Stephen Hawking Has Passed Away

[Watchdog]

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original post:

One of the most brilliant men in history has died.

Stephen Hawking passed away earlier today at the age of seventy-six.

Despite his terrible physical limitations, and the constant reminder that death could come at any time, he achieved so many remarkable things, and gave us so much insight and knowledge into how we all came to be here at this moment in time.

And even after ALS began reducing him to a shell of a man, he could still manage to smile.

I hope he's flying through the cosmos now, faster than the speed of light, exploring the limitless universe as he never could while here on earth.

 

[Golddollar]

My mother died from ALS back in 1991. The average life expectancy of ALS patients is 2 to 5 years after diagnosis. The fact that Stephen Hawking lived with ALS for 55 years is nothing short of miraculous.
Before and after Mom died I was a member of a support group for ALS patients, their families and medical personnel who dealt with ALS. ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease) stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder that destroys the motor nerves, causing muscular weakness to the point of paralysis. What makes this disease so hideous is that the sensory nerves and thinking functions are not affected, leaving the patient clearing seeing and knowing what is happening to him every step of the way. The cause of it remains unknown and it is always terminal. One drug developed back in the 1990's or early 2000's provided an extension of life of less than a year. Another drug for it was approved fairly recently but I have not heard of it having great remedial qualities. We are hoping that someday research will find the cure.

 

[JayFramer]

Very sad. A great man, intelligent. He is with the Lord now, and Heaven just got a bit brighter.

You know just the other day I was reading an article on him and thought to myself "wow he's getting pretty old" and it is truly a miracle that we can rejoice in that he lived for so long with his illness.

 

[rwsmith]

His amazing accomplishments...

Singularity
Black Holes
Hawking Radiation (from Black Holes)
The Initial State Of The Universe (Big Bang)
Top Down Cosmology (a theory including many Initial States)
Writer
Educator

Can inspiring many everyday people to be more interested in cosmology be a separate accomplishment? He made physics exciting like Bobby Fisher made chess exciting. He was a worthy successor to Carl Sagan in that regard.

And one goof - Said that Higg's Bosun would never be found. He conceded to Higg's who won the Nobel Prize for finding it.

He was on stage one time firing off jokes about himself with his computer voice. Had me and the audience in stitches.

I'm no physicist, but I kinda wondered about that statement he made that the math proves that the universe created itself, but he and another guy were the only ones that understood it.

So long Steve - It's been nice having you around.

 

[7tenz]

Passed away on Pi day, Einstein's birthday, the same age as Einstein, 76.

RIP, Professor Hawking.

 

[federali]

Hawking

I'm saddened to learn that one of the world's greatest minds, ever, has passed away. Rest in peace, Mr. Hawking.

 

[bigwheelzip]

His cameos on The Big Bang Theory were hilarious.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SILi_JhNfG4[/ame]

 

[pharmer]

He confounded.my thinking regularly. Made a point about "singularity" and promptly explained that "time is not like a number line with 0 as the present, but also includes 'vertical time'. " Still gnawing on that. Joe.

 

[blues7]

His like is rarely seen. It was a privilege to learn from his books and broadcasts. Godspeed and R.I.P.

 

[snubbyfan]

It's a sad day indeed.
He did outlive his ALS death sentance by over 50 years though.

 

[Gamecock]

Hawking's clownish argumentum ad verecundiam fallacies put me off.

❝The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate... Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded❞ - Interview, BBC, December 2014

❝I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low❞ - In Naked Science: Alien Contact, the National Geographic Channel, 2004

 

[nachogrande]

TOO SOON TO SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD!

Hawking's clownish argumentum ad verecundiam fallacies put me off.

❝The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate... Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded❞ - Interview, BBC, December 2014

❝I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low❞ - In Naked Science: Alien Contact, the National Geographic Channel, 2004

Whatever his beliefs, his enduring spirit, will to live, & live on/contribute with an extreme disability, while maintaining a sense of humor & ability to make light of his condition & laugh at himself, is about as close to a miracle as I can think of. RIP Prof "WHEELS".

 

[Golddollar]

It's a sad day indeed.
He did outlive his ALS death sentance by over 50 years though.

He certainly did.

The new drug approved for ALS in 2017 is called Radicava. It is the first drug approved for ALS in 22 years. It is not a cure, but slows down the progression of the patient's physical decline. Hopefully slowing down the progression will mean an increase in the average life expectancy of ALS patients.

