Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

[jakeroot]

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

The renowned theoretical physicist/cosmologist has passed away. I can't say I ever "looked up" to him, but it's hard to deny his impact on science and culture.

Not gone too soon, in my opinion (76 ain't bad). But he will be missed.

[ET21]

A sad day for the science community and the entire world as a whole 

[adventurernumber1]

May Stephen Hawking rest in peace. It is a true miracle that Stephen Hawking was able to live as long as he did (all the way to 2018 at age 76), as he was diagnosed with the horrific Lou Gehrig's Disease in 1963 when he was only 21 years old, and the doctors gave him 2 years to live. He had developed a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of the disease. Somehow, he ended up living over 50 years more after that terrible diagnosis and bleak prediction, and he defied all the odds - it is one of the most impressive and amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life (at least medically), as people with ALS usually just have a few years to live. He suffered from a very terrible disability, and he pushed through it all those years and continued to contribute highly to our society with his scientific work. This especially hits me deep in the heart, because I had a great uncle who had ALS for 15 years (from 1999 until his death in December 2014) - his journey was an incredible miracle as well. I think the doctors told him he had 3 years to live, but he defied all the odds as well, and as recent as May 2014, he (with my great aunt) was limping down the aisle at my second cousin's wedding. He himself pushed through immense pain and hardship with this unthinkable progressive disease. Hopefully there is soon found a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease, because it is undoubtedly one of the worst conditions that exists on this earth (you will know why if you read about it).

[SP Cook]

May Stephen Hawking rest in peace. It is a true miracle that Stephen Hawking was able to live as long as he did...

Hawking believed neither that he would "rest" "in peace" or in any other state, nor in "miracles" .  He stated "We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star." "the human race is just a chemical scum"

[bing101]

RIP to a legend in astronomy.

[US71]

May Stephen Hawking rest in peace. It is a true miracle that Stephen Hawking was able to live as long as he did (all the way to 2018 at age 76)

Or like my dad, too stubborn to give in. My dad was give 3-4 years after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, but he beat it and survived almost 9 years from the initial diagnosis.  In the end, it was his heart that gave out.

[SSOWorld]

For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn't have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.

-- Hawking, in a British Telecom advertisement (1993), part of which was used in Pink Floyd's Keep Talking (1994) and Talkin' Hawkin' (2014)

[jeffandnicole]

We'll see if they make mention of it on the next Big Bang Theory; most likely at the end in Chuck Lorre's vanity card which can be updated at any time.