RIP Stephen Hawking

J

James

Infamy, infamy.. they've all got it infamy
Retired Staff
MBTI
INFJ
Sad to note the death of a truly wonderful guy. I'm sure there will be some great obituaries, they'll go through his scientific work etc.

I will always remember his articulate, and fearless defence of the nhs. His sense of humour at his predicament, and the huge kindness behind the immense intelligence. Which to me means more.
 
James said:
Sad to note the death of a truly wonderful guy. I'm sure there will be some great obituaries, they'll go through his scientific work etc.

I will always remember his articulate, and fearless defence of the nhs. His sense of humour at his predicament, and the huge kindness behind the immense intelligence. Which to me means more.
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Oh, man. I'm startled by the news, but not saddened.

When people die, we start to reimagine them as we want, like they are characters in a play. Hawking has my respect. I don't know if he was interpersonally kind, but I do believe he was driven to survive for a cause greater than himself. That is as noble as any soldier dying in battle. I imagine he will be touted as an example of "defying the odds" to terminally ill patients, which is sort of cruel because Hawking was unique among ALS sufferers, not the rule. And I think his logical mind would caution against basing expectations on outlier results. Which comes around to how he, and other logical individuals, promote kindness.

I'm not sure kindness can truly exist without objectivity and complete honesty -- analyzing data to uncover trends, and having enough respect for the data to accept it, research more, and acknowledge the results. No definitive interpretation of the info. No distortion or spin. Feelings xan come much later, but it's hard to feel passionately about many social or political issues when the truth is never truly clear, and reality is likely a murky grey, never black or white (imo).

It sucks to have no tangible, defined adversary; it makes us feel like we have little control over our lives. And that's true in a broad sense.

These guys taught me how to think.

"If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge. Immortality? There are two kinds...
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" - Albert Einstein, quoted in: "All the Questions You Ever Wanted to Ask American Atheists," by Madalyn Murray O'Hair

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." - Albert Einstein, "The World As I See It"
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https://www.thoughtco.com/albert-einstein-quotes-on-life-after-death-249855

^

And finally, grace and humility:

He went to Princeton Hospital but refused further medical attention. He demanded, “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially; I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” In the early morning hours of April 18, the on-duty nurse heard him say a few words in German, which she could not understand, and then Einstein died.
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^ https://notevenpast.org/what-killed-albert-einstein/

Kindness is fair treatment as determined by a guiding set of principles that logically follow from a sound premise. Nothing can change without revisiting the original premise, which is probably off a bit.

I'm excited by this ideal, but I need to apply it in my life rather than be lazy.

Reading Einstein was like a strong cup of coffee.
 
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Mr. Hawking lived a life few of us could imagine. I had no idea he was 76 but thats a pretty long life for someone with his condition. A pretty long life even without it.
I did not know him and will not act as I did. He gave the world great insight though. His name will live through history.
 
Eventhorizon said:
Mr. Hawking lived a life few of us could imagine. I had no idea he was 76 but thats a pretty long life for someone with his condition. A pretty long life even without it.
I did not know him and will not act as I did. He gave the world great insight though. His name will live through history.
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+1

Also 76?
 
Oh my gosh, I am shocked. I guess death has no mercy, it happens to all of us. Stephen Hawking was a great man and he spread his knowledge and gave us something bigger than the stars. He was amazing. Now his name shall echo in the depths of history, may his name live forever. Now he joins Einstein and Shakespeare, the brilliant minds of our universe and they'll be more. Life keeps moving forward, let's not be disheartened but celebrate a blessing that was him.
 
This news saddens me. Stephen Hawking was one of my childhood heroes (the other being Carl Sagan).

Thank you Hawking, for your brilliant mind, your contribution to science, and for your amazing sense of humor.
Time to reread A Brief History of Time.

And then there is of course.. this. :D
 
It is weird how news of death don't surprise me like they used to. I seem to have accepted death as a part of life. Nonetheless, the news are indeed saddening.

I liked his humour too, although I did not like his having to exert superiority to other scientist (if it is true what they say). Even the greatest minds (of which he is undoubedly one) can be wrong. What saddens me the most is that I know so little of him, as it has been mere weeks since I started dabbling in the theories of the Cosmos.
 
