RIP Stephen Hawking

[Max Peck]

Physicist Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

Physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, his family has said.

The Briton was known for his groundbreaking work with black holes and relativity, and was the author of several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.

His children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."

Considering that he was on borrowed time for the last 50 or so years, he had a good run. But it's still sad to lose such a brilliant mind.

[tjg_marantz]

Physicist Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

Physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, his family has said.

The Briton was known for his groundbreaking work with black holes and relativity, and was the author of several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.

His children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."

Considering that he was on borrowed time for the last 50 or so years, he had a good run. But it's still sad to lose such a brilliant mind.

Yeah. Some life.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[Daehawk]

Well this was totally out of left field. Was just talking at length with the wife about him the other day. His stuff was starting to be proven it seems. RIP. Wife mentioned most paralyzed people don't live all that long and I held him up as an example of the opposite.

[Max Peck]

BBC Obituary

[Alefroth]

The universe is a little bit less bright.

[Kraken]

He sure did beat the odds, but this makes me sad anyway.

Stephen Hawking came into my bookstore once with his nurse, who I don't think was his wife at the time. He bought a $3.98 guide to the night sky, which I found amusing. I told him that I'd read his book and admired his work, insofar as a bookseller could understand it. He didn't reply so I turned back to his nurse, and then his synthesizer offered up "Thank you."

Hawking was the most prominent of several celebrity scientists that I met in that job. We were BFFs.

[McNutt]

A Brief History of Time is one of the few books I've ever read twice.

[Holman]

His whole career is testimony to the power of the human mind both to understand the universe and to overcome adversity.

RIP.

[em2nought]

Poor Sheldon.

[msduncan]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

[msteelers]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

First off, the election results ARE the top story this morning. The race itself is largely meaningless, but the results speak volumes about what to expect in November. Plus, it was the story that everyone was following when they went to bed last night, so the first thing people want to know when they load up the news in the morning is who won.

Besides that, I wouldn't say Hawkins death was buried. It's featured prominently on nearly every major news site I've visited this morning. The only site you could even say it was buried on was MSNBC.com. You could maybe argue it was buried on NBCNews.com, where it was the third story behind the election and the March For Our Lives event later today. Still, it was front page with a large image. That's very much "above the fold".

[Lassr]

A Brief History of Time is one of the few books I've ever read twice.

Same here. I may have to read it a third time in his honor.

I was not shocked this morning when my wife told me he had died. 76 in his condition is amazing but still very sad to lose such a brilliant mind.

[Holman]

Link

No eulogy of Stephen hawking is complete without the story of when he threw a party for time travelers

[Jeff V]

So, this is when we debut the technology that keeps a brain alive indefinitely, right?

So long to one of the most remarkable people in our time. I don't think his impact on the world of physics is even close to running its course.

[Rip]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

Last night it was the top story. They just couldn't resist putting all the political crap at the top again a few hours later.

Feed the beast!

[Max Peck]

'Mind over matter': Stephen Hawking – obituary by Roger Penrose

The image of Stephen Hawking – who has died aged 76 – in his motorised wheelchair, with head contorted slightly to one side and hands crossed over to work the controls, caught the public imagination, as a true symbol of the triumph of mind over matter. As with the Delphic oracle of ancient Greece, physical impairment seemed compensated by almost supernatural gifts, which allowed his mind to roam the universe freely, upon occasion enigmatically revealing some of its secrets hidden from ordinary mortal view.

Of course, such a romanticised image can represent but a partial truth. Those who knew Hawking would clearly appreciate the dominating presence of a real human being, with an enormous zest for life, great humour, and tremendous determination, yet with normal human weaknesses, as well as his more obvious strengths. It seems clear that he took great delight in his commonly perceived role as “the No 1 celebrity scientist”; huge audiences would attend his public lectures, perhaps not always just for scientific edification.

