Physicist Stephen Hawking dies at 76

[Godfather]

Stephen Hawking, a renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, died Tuesday at the age of 76, his family said late Tuesday.

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today," his children said in a statement to Sky News. "He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."

Hawking was perhaps the most famous scientist in the world. His work included collaborating on gravitational singularity theorems, a set of results in general relativity which attempt to answer the question of when gravitation produces singularities. He also made the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often referred to as Hawking radiation.

Hawking, who spoke through a computer system operated with his cheek, suffered from a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis known as Lou Gehrig's disease that gradually paralyzed him since he was first diagnosed at age 21.

Developing story…

[DemonGeminiX]

Say hello to Carl Sagan for us, Stephen.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY




LONDON — Stephen Hawking, the legendary British theoretical physicist, has died at age 76 his family announced in a statement early Wednesday.

The cause of death was not immediately available. His family said he died peacefully at his home in Cambridge, in eastern England. Hawking had been confined to a wheelchair by a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — a neurological disease — for decades, and communicated using a speech synthesizer.

As well as being a world-renowned scientist, Hawking was known for his memorable and inspirational musings.

Here are some of them:

On humans and our place in the world

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special."

"I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate."

"We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet."

On knowledge

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

"My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."

"Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking."

On his disability

"My disabilities have not been a significant handicap in my field, which is theoretical physics. Indeed, they have helped me in a way by shielding me from lecturing and administrative work that I would otherwise have been involved in."

"Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free."

On his philosophy

"Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny."

“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

[Teh One Who Knocks]

To have that brilliant of a mind, one of the smartest people to ever live, and be trapped in a broken body like that for all that time. I can't even imagine.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Just heard it on the radio, Stephen Hawking dies today, March 14th (He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday, his family said), which is the same day as Albert Einstein's birthday.

[Goofy]

tbh i'm surprised he lived this long, most people with motor neuron disease don't live with it for 50 years

[Teh One Who Knocks]

tbh i'm surprised he lived this long, most people with motor neuron disease don't live with it for 50 years

Yup, I think I remember reading somewhere about his life that after he came down with the disease, he wasn't expected to live 10 more years or something like that. And he made it all the way to 76, beating all the odds.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

However, no TV cameo will be quite as treasured as his time on The Simpsons, most notably "They Saved Lisa's Brain". The episode sees Lisa invited into Springfield's local Mensa chapter, only for the group to grow power hungry and take control of the town, attempting to impose the rule of the smartest.

It's Hawking who saves the day, becoming one of Lisa's many mentors with the line: “I don’t know what is a bigger disappointment, my failure to formulate a unified field theory … or you.” He's also seen to be intrigued by Homer's theory of a "donut-shaped universe" and confesses he may steal it - a reference to actual theories that the universe may be toroidal in shape.

He went on to make three more appearances on the show, one he called "the best thing on American television". Hawking himself become enough of a popular Simpsons character that he received his very own action figure, complete with the boxing glove that erupts out of his chair to reprimand Homer when he imitates Hawking in an attempt to get him to pay a bar tab.

[Muddy]

Now this guy is the worlds greatest mind..

[Goofy]

[Hal-9000]

[Noilly Pratt]

We know so much more about the universe, and maybe more importantly we now have better theories to lead us to greater discoveries in the future because of his work.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

[Teh One Who Knocks]

[Goofy]