RIP Professor Hawking.

Lurk said:
Oh, man. I'm startled by the news, but not saddened.

When people die, we start to reimagine them as we want, like they are characters in a play. Hawking has my respect. I don't know if he was interpersonally kind, but I do believe he was driven to survive for a cause greater than himself. That is as noble as any soldier dying in battle. I imagine he will be touted as an example of "defying the odds" to terminally ill patients, which is sort of cruel because Hawking was unique among ALS sufferers, not the rule. And I think his logical mind would caution against basing expectations on outlier results. Which comes around to how he, and other logical individuals, promote kindness.

I'm not sure kindness can truly exist without objectivity and complete honesty -- analyzing data to uncover trends, and having enough respect for the data to accept it, research more, and acknowledge the results. No definitive interpretation of the info. No distortion or spin. Feelings xan come much later, but it's hard to feel passionately about many social or political issues when the truth is never truly clear, and reality is likely a murky grey, never black or white (imo).

It sucks to have no tangible, defined adversary; it makes us feel like we have little control over our lives. And that's true in a broad sense.

These guys taught me how to think.



https://www.thoughtco.com/albert-einstein-quotes-on-life-after-death-249855

^

And finally, grace and humility:


^ https://notevenpast.org/what-killed-albert-einstein/

Kindness is fair treatment as determined by a guiding set of principles that logically follow from a sound premise. Nothing can change without revisiting the original premise, which is probably off a bit.

I'm excited by this ideal, but I need to apply it in my life rather than be lazy.

Reading Einstein was like a strong cup of coffee.
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This is a wonderfully wise and thoughtful post. Thank you! Also...

I'm excited by this ideal, but I need to apply it in my life rather than be lazy.
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INTP af!! :clapclap:
 
infinite dreams said:
RIP Professor Hawking.



This is a wonderfully wise and thoughtful post. Thank you! Also...



INTP af!! :clapclap:
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I almost started a thread to honor INTPs a few weeks ago. Then, I hesitated out of respect for INFJs, cause this is their joint.
I would feel like an obnoxious grab-the-mic away person.

Note: Is over-hyphenating -- lengthy phrases -- an early sign of senility? I mean, moving into three to four word hyphenations...dude, there's probably a word for that. lol Just an offhand thought.
 
Lurk said:
I almost started a thread to honor INTPs a few weeks ago. Then, I hesitated out of respect for INFJs, cause this is their joint.
I would feel like an obnoxious grab-the-mic away person.

Note: Is over-hyphenating -- lengthy phrases -- an early sign of senility? I mean, moving into three to four word hyphenations...dude, there's probably a word for that. lol Just an offhand thought.
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You could have made the thread. I don't think we'd mind.

As for the hyphens: I probably would make even more hypenated phrases sometimes. It's not senility, just a temporary loss for the exact word you are looking for - I hope. It'll probably come to you later :)
 
The news hit hard when I saw it just an hour ago - I'm not yet sure what I think about it but Dr Hawking wanted to understand the universe at the deepest level and no doubt inspired many others to go looking in the same or sometimes new directions. The feeling is a similar one to when I learned Carl Sagan had passed away back in '96. I think both have had a tremendous consciousness-raising effect on the mass population apart from their brilliant contributions in the scientific fields.

For those interested, this obituary is a pretty good story of Hawking's life work.
 
Lurk said:
I almost started a thread to honor INTPs a few weeks ago. Then, I hesitated out of respect for INFJs, cause this is their joint.
I would feel like an obnoxious grab-the-mic away person.

Note: Is over-hyphenating -- lengthy phrases -- an early sign of senility? I mean, moving into three to four word hyphenations...dude, there's probably a word for that. lol Just an offhand thought.
Click to expand...
I think senility has a lot of positives. Just think, soon we'll receive discounts at restaurants! :crazybounce:
 
It seems some people don't know a lot about Hawking, and though this is just a fictionalized version of his life, it's a beautiful film that shows the human side of him which I think is excellent.
I've followed him and his work since I was a kid, seeing as he was a smart dude in a wheelchair, I just naturally gravitated toward him I guess.

 
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