IMO anyone who uses facts backed up by evidence to teach people something new should be welcomed and celebrated.  Cutting edge science and medicine is controversial but necessary or else we'd still think all planets move around the earth, that the earth is flat, and that draining one's blood is the best way to cure disease.  People KILLED Copernicus because of his discoveries being too controversial... so he should have just shut up and said "yup, the earth is totally the center of the solar system"?

[MJ2.0]

Mar 15, 2018 11:25:44 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

The first thing is to be interesting and amusing. If not that, no one will care to listen.

After that, it doesn't totally matter, as many people clearly don't critically think about what they are being told by witty celebs.

I wouldn't consider Hawking/Nye/Tyson celebrities in the usual sense though.  They are all very intelligent men with higher degrees in science... and they happen to be recognizable.  That doesn't diminish their academic/field accomplishments.  One can be interesting, amusing, and factual.

[thyme4change]

Mar 15, 2018 11:40:52 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

Mar 15, 2018 11:25:44 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

The first thing is to be interesting and amusing. If not that, no one will care to listen.

After that, it doesn't totally matter, as many people clearly don't critically think about what they are being told by witty celebs.

I wouldn't consider Hawking/Nye/Tyson celebrities in the usual sense though.  They are all very intelligent men with higher degrees in science... and they happen to be recognizable.  That doesn't diminish their academic/field accomplishments.  One can be interesting, amusing, and factual.

Virgil is discounting Tyson's credentials, not me.