My tribute to Professor Stephen Hawking
Professor Stephen Hawking, perhaps the greatest scientist of the 21st century (and the latter half of the 20th), died earlier today.
He became best known for his breakthroughs in the field of quantum physics, with his book A Brief History of Time managing to sell over 10,000,000 copies. And most notably, he performed all this whilst suffering from motor neurone disease for 54 years; initially when he was diagnosed with it in 1964 he was given 2-5 years to live.
He holds a special place in the heart of greens like myself, though, due to this famous quote of his:
"We have only one planet and we need to work together to protect it. We need to break down, not build up, barriers within and between nations. With resources increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, we are going to have to share far more. "
This quote ultimately matches the core ethos of green politics as we know it, and Professor Hawking was basing this on scientific observation not politics, making it all the more remarkable.
Another display of his intellect was his quote that "people who boast about their IQ are losers" (as beautifully satirised in The Simpsons episode "They Saved Lisa's Brain") on the grounds that if someone had an intelligence quotient so high, they would know that IQ tests are inherently unreliable and contaminated with class and cultural biases. They would also be smart enough to know that there are many measures of intelligence and that other qualities, both physical and psychological are also important in human beings.
Farewell, Professor Hawking. I hope the world will heed your quote to the letter someday, for the benefit of people and planet, and continue the fruits of your research for generations to come.
In memory of Stephen Hawking, born 8 January 1942, who departed this life on 14 March 2018, aged 76 years.
He became best known for his breakthroughs in the field of quantum physics, with his book A Brief History of Time managing to sell over 10,000,000 copies. And most notably, he performed all this whilst suffering from motor neurone disease for 54 years; initially when he was diagnosed with it in 1964 he was given 2-5 years to live.
He holds a special place in the heart of greens like myself, though, due to this famous quote of his:
"We have only one planet and we need to work together to protect it. We need to break down, not build up, barriers within and between nations. With resources increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, we are going to have to share far more. "
This quote ultimately matches the core ethos of green politics as we know it, and Professor Hawking was basing this on scientific observation not politics, making it all the more remarkable.
Another display of his intellect was his quote that "people who boast about their IQ are losers" (as beautifully satirised in The Simpsons episode "They Saved Lisa's Brain") on the grounds that if someone had an intelligence quotient so high, they would know that IQ tests are inherently unreliable and contaminated with class and cultural biases. They would also be smart enough to know that there are many measures of intelligence and that other qualities, both physical and psychological are also important in human beings.
Farewell, Professor Hawking. I hope the world will heed your quote to the letter someday, for the benefit of people and planet, and continue the fruits of your research for generations to come.
In memory of Stephen Hawking, born 8 January 1942, who departed this life on 14 March 2018, aged 76 years.
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