The scientific community might well form a more sober assessment. He was extremely highly regarded, in view of his many greatly impressive, sometimes revolutionary, contributions to the understanding of the physics and the geometry of the universe.

One of the physicists I worked with was always a little salty over Hawking's celebrity; he believed that Penrose had made more worthy contributions and liked to share that opinion. Because I'm a predictable asshole, I always responded to his comments with "Roger who?"

[Alefroth]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

Last night it was the top story. They just couldn't resist putting all the political crap at the top again a few hours later.

It's a deep state plot designed to upset you.

[Holman]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

Last night it was the top story. They just couldn't resist putting all the political crap at the top again a few hours later.

Feed the beast!

You guys are making no sense whatsoever.

I know you don't like the result, but how is a bellwether election not significant news in a divided democracy? And how is news of Stephen Hawking's death somehow in zero-sum competition with it?

[LawBeefaroni]

Well, I guess Hawking has all the answers now. Or at least the answer to the biggest question of all.

[Kraken]

Well, I guess Hawking has all the answers now. Or at least the answer to the biggest question of all.

"The Big Reveal" is my favorite afterlife fantasy. Perfect enlightenment would be so rewarding...I'm agnostic on the existence of life after death, but if there is another realm, I suspect that we enter it as clueless as we did this one.

[Holman]

Well, I guess Hawking has all the answers now. Or at least the answer to the biggest question of all.

Well, his expectation was that he would now have no answers at all.

[Rumpy]

Hawking was the most prominent of several celebrity scientists that I met in that job. We were BFFs.

Speaking of celebrity: “The downside of my celebrity is that I cannot go anywhere in the world without being recognized. It is not enough for me to wear dark sunglasses and a wig. The wheelchair gives me away.”

[msduncan]

I went to check the news on this after waking. His death was buried on all sites by the house seat special election. The most brilliant mind of our current time down the page below a minor political race.

Last night it was the top story. They just couldn't resist putting all the political crap at the top again a few hours later.

Feed the beast!

You guys are making no sense whatsoever.

I know you don't like the result, but how is a bellwether election not significant news in a divided democracy? And how is news of Stephen Hawking's death somehow in zero-sum competition with it?

It has nothing to do with the result even though I know you have an anti-Trump hard on this morning.

The Einstein of our time just died and a House of Representatives race for one seat just dominated over the headlines.

[ImLawBoy]

If you guys want to turn this into a political discussion, move it over to R&P. (And at least pretend to keep it respectful, if you could.)

[GreenGoo]

This is a weird thing to get upset about. His death is not a leading headline in his own native country, where he went to school, where he was member of the prestigious royal society.

I don't mean to imply that his death is being ignored, only that the world didn't come to a stop when his did.

It not like scientists are revered by the average person. He's no famous sportsball playing person, for example.

In any case, I'm sorry to see him gone. Science news was full of articles about his latest observations just last week.

[Holman]

A wide variety of media have been offering me Hawking obituaries and appreciations all day, so the complaint that his death is being ignored just seems silly.

Of course a far better memorial to him would be greater investment in science funding and science education. I'm pretty sure Hawking would want that more than a few more headlines.

[stessier]

"Einstein of his time" might be a bit much. Most Famous might be a better title. I watched a whole documentary that talked about all the other scientists who were basically unknown to the broader public but who had contributed much more and were actually right in their predictions. Apparently much of what Hawking came up with has been proven to be incorrect. Who knew?

[The Meal]

RIP.

[Isgrimnur]

Ex-nurse barred from practice

British regulators on Tuesday barred one of Stephen Hawking's former nurses from practicing after finding she failed to provide appropriate care to the late physicist.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council struck off Patricia Dowdy, 61, who faced multiple misconduct charges, including financial misconduct, dishonesty, not providing appropriate care, failing to cooperate with the council and not having the correct qualifications.

Dowdy worked for Hawking between 1999 and 2004 and again from July 2013 until being handed an interim suspension in March 2016.