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For a second I just couldn't believe this was real. Stephen Hawking was one of those people that inspired me towards a career in science, as well as a pursuit o

For a second I just couldn't believe this was real. Stephen Hawking was one of those people that inspired me towards a career in science, as well as a pursuit of discovering what mysteries of the universe I could uncover within my (cosmically short) lifetime. He did this not through some major life-altering speech I heard from him (although his talks and lectures were quite interesting), or through some grand quote that I read online, but rather through the fact that he carried with him the enthusiasm that comes with looking up, seeing a vast universe looming all around us, and finding that inner spirit--that inner sense of wonder--that drives us forward in an attempt to make sense of it all. Rest in peace Stephen Hawking; you will be missed.

restlessmedia 9y ago
That's an awesome eulogy. I tried to describe to my son this morning the kind of man Stephen Hawking was and struggled - I wish I had read this first!
- gbraad 9y ago
  I explained it to my son just like his own quote; "look up to the stars and not your feet". Be inspired and be curious.
mgolawala 9y ago
I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation to seek out knowledge, understanding and fill us all with a sense of humility, awe and wonder.
- nylonstrung 9y ago
  Neil Degrasse Tyson is clearly vying for the slot but seems to make science seem more elitist, more pedantic (read literally any of his tweets) and thus appears to miss the point entirely
  - sushisource 9y ago
    Agreed. I feel like he started off great but as he grew more famous has made it very much all about himself.
    - spike021 9y ago
      Similar issue with Bill Nye, I think, though he's definitely not on the same level.
      - spitfire 9y ago
        Mr.Wizard far surpassed Nye, even back in the day. There was never any competition. Nye was always an entertainer first, science teacher second.
        notriddle 9y ago
        > Nye was always an entertainer first, science teacher second. That's true, but I don't really see why it's a problem. As long as he's not spreading misinformation or anything, being entertaining is a skill, and he's using it towards constructive ends. How many HN articles are published every week about how people-skills are undervalued?
        spike021 9y ago
        I think the problem is this trait mentioned by the parent post has carried through to what Nye's been doing now, and I'll personally add that current content produced by Nye doesn't seem productive in any way, whatsoever. In fact, I think Nye has gotten to a point where he actively shuns anybody with an argument against his beliefs, regardless of whichever side is correct. He'll even push his own agenda for certain topics unnecessarily, which is pretty ridiculous.
- CiPHPerCoder 9y ago
  It doesn't have to be any one person, either. As scientific progress becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, communication becomes increasingly valuable both within teams and with the greater public. I would be perfectly happy seeing tens of enthusiastic and brilliant physicists stepping up to become the celebrity scientists of the upcoming generation, rather than just one or two. Until they surface, however, the responsibility falls upon each and every one of us to stoke the fires of passion and wonder in our fellow humans. I started watching Niel deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos reboot the other day, and the first episode is definitely worth a watch for everyone reading this thread. It was also covered in Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-degrasse-tyson-met-carl-sagan-2015-11 http://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-de... You don't need a platform or a massive following to ignite a spark of curiosity in another person. Small acts of kindness and encouragement can last a lifetime.
- exergy 9y ago
  I work at CERN, so Brian Cox is an obvious choice as far as I'm concerned. Tangentially, Adam Steltzner (the engineer who lead the Entry Descent and Landing of Curiosity) is another one of those "used to be a rockstar" types.
  - SpaceInvader 9y ago
