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There are better choices for a historical scientist, such as Newton, Darwin, Bacon or Dalton. Hawking was popular in the niche circles but it's safe to assume t
by nukeop 8y ago
There are better choices for a historical scientist, such as Newton, Darwin, Bacon or Dalton. Hawking was popular in the niche circles but it's safe to assume that many people, even in the UK, would be unfamiliar with him. And shoehorning an obscure woman scientist in there just because she's female is an insult to the achievements all the women who excel in science and other fields.
- eterm 8y agoDarwin was already used on tenner, Newton on the £1 note.
- moate 8y agoWhat if they picked a prominent female scientist? Also, there was a theatrically released biopic for Hawking and he was featured on an episode of the Simpsons, I think he's pretty mainstream.
- b0bby_tabl3s 8y agoDoes it really fucking matter? How about they pick a S C I E N T I S T regardless of what bits are between their legs? FFS.
- sizzzzlerz 8y agoDid he ever find out more about that donut-shaped universe?
- detaro 8y agoHawking is a household name in the UK.
- balabaster 8y agoNot just in the UK. I would wager he's a household name in many houses the entire world over. His contribution to making physics accessible to everyone is... I fail to locate a word of sufficient magnitude to describe just how important and what an inspiration he was.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- billfruit 8y agoI would say there is a case for James Clark Maxwell, he's largely not remembered by people outside physics and electrical engineering.