May 12, 2017
Stephen Hawking's Erratic Comments
Timothy Birdnow
Recently, Stephen Hawking, the supposed smartest man on Earth, made a series of ridiculous comments, among them that Humanity would have to abandon the Earth within a hundred years. This so aggravated M theorist (string theorist) Lubos Motl that he tore into Hawking in grand fashion.
From his essay at The Reference Frame:
'
"'Hawking claims that Mother Earth would greatly appreciate it if we could gather our belongings and get out - not in 1,000 years, but in the next century or so.'
Again, Mother Earth cannot "appreciate" something like that because only agents with some thinking ability and perhaps consciousness – sufficiently similar to the human beings – may "appreciate" events.
Moreover, the Earth itself is our belonging so if we were leaving, we would keep the Earth or take it with us. You know, once again, "belongings" is a concept that is only well-defined at the level of the human society and/or perhaps some multi-species generalization of it. According to the land registry, you own a piece of the land – so the corresponding piece of the Planet Earth is one of your belongings. To deny this statement means to twist the meaning of "belongings" or "ownership" and any other interpretation of these words than the legal one is bound to be nonsensical.
It seems that Stephen Hawking has become just another radical environmentalist whacko who wants to apply the logic of attorneys to non-human "agents" such as Mother Earth. But you know, all these ultra-green people build their "logic" on a complete misunderstanding of pretty much everything about the world and the society. People protect their belongings because it's useful for them – and they can. Mother Earth has no "enforcement forces" to claim that "Her" geological layers are "Her" belongings, and that's the point at which the notion dies and becomes nonsensical to talk about. An ultra-green loon may say that it's "unfair" that Mother Earth doesn't have a great attorney or army to "enforce" "Her" ownership right – but this whining is nothing else than the denial of the basic facts about Nature and the basic laws of Nature. "She" just cannot do such things. Get used to it.
The idea that the Earth appreciates, kicks, and strips us of our real estate belongings is not only childish but also strikingly unscientific in character. I think that not all children talk in this way; only the kids who aren't approaching the world rationally (plus Stephen Hawking) do."
End excerpt.
Now, I grant you, Dr. Hawking is a brilliant fellow, and has done some outstanding work in Cosmology in the psst, but he is famous primarily as a popularizer of science rather than for his work; he has never received a Nobel Prize, for instance. And Hawking's fame comes in no small part to his disability; he is completely paralyzed by amyotrophic laterals sclerosis Aka Lou Gerig's Disease, and this gives him an air of authority, much as the Blind Sheik was viewed by Muslims as having a deeper vision. This is human nature, and Hawking has profited from it (the poor man deserves to profit in some way from this horrible suffering.)
The point is, Hawking is hardly the equal of Albert Einstein. (His I.Q. is estimated at 160, but is unknown for certain. It should be pointed out that I.Q. is not all of one piece, either; Richard Feynman had an i.q. of a scant 125 yet he was a first rank genius where math and physics are concerned.)
Hawking's sense of self esteem seems to have a central locus, and he seems to thrive on accolades. If you want kudos by the media the fastest way is to preach gloom and doom - especially environmental disaster.
Another point to ponder; a rare side effect of ALS is Frontal Lobe Dementia. Perhaps Hawking is developing this cognitive disruption?
It's hard to say, but in the end Dr. Hawking has become increasingly erratic in recent years, and it is only his prestige (and the good press he receives from such things as his appearance on the Big Bang Theory) that gives him credibility. Saying we willl have to leave Earth in a century (something largely impossible, though we may have some people living off planet by then) is just plain crazy.
But the media will never understand that. And they will never report it, since Hawking is doing their work for them.
Recently, Stephen Hawking, the supposed smartest man on Earth, made a series of ridiculous comments, among them that Humanity would have to abandon the Earth within a hundred years. This so aggravated M theorist (string theorist) Lubos Motl that he tore into Hawking in grand fashion.
From his essay at The Reference Frame:
'
"'Hawking claims that Mother Earth would greatly appreciate it if we could gather our belongings and get out - not in 1,000 years, but in the next century or so.'
Again, Mother Earth cannot "appreciate" something like that because only agents with some thinking ability and perhaps consciousness – sufficiently similar to the human beings – may "appreciate" events.
Moreover, the Earth itself is our belonging so if we were leaving, we would keep the Earth or take it with us. You know, once again, "belongings" is a concept that is only well-defined at the level of the human society and/or perhaps some multi-species generalization of it. According to the land registry, you own a piece of the land – so the corresponding piece of the Planet Earth is one of your belongings. To deny this statement means to twist the meaning of "belongings" or "ownership" and any other interpretation of these words than the legal one is bound to be nonsensical.
It seems that Stephen Hawking has become just another radical environmentalist whacko who wants to apply the logic of attorneys to non-human "agents" such as Mother Earth. But you know, all these ultra-green people build their "logic" on a complete misunderstanding of pretty much everything about the world and the society. People protect their belongings because it's useful for them – and they can. Mother Earth has no "enforcement forces" to claim that "Her" geological layers are "Her" belongings, and that's the point at which the notion dies and becomes nonsensical to talk about. An ultra-green loon may say that it's "unfair" that Mother Earth doesn't have a great attorney or army to "enforce" "Her" ownership right – but this whining is nothing else than the denial of the basic facts about Nature and the basic laws of Nature. "She" just cannot do such things. Get used to it.
The idea that the Earth appreciates, kicks, and strips us of our real estate belongings is not only childish but also strikingly unscientific in character. I think that not all children talk in this way; only the kids who aren't approaching the world rationally (plus Stephen Hawking) do."
End excerpt.
Now, I grant you, Dr. Hawking is a brilliant fellow, and has done some outstanding work in Cosmology in the psst, but he is famous primarily as a popularizer of science rather than for his work; he has never received a Nobel Prize, for instance. And Hawking's fame comes in no small part to his disability; he is completely paralyzed by amyotrophic laterals sclerosis Aka Lou Gerig's Disease, and this gives him an air of authority, much as the Blind Sheik was viewed by Muslims as having a deeper vision. This is human nature, and Hawking has profited from it (the poor man deserves to profit in some way from this horrible suffering.)
The point is, Hawking is hardly the equal of Albert Einstein. (His I.Q. is estimated at 160, but is unknown for certain. It should be pointed out that I.Q. is not all of one piece, either; Richard Feynman had an i.q. of a scant 125 yet he was a first rank genius where math and physics are concerned.)
Hawking's sense of self esteem seems to have a central locus, and he seems to thrive on accolades. If you want kudos by the media the fastest way is to preach gloom and doom - especially environmental disaster.
Another point to ponder; a rare side effect of ALS is Frontal Lobe Dementia. Perhaps Hawking is developing this cognitive disruption?
It's hard to say, but in the end Dr. Hawking has become increasingly erratic in recent years, and it is only his prestige (and the good press he receives from such things as his appearance on the Big Bang Theory) that gives him credibility. Saying we willl have to leave Earth in a century (something largely impossible, though we may have some people living off planet by then) is just plain crazy.
But the media will never understand that. And they will never report it, since Hawking is doing their work for them.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:48 AM
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