    Brian Cox is superb. He has the ability to explain complex things using simple language.
- dv_dt 9y ago
  What the world needs now is someone in that role for climate change who can capture an interpretation of that body of science the way that Hawking and Sagan captured the public attention around the big bang and other highly complex abstract concepts in the physics of Astronomy & Cosmology.
  - thanatropism 9y ago
    If you had said "climate science" I would agree. I mean, I'm a lukewarmist, not a denier, but since the 90s people have been saying "science advocacy" when they mean "advocacy for my politics". Everyone's (correctly) for Darwinism and contra modern creationism but no one seems to be in favor of IQ advocacy. And I mean advocacy for the low IQ cohorts that are being technologied out of a social role. But hey, you would have to admit IQ exists.
- pvelagal 9y ago
  RIP Prof. Stephen Hawking. I am not very optimistic about another Stephen Hawking or an Einstein. How many of the best minds of our generation are attracted to Physics or Mathematics or Astronomy especially graduate level / Phds ? Some of the folks are getting into computer science but that doesnt help discoveries in cosmology.
  - thanatropism 9y ago
    Two words: Terry Tao. I amateurishly evaluate Terry Tao on an order of a Poincaré. He's the actual "genius" thing concept person.
- salgernon 9y ago
  Jim Al-Khalili is an awesome science communicator - his BBC documentaries are inspiring and his enthusiasm contagious. The BBC in general has much more engaging science communicators than the US does. (Of course, Feynman lectures are still wonderful, and Phillip Morrison had some documentaries in the 80s that I remember fondly.)
- richardw 9y ago
  Bryan Cox is great. Young (um...not old, maybe), knows how to be real, has proper cred as a scientist. Edit: I mean come on! Dude played keyboard in a couple bands. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist)
  - Florin_Andrei 9y ago
    His enthusiasm is awesome. He loves science, and you can very easily tell just by watching him.
- mozumder 9y ago
  If string theory ever catches on, Brian Greene would be the guy.
- 2474 9y ago
  What about Jacob Barnett? He is very young but currently doing research at Perimeter Institute.
- auntienomen 9y ago
  It's worth reading the popsci works of Steve Weinberg. He's older than Hawking, so not in the junuior generations. But he's still alive, a gifted expositor, and a genuinely first rate physicist. He's basically the person who assembled the Standard Model.
- egyptiankarim 9y ago
  > Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? I nominate Brian Greene from Columbia University! Rhodes Scholar, mind-bending types of work in theoretical physics, cofounder of the World Science Festival, frequent appearances on fancy-schmancy podcasts and television shows. Definitely all the makings of a science hero.
- ben509 9y ago
  I don't think you're going to get another Hawking. His story is hard to match because the guy basically shrugged off ALS and flourished for 50 years. The MC Hawking jokes are funny because they're true. But while I think the people like Nye and Tyson are important, someone more in Hawking's mold needs to be a genuinely novel contributor. I'd put Leonard Susskind's name in the hat.
- whatyoucantsay 9y ago
  > It is how they inspire an entire generation to seek out knowledge, understanding and fill us all with a sense of humility, awe and wonder. It's one of the finest things one can do. In today's climate of dystopian science fiction, we could all use some awe and wonder.
- rdlecler1 9y ago
  The hero’s get smaller. I remember talking to my advisor, a Macarthur fellow, and he wondered why we didn’t have any giants today.
- beirut_bootleg 9y ago
  If there is not one person who will be it, then we must make our own. You don't need to inspire all people everywhere in one go, so you don't need 12 million followers to do that. You just need to look around, and then do your best: volunteer at school or uni, post Kerbal Space Program let's plays, or use a top to explain angular momentum to a 2nd grader. We can't rely on one or two celebrities and then sit on our hands. We take our telescope across Africa and inspire a few kids at a time, all the time.

