Canadian Politics Today
Beyond Politics => General Discussion => Topic started by: wilber on March 13, 2018, 11:05:23 pm
-
A great man who endured his affliction with great humour. RIP.
-
The first time I remember seeing a documentary on (possibly only including) Hawking was before he had his now famous synthesized voice. I don't know if it was before of after he had the tracheotomy, but I remember him whispering to graduate students who would then repeat his words for others. I guess they worked with him enough that they could understand him.
One of the interesting stories I have heard about him is how he got to Cambridge. His undergraduate years were at Oxford, and although recognized even then as very bright he was not the most dedicated of students. He told his examiners that if they gave him a first class degree instead of a second (his performance was borderline) then he would move to Cambridge to complete his PhD, otherwise he would remain at Oxford. He got his first class degree, and the rest is history.
Perhaps a poll. Who has a copy of a Brief History of Time? Who has actually read it, and not just stuck it on a bookshelf? I read it cover to cover a couple of times (when it came out in the 80's, and again in the 90's).
-
The first time I remember seeing a documentary on (possibly only including) Hawking was before he had his now famous synthesized voice. I don't know if it was before of after he had the tracheotomy, but I remember him whispering to graduate students who would then repeat his words for others. I guess they worked with him enough that they could understand him.
One of the interesting stories I have heard about him is how he got to Cambridge. His undergraduate years were at Oxford, and although recognized even then as very bright he was not the most dedicated of students. He told his examiners that if they gave him a first class degree instead of a second (his performance was borderline) then he would move to Cambridge to complete his PhD, otherwise he would remain at Oxford. He got his first class degree, and the rest is history.
Perhaps a poll. Who has a copy of a Brief History of Time? Who has actually read it, and not just stuck it on a bookshelf? I read it cover to cover a couple of times (when it came out in the 80's, and again in the 90's).
I have it and I've read it, but it's been a while so maybe I'll pull it back off the shelf again not only to honor his passing but also to hopefully catch something I may well have previously missed. What a shame for such a decent and intellectual man to be harnessed by such an infirmary, but also what a testament to the strength of the human spirit in the way he dealt with and overcame it.
Yes RIP to a great man.
-
Weirdly, I have it and have read it. It's weird because I haven't read a lot of books.
I suppose he was a 'great man' although it's unclear what that means anymore.
-
Weirdly, I have it and have read it. It's weird because I haven't read a lot of books.
I suppose he was a 'great man' although it's unclear what that means anymore.
Greatness is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. Hawking was great, IMO.