I spent a lot of time with our ALS support group and various seminars regarding ALS. I became the outside link for my family in treating my mom as my dad was at home being the primary caregiver for my mom. One major premise that I took home, during the time that only one drug was available to treat ALS, was that keeping a patient well nourished and hydrated did more to extend the life of the patient than anything medical science could do. Pop was good about making sure Mom was fed well and heeded my advice about when it was time to get a feeding tube for Mom. We think she beat the odds as to life expectancy because of this.

 

[TomkinsSP]

It's a sad day indeed.
He did outlive his ALS death sentance by over 50 years though.

R.I.P. Professor, here is hoping Onomea is correct. No human is perfect, none of us know everything. I am sure he had learned doctors, they were wrong...

Please keep that in mind if YOUR DOCTOR gives you "news"...

 

[Absalom]

Hawking's clownish argumentum ad verecundiam fallacies put me off.

❝The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate... Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded❞ - Interview, BBC, December 2014

❝I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low❞ - In Naked Science: Alien Contact, the National Geographic Channel, 2004

As slightly hyperbolically expressed possibilities, these make perfect sense to me. Besides, by definition, they cannot be fallacies, since you would have to be able to prove that they are mistaken either logically or empirically.

You can’t do either, since they are both hypotheticals, expressing an opinion about future probability.

And that opinion is based on a projection; it’s a very smart guy’s reading of applicable technological development and human patterns of interaction up to now.

Hawking always knew what he was talking about.

 

[rwsmith]

The last few years......

Hawking's clownish argumentum ad verecundiam fallacies put me off.

❝The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate... Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded❞ - Interview, BBC, December 2014

❝I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low❞ - In Naked Science: Alien Contact, the National Geographic Channel, 2004

In the last few years, Hawking made some pretty wild claims. I pointed out the one about the universe creating itself. Maybe he's right, who knows? Being a scientist, future work will be based on his theories, and if true they will be tested, repeated and verified. Many already have been He was human, after all. All of the adulation may have made him feel like he needed to make far-reaching predictions, far beyond those of mortal men.

 

[GaryS]

Neither of these statements can be proven or disproven until such time as they occur. At which point it will be too late to do anything if he is correct.

His second statement is correct as far as human to human contact goes. Well, human to some other species contact as well. Right now, humans are the Apex Predator on earth. More industrially advanced humans have subjugated the others every time two cultures have met.

Even short terms victories, such as the Little Big Horn and Isandlwana were short lived and resulted in the defeat and subjugation of the victors. Not to mention Pearl Harbor.

As to the first statement, we are seeing some indications that he might be right. He's also not the only person who see this as a real danger.

Hawking's clownish argumentum ad verecundiam fallacies put me off.

❝The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate... Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded❞ - Interview, BBC, December 2014

❝I think it would be a disaster. The extraterrestrials would probably be far in advance of us. The history of advanced races meeting more primitive people on this planet is not very happy, and they were the same species. I think we should keep our heads low❞ - In Naked Science: Alien Contact, the National Geographic Channel, 2004

 

[GaryS]

An outlier such as Hawking was, doesn't prove much at all. If patients routinely outlived their doctors prognosis, that would be something, but they don't.

Some people outlive their Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis by years, but most don't.

A friend of mine outlived his Lung Cancer diagnosis by five years, but he was unusual. Most people don't.

R.I.P. Professor, here is hoping Onomea is correct. No human is perfect, none of us know everything. I am sure he had learned doctors, they were wrong...

Please keep that in mind if YOUR DOCTOR gives you "news"...

 

[P.W.Herman]

May the Lord forgive me, but he always gave me the creeps.

I always felt sorry for him, what a way to have to go through life.

 

[TomkinsSP]

An outlier such as Hawking was, doesn't prove much at all. If patients routinely outlived their doctors prognosis, that would be something, but they don't.

Some people outlive their Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis by years, but most don't.

A friend of mine outlived his Lung Cancer diagnosis by five years, but he was unusual. Most people don't.

If your argument is that doctors are more accurate predictors than meteorologists I agree. My point is that no human is perfect, or always correct. Professor Hawking as smart as he was did not KNOW everything. DOCTORS as smart and educated as they are don't KNOW everything.

If a doctor tells me I will die before the new year, I might resign myself to that fate, get everything in order and fulfill his prophecy. Or I might listen to WHY he believes that to be the case, do what I can to counteract and avoid that fate. Will I be successful if I try, I don't know. Will I be successful if I don't try, I would not think so.