restlessmedia 9y ago

That's an awesome eulogy. I tried to describe to my son this morning the kind of man Stephen Hawking was and struggled - I wish I had read this first!

gbraad 9y ago
I explained it to my son just like his own quote; "look up to the stars and not your feet". Be inspired and be curious.

mgolawala 9y ago

I agree completely. Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? As a society we should work hard to find, celebrate and give a platform to the Stephen Hawking-s and the Carl Sagan-s of tomorrow. The impact of such "celebrity scientists" (I do not use that term pejoratively) is far greater than the measure of the work they have done. It is how they inspire an entire generation to seek out knowledge, understanding and fill us all with a sense of humility, awe and wonder.

nylonstrung 9y ago
Neil Degrasse Tyson is clearly vying for the slot but seems to make science seem more elitist, more pedantic (read literally any of his tweets) and thus appears to miss the point entirely
- sushisource 9y ago
  Agreed. I feel like he started off great but as he grew more famous has made it very much all about himself.
  - spike021 9y ago
    Similar issue with Bill Nye, I think, though he's definitely not on the same level.
    - spitfire 9y ago
      Mr.Wizard far surpassed Nye, even back in the day. There was never any competition. Nye was always an entertainer first, science teacher second.
      - notriddle 9y ago
        > Nye was always an entertainer first, science teacher second. That's true, but I don't really see why it's a problem. As long as he's not spreading misinformation or anything, being entertaining is a skill, and he's using it towards constructive ends. How many HN articles are published every week about how people-skills are undervalued?
        spike021 9y ago
        I think the problem is this trait mentioned by the parent post has carried through to what Nye's been doing now, and I'll personally add that current content produced by Nye doesn't seem productive in any way, whatsoever. In fact, I think Nye has gotten to a point where he actively shuns anybody with an argument against his beliefs, regardless of whichever side is correct. He'll even push his own agenda for certain topics unnecessarily, which is pretty ridiculous.
CiPHPerCoder 9y ago
It doesn't have to be any one person, either. As scientific progress becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, communication becomes increasingly valuable both within teams and with the greater public. I would be perfectly happy seeing tens of enthusiastic and brilliant physicists stepping up to become the celebrity scientists of the upcoming generation, rather than just one or two. Until they surface, however, the responsibility falls upon each and every one of us to stoke the fires of passion and wonder in our fellow humans. I started watching Niel deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos reboot the other day, and the first episode is definitely worth a watch for everyone reading this thread. It was also covered in Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-degrasse-tyson-met-carl-sagan-2015-11 http://www.businessinsider.com/inspiring-story-young-neil-de... You don't need a platform or a massive following to ignite a spark of curiosity in another person. Small acts of kindness and encouragement can last a lifetime.
exergy 9y ago
I work at CERN, so Brian Cox is an obvious choice as far as I'm concerned. Tangentially, Adam Steltzner (the engineer who lead the Entry Descent and Landing of Curiosity) is another one of those "used to be a rockstar" types.
- SpaceInvader 9y ago
  Brian Cox is superb. He has the ability to explain complex things using simple language.
dv_dt 9y ago
What the world needs now is someone in that role for climate change who can capture an interpretation of that body of science the way that Hawking and Sagan captured the public attention around the big bang and other highly complex abstract concepts in the physics of Astronomy & Cosmology.
- thanatropism 9y ago
  If you had said "climate science" I would agree. I mean, I'm a lukewarmist, not a denier, but since the 90s people have been saying "science advocacy" when they mean "advocacy for my politics". Everyone's (correctly) for Darwinism and contra modern creationism but no one seems to be in favor of IQ advocacy. And I mean advocacy for the low IQ cohorts that are being technologied out of a social role. But hey, you would have to admit IQ exists.
pvelagal 9y ago
RIP Prof. Stephen Hawking. I am not very optimistic about another Stephen Hawking or an Einstein. How many of the best minds of our generation are attracted to Physics or Mathematics or Astronomy especially graduate level / Phds ? Some of the folks are getting into computer science but that doesnt help discoveries in cosmology.
- thanatropism 9y ago
  Two words: Terry Tao. I amateurishly evaluate Terry Tao on an order of a Poincaré. He's the actual "genius" thing concept person.
salgernon 9y ago
Jim Al-Khalili is an awesome science communicator - his BBC documentaries are inspiring and his enthusiasm contagious. The BBC in general has much more engaging science communicators than the US does. (Of course, Feynman lectures are still wonderful, and Phillip Morrison had some documentaries in the 80s that I remember fondly.)
richardw 9y ago
Bryan Cox is great. Young (um...not old, maybe), knows how to be real, has proper cred as a scientist. Edit: I mean come on! Dude played keyboard in a couple bands. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_(physicist)
- Florin_Andrei 9y ago
  His enthusiasm is awesome. He loves science, and you can very easily tell just by watching him.
mozumder 9y ago
If string theory ever catches on, Brian Greene would be the guy.
2474 9y ago
What about Jacob Barnett? He is very young but currently doing research at Perimeter Institute.
auntienomen 9y ago
It's worth reading the popsci works of Steve Weinberg. He's older than Hawking, so not in the junuior generations. But he's still alive, a gifted expositor, and a genuinely first rate physicist. He's basically the person who assembled the Standard Model.
egyptiankarim 9y ago
> Who will take his place? Who will be the Stephen Hawking of my children's generation? I nominate Brian Greene from Columbia University! Rhodes Scholar, mind-bending types of work in theoretical physics, cofounder of the World Science Festival, frequent appearances on fancy-schmancy podcasts and television shows. Definitely all the makings of a science hero.
ben509 9y ago
I don't think you're going to get another Hawking. His story is hard to match because the guy basically shrugged off ALS and flourished for 50 years. The MC Hawking jokes are funny because they're true. But while I think the people like Nye and Tyson are important, someone more in Hawking's mold needs to be a genuinely novel contributor. I'd put Leonard Susskind's name in the hat.
whatyoucantsay 9y ago
> It is how they inspire an entire generation to seek out knowledge, understanding and fill us all with a sense of humility, awe and wonder. It's one of the finest things one can do. In today's climate of dystopian science fiction, we could all use some awe and wonder.
rdlecler1 9y ago
The hero’s get smaller. I remember talking to my advisor, a Macarthur fellow, and he wondered why we didn’t have any giants today.
beirut_bootleg 9y ago
If there is not one person who will be it, then we must make our own. You don't need to inspire all people everywhere in one go, so you don't need 12 million followers to do that. You just need to look around, and then do your best: volunteer at school or uni, post Kerbal Space Program let's plays, or use a top to explain angular momentum to a 2nd grader. We can't rely on one or two celebrities and then sit on our hands. We take our telescope across Africa and inspire a few kids at a time, all the time.