Stephen Hawking Unwell

[GrahamL]

Hope he gets well soon , I had no idea he was anywhere near 70 years of age .

Marty I think you may have your wires crossed regarding chlorpyrifos
Its been in use as a registered crop protectant for many years.

http://www.accensi.com.au/leaflet/ch500lt.pdf

[Baddad (Marty)]

Hi Nightstalker,
Appears I'm wrong.
I assumed that it was illegal for a few reasons.
There's talk of banning it.
There have been limitations imposed on its use recently.
It is an accumulative toxin.
Over exposure causes neurological problems.(can be from accumulation)
It remains active in the soil for 5 years.

I did not check if it was registered for use as a crop protectant.
I broke one of my own personal rules by opening my mouth without being fully informed. i apologise.

The use of organochlorides was widespread before it was banned. Now we have the organophosphates such as chlorpyrofos. I believe many people may have been affected by the earlier use of the more insidious insecticides.
Steve Hawking was growing up in that era, and unfortunately may have fallen victim to one cause of the disease.

I used to own a weatherboard house. I know it was treated with an organochloride termiticide. Built in the 60's. Any cockroaches that found their way into the house through boxes etc carried in simply died within a day or two. Under the house there were many dead insects.

Organochlorides remain active for 60 or more years. I soon got out and sold the house once I learned about the toxic properties.

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by overlord

Ok I have to weigh in here.

No one deserves that disease. I too hope he can recover, so he can:

* Artrophysics is a JOKE among physicists but not among the mainstream sheeple it seems.

When I draw a picture of a cluster am I dabbling in Artrophysics?

He made a great contribution to my family, his book he wrote with his daughter got my own daughter interested in science, which then developed into a love of mathematics, which she previously loathed.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1416...pt#reader-link

[astro_nutt]

I wish him a speedy recovery. A brilliant person which inspires many.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by overlord

Ok I have to weigh in here.

No one deserves that disease. I too hope he can recover, so he can:

* Continue brainwashing the media, who hang on his every word, as if he were the pope.
* Artrophysics is a JOKE among physicists but not among the mainstream sheeple it seems.
* Continue thinking that God `breathes fire into the equations'... that he is actually accomplishing something with what can only be described as his `Ptolemaic convolutions' which exist on paper and paper alone.
* Continue pushing an incorrect model of the universe with NO laboratory verification.
* Oh God you guys are not gonna like this, but it would be my guess that it would be only for emotional rather than intellectual reasons, so I'm not fussed. `Man's emotion is quicker than his intelligence' - Oscar Wilde.

Fair comments

Isn't it always the way, the masses are just attracted to certain types of people and listen to every word, right or wrong. I would think it was better to hang on "his" every word (I don't) than a certain someone in the 1930's where the masses hung on his every word, which lead to disaster of epic proportions. Hawking has made a lot of people think about our place in the universe and has inspired more people to wonder than any scientist in living memory, so in that respect, he is brilliant.

Whether Hawking is right or wrong, history will eventually decide anyway, after all, Einstein still hasn't been proven totally wrong...yet!

But, what is indisputable, at least in my mind, is that he is a very inspiring human being. A man through sheer willpower lasted far longer than most others with this terrible disease, a man who achieved much, whilst totally crippled, should be admired for that reason alone. An incredible feat to reach 70; hard to believe really. But, he never gave up and that is something we "masses" can all learn from.