Wednesday 14 March 2018

A Cooler Wednesday

How sad to see this morning that Professor Stephen Hawking has died (I think he might me a Sir too but am not sure).   To live to the age of 76 with that kind of handicap is in itself much to be admired but to add so much to the world in terms of scientific study and mathematics just takes him out of the realm of ordinary people.   And what an inspiration he must have been to others with Motor Neurone Disease.

To more mundane things.   Well perhaps the affair of the poisoning in Salisbury is not mundane, but we have heard little else for the last few days.   The people of Salisbury must be heartily sick of it all.   I know it is an extremely serious matter - that such a nerve agent should find its way to a cathedral city as it has.   And I know that where it has come from and who did it is equally serious.   But I can't help feeling that we have too much information.   This is the problem these days - we don't really know anything about the matter, only what 'they' choose to tell us, so wouldn't it be better to say much less.   As someone once said - a little learning is a dangerous thing.   Being a Double Agent must be about the most dangerous job in the world I guess.

27 comments:

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Waking up to the news of Stephen Hawking’s death made me sad. This brilliant man was so brave and such an inspiration.

Derek Faulkner said...

Can't for the life of me think what difference to my life Stephen Hawkins made, to be honest I knew more about Ken Dodd than I did him. As for the Salisbury incident, I'll be very surprised if anything we threaten, or actually do, will have any effect on Putin's attitude towards us, we have slipped well down the league of retaliatory capabilities.

Librarian said...

Your blog was the first place just now for me where I read about Hawings' death. As you say, to reach 76 with his condition is no mean feat in itself.
The Salisbury poisoning has been widely reportet on on German news, too. It even featured before the forming of our own government, which has finally come about, half a year after the general election! It has never taken them so long before.

Gwil W said...

A doctor gave Stephen Hawking 2 years to live. Of course that was many decades ago.

I think Hawking has affected my life in a big way. He has made me insatiably curious about the world, the universe and everything. He has made me read books I would never have thought of reading. I liked him for he had humour and courage in great measure. Qualities sadly in decline in this heavily censored world of ours.

Somewhere in curved space he'll be celebrating Albert Einstein's birthday. It is today. He had an invitation. And so he went.

DUTA said...

What a truly remarkable person and scientist Stephen Hawkins was! May his soul rest in peace!

After the Litvinenko case, one would have thought it won't happen again in England. Surprise...it did.
The british people should demand clear answers and not theories from their government, as this kind of poisoning endangers innocent people as well.

Gwil W said...

The Russians didn't do it. Cui bono?

Minigranny said...

Agree with you about too much information!

jinxxxygirl said...

I agree with everything you have said in this post Pat. It was so sad to hear of Professor Hawking. I admired him very much. I enjoyed his humor and like Gwil said he made me curious about the world and space around me. The genius that he was , was able to bring that to the everyday person (me) at a level i could begin to understand it. He will be missed.

This age of information overload could be our downfall if we don't learn to control it.

Derek Faulkner said...

We're having your Spring day from yesterday here Pat, warm and sunny and 14 degrees. I've mowed all my lawns for the first time, bees are buzzing and life feels great, if only for a day.

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

Mr Hawking will be a very hard act to follow in his field ok for science. Truly remarkable. We've swapped weather. Yesterday was cool and cloudy today is wall to wall sunshine.

justjill said...

Wrong kind of information that is the worry. There are rules and our government are ignoring them. Hey ho.

Joanne Noragon said...

It is cold and snowing here, today. And more of the same in store for many days to come.

Marion said...

Hell's bells, I'm coming here for my news from now on! The poisoning topic is both riveting & scary. Professor Hawking, though an atheist, was a brilliant man. I hate math and only like the stars & moon in the sky, so he wasn't really much on my radar. Typically wealthy male asshole, though, he did leave his wife of 30 years for his caregiver. Even brilliance can't change nature... Oh, well, he knows now if there's a heaven/hell. RIP star-man.

Bovey Belle said...

So sad to lose such a brave and wonderful man - a true genius.

As for the situation in Salisbury - I used to live just outside so I know it well and I should imagine that folk are in shock as it is just a beautiful and quiet cathedral city. You don't imagine Russian spies retiring there for starters! I think the authorities have been rather lax in their letting people know how safe it is to be in central Salisbury.

Rachel Phillips said...

I wonder about the inspiration of Hawking to other sufferers of motor neuron disease who get a prognosis of three to five years in Great Britain. Of the people I have known of, this estimate has been correct. And we hear frequently of others who want to end their lives when inside this short period they can no longer swallow and want to die. I wonder about this, I don't know, but I don't think it would be so inspirational to me to know he lived 50 years. It is a puzzle. Maybe he had something else or he was the Messiah. He was a great man to science and mathematics, no doubt about that, and discoveries still go on that I believe were a mystery to Hawking towards the end of his life as science moved on without him.

angryparsnip said...

Sad news today.
I remember visiting Salisbury lovely town and beautiful Cathedral. How upset the people must be.
Like @Gwil W comment.

cheers, parsnip

Cro Magnon said...

It also proves how very simple it would be for a foreign power to poison huge swathes of a country. I imagine the Russians have huge stocks of this stuff. Maybe the UK does too!

thelma said...

Agree that we have too much news, or to be more accurate, speculation. But then sitting in the dark is rather scary.... Sad about Hawking but that is the fate of all living things and he left behind a legacy of knowledge.

Derek Faulkner said...

Rachel makes a valid point, would the fact that Hawkins lived so long with Motor Neuron disease inspire many other ordinary people with it to do the same, I guess we'll never know the true answer. I rather suspect that knowing that he had such a high standard of intelligence and that by carrying on that he could offer so much to science and mankind, was what inspired his longevity. I rather suspect that ordinary people with the disease, with little to offer mankind and little reason to stay alive, would soon and happily, succumb to the disease, I certainly would.

Heather said...

Very sad to lose a genius like Stephen Hawking but I am glad he had such a wonderful sense of humour and that he suffers no longer. He certainly put up a very brave fate against that horrible disease.
Feeling sorry for the people of Salisbury with such grim news to come to terms with. Dirty deeds, and we'll probably never be told the truth about them.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you everybody. We all seem to be in agreement about everything I said in my post today.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Perhaps it is a relief for Stephen Hawking to be freed from the daily indignity of having to live in such a body, without the ability to perform even the most basic tasks for himself, but he certainly has left his mark on the world, and was one of the finest minds of his time, perhaps of all time.

Elizabeth said...

I do not think you and I are made for the double agent business - we like the truth too much.
Spies make my head spin and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to be one...

Yes, Stephen Hawking had the most remarkable - and difficult - life.
I am full of admiration for his achievements and for his remarkably upbeat demeanor in face of an awful disease.

Still cold here and we are expecting another snow storm....it's the ideas of March

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I might have to give up on Page 18 of "A Brief History of Time" again

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jorjorbeth said...

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Sandi said...

"And I know that where it has come from and who did it is equally serious. But I can't help feeling that we have too much information. This is the problem these days - we don't really know anything about the matter, only what 'they' choose to tell us, so wouldn't it be better to say much less. As someone once said - a little learning is a dangerous thing."

I agree with you on this point. But also, I find myself growing suspicious when they suddenly "know" who did it and shout it at us until we believe it.