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Thread: Stephen Hawking Dies, Aged 76

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    Senior Member Fallout's Avatar

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    Stephen Hawking Dies, Aged 76

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43396008

    Quite simply, one of a kind, a genius in every sense of the word who overcame unbelievable adversary to be the best at what he did. A massive loss.

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    Senior Member ShinChan's Avatar

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    Rest In Peace. ��

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    I Stay Blasted Yaz's Avatar

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    Since I am an asshole, how much of him being given credit and a platform for his views was due to his condition? Later in his life, a lot of his theories were viewed very critically by the scientific community. Plus, the guy was a massive misogynist and an absolute tool to his wife.

    A loss is a loss and the odds he overcame to continue to contribute to the scientific community are impressive though.

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    Senior Member Fallout's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yaz View Post
    Since I am an asshole, how much of him being given credit and a platform for his views was due to his condition? Later in his life, a lot of his theories were viewed very critically by the scientific community. Plus, the guy was a massive misogynist and an absolute tool to his wife.

    A loss is a loss and the odds he overcame to continue to contribute to the scientific community are impressive though.
    I'm not going to act like Hawking was a saint, but his work in his prime was phenomenal, and even right before he actually died, people took what he had to say seriously on all kinds of subject matters. It's not just "Oh, Richard Dawkins is raving about Brexit again" or something like that, people stopped and listened to his perspective on all manners of things. That takes a very special mind to accomplish.

    Plus, when he was diagnosed with his condition in university, he was initially given 2 years to live. He lasted those 2, plus an extra 50 on top. Even if the man was just another random citizen of the world, that would still be unbelievably impressive in its own right.

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    I Stay Blasted Yaz's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fallout View Post
    I'm not going to act like Hawking was a saint, but his work in his prime was phenomenal, and even right before he actually died, people took what he had to say seriously on all kinds of subject matters. It's not just "Oh, Richard Dawkins is raving about Brexit again" or something like that, people stopped and listened to his perspective on all manners of things. That takes a very special mind to accomplish.

    Plus, when he was diagnosed with his condition in university, he was initially given 2 years to live. He lasted those 2, plus an extra 50 on top. Even if the man was just another random citizen of the world, that would still be unbelievably impressive in its own right.
    Oh no doubt. Human spirit is a powerful force, and Hawking was full of it.

    I had an astronomy class in high school and that was when I started to learn about how Hawking wasn't this all knowing guy, then I took a college class and learned a lot about him. A great mind no doubt, but I do think that asking how much his condition played into his fame is a fair question to ask.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Yaz View Post
    Since I am an asshole, how much of him being given credit and a platform for his views was due to his condition? Later in his life, a lot of his theories were viewed very critically by the scientific community. Plus, the guy was a massive misogynist and an absolute tool to his wife.

    A loss is a loss and the odds he overcame to continue to contribute to the scientific community are impressive though.
    Not saying that this is any sort of excuse or anything, it's simply that it seems to be a common occurrence among the genuine intellectual elite that they're just not able to comprehend certain social norms or types of acceptable behavior. Even though the Big Bang Theory is a TV show, Sheldon Cooper is a good example of that, it's just not remotely as funny in real life when someone of genius level intelligence dismisses the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of other people they deem inferior. People who're pure intellectuals, people who basically only live inside their own heads, which was really pretty accurate in Hawking's case given his condition, often view conformity to social norms a waste of their time. I'm sure Hawking had a massive ego, which is probably made all the more frustrating in the eyes of some people because he's one of the genuine few who was justified for it.

    The fact that Hawking lived so long with ALS is basically a freak of nature and when you consider all he accomplished and contributed to science in spite of his illness, it's one of those rare instances where it makes you wonder if there might even remotely be such a thing as destiny. At the same time, I have little doubt that his condition had some impact on his celebrity status. I mean...I really don't see how he couldn't. Most people who have ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, die within a year or so of their diagnosis, two at the very most. ALS is rare in the first place, but Hawking's case was even more so as it was very slowly progressing. The fact that he was so brilliant, coupled with the fact that he had such a devastating illness that basically left him incapable of physical communication or interaction, made him something of a novelty.
    "What Do I Know Of Cultured Ways, The Gilt, The Craft And The Lie?
    I, Who Was Born In A Naked Land And Bred In The Open Sky.
    The Subtle Tongue, The Sophist Guile, They Fail When The Broadswords Sing.
    Rush In And Die Dogs - I Was A Man Before I Was King."


    Conan Of Cimmeria

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    Call me, Rhea #AbsoluteUnit's Avatar

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    He died on the same day that both Stephen Curry and Albert Einstein were born. RIP.

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    Currently Between Feds smarkmouth's Avatar

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    "Life would be tragic if it weren't so funny."

    Quote Originally Posted by #MrScissorsKick View Post
    He died on the same day that both Stephen Curry and Albert Einstein were born. RIP.
    On "Pi Day", no less.

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    Senior Member Jeff Deliverer of Mail's Avatar

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    I remember when he beat Data and Albert Einstein in a game of poker on an episode of Star Trek. Bad ass.
    Frank: Ludwig?!
    Goon: Drebin!
    Frank: Yeah, I'm Drebin!
    Goon: I have a message for ya from Vincent Ludwig!
    Goon: Take that, you lousy cop!
    Frank: I'm sorry! I can't hear ya! Don't fire the gun while you're talking!

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    Member It's Damn Real!'s Avatar

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    Guy beat the lifespan on his disease by four decades. Incredible.


    "Everyone says you should be a good loser. If youâ??re a good loser, youâ??re a loser."
    - John Tortorella


    "I've always said, I'd rather tame a tiger than paint stripes on a kitty cat."
    - Dean Lombardi


    "Don't take refuge in the false security of consensus, and the feeling that whatever
    you think you'e bound to be okay, because you're in the safely moral majority."

    - Christopher Hitchens

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