That's cuz religion is a form of population control, quite opposite of what religion actually teaches, no you do not have complete free will under religion.

**Taking a few deep breaths**

The truly, and I mean truly, sad thing about this thread is not that there are a number of people who didn't know who Stephen Hawking even was. It's not that there are some people who believe that he and/or his contributions were marginal; we're all entitled to our opinions. It's the vast wealth of negative or critical things some people have to say about a man and/or his work despite the content of their blather demonstrating little knowledge or understanding of either. It's not a question of why he should be remembered, even celebrated, for me. Rather, it's a question of how education stops at a place where people don't know why he should be celebrated.

For anyone who got a little misty eyed and pulled out their copy of "A Brief History of Time" like I did, take a look at that smile and let that be the face you remember =)

https://steemit.com/science/@johngreenfield/memorial-rip-prof-stephen-hawking-1942-2018

And where the hell did religion come from? Who was talking about that? Dissident was talking physics.

Placing Stephen Hawking on par with his contemporaries like Penrose instead of Einstein is the same as not being familiar with his work or not knowing who he was...?

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm as famous for my wheelchair and disabilities as I am for my discoveries."
Stephen Hawking

Wasn't singling you or anyone else out, sin. I just meant that we're in a sad state of affairs that so many folks don't understand, not the deep workings of, but even the core concepts of their work and/or why it's so important. I say "their" because I'm not idolizing Stephen Hawking or crediting him with solving all of science's questions - and neither did he. Because I read his stuff, I ended up checking out all kinds of great people like Max Planck, who led me right into Edward Lorenz, Roger Penrose, Hawking's friend and colleague, and crazy cool books like "The Dancing Wu Li Masters".

As to the "why" behind the importance - what greater pursuit is there than understanding? I don't think I need to present a thesis on the relationship between research and quality of life to anyone here since you're all enjoying the internet. What all of those men (and many other equally amazing men and women) have in common is that they are/were seekers of understanding. They worked harder at it and dedicated more to it than most people will ever even imagine and while not all of them led us to the internet or the combustion engine, they each made incredible strides in their fields that push us closer to the next evolution of humanity. It may not seem celebration worthy now, but if and when we are to achieve interstellar travel, this is EXACTLY the type of work that will be celebrated.

I'm not objecting to the fact that his work has importance. I do think there's this cult of personality about him which is created by a media that cares more about a good story than science itself. I mean, I bet there's maybe 1 or 2 people in this thread that know who Steven Weinberg or Ed Witten are, yet everyone and their uncle knows Stephen Hawking because he was the guy in a wheelchair with that robot voice. That's the real shame in our education system.

media science personalities have obscure features from bow ties to robot voices to fluffed up hair styles. They are frauds and political hacks. Everyone of them are liberal democrats. Pushing global warming, identity disorders sex changes etc. SH, bill nye, al gore and santa are all the same.

Can't agree that Hawking is the same as Bill Nye or Al Gore either. He contributed to his field, significantly; whereas Bill Nye isn't a scientist and Al Gore couldn't even pass a science class.

Dammit.....It's getting tougher and tougher to be taken seriously as a conservative when people who are often confused for us (as I'm going to put it) say such insightful things as "SH, bill nye, al gore and santa are all the same." That's exactly the type of cannon fodder that ultra liberal, trans-lesbo-crat decepticons like Rosie O'Donnel, who couldn't otherwise argue her way out of a paper bag, use to crucify anyone even remotely right leaning while half of America pays a cable premium to lap it up.
#bepartofthesolution

I blame social media...

I suggest identifying as a political alien that way you can have your own nuanced views without feeling the need to apologise on behalf of people that occasionally hold the same views as you. Too many people identify as conservative, liberal, progressive, etc these days when those terms are so insanely subjective that they have ceased to offer any convienence anymore.

Also, it's a conversation starter that immediately forces someone to actually ask what your views are instead of putting you into a little box that they already have an opinion on. "You're a political what? What's that?" "How can you be pro-life, anti-Church, pro-gay marriage, anti-regulation, pro-pot, and think the Iraq war was justified all at the same time? That doesn't fit into any political ideology I know!"

I blame Obama

Ya good point


lmao.
Good points.
You hold on to hope that facts will sway a liberal, or change a democrats mind. Frankly all that is left is trolling and kicking the fluff out of them when the opportunity arises. Thats just me, on the front line in commifornia.

~~Continued Update~~

Yep, still dead

Who died?

And then?

We have this harmonious vibe on the forums. The lion lay with the lamb.

So the funeral was given by a legion of religious clergy at the church of business Christ. The lie that is the pope was extremely jealous. What a fluffin fraud.

Its all a fraud :/