Stephen Hawking..........The real deal?

Question

Do you think it's possible that Prof. Hawking is not really that intelligent and he is fed all his information from some guy sitting at a PC all day long, i mean he hasn't invented any thing to make our lives easier at least einstein split the atom, who cares about a journey through space and time?

Answer 1

I have to agree with you, I found his question to be exceedingly naive. Will we still be here in 100 years?(paraphrased). Life was much worse 100 years ago. The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years old, it is now approaching 80. There were no social programs, minorities and women could not vote. In 1918, millions of people were killed by influenza, and World War 1. 100 years ago there was incredible "global" poverty , very limited technology, few had electricity or cars, planes weren't invented yet, and we had World War 2 and Fascism and Communism, and the Great Depression to look forward to. The average American didn't graduate high school. Many impoverished peoples black and white were sharecroppers, which was basically "indentured servitude". They worked a plot of land, and got to keep part of the crop to subsist on. More toilets were outside rather than in. The mode of heating was more generally a fireplace or a stove. The average American had a pair of work clothes, and a Sunday suit, but just one pair of shoes for both. They were making a dollar a day. I remember my grandmother saying girls would use a form of hog grease for make-up, no one could afford the real. I could go on and on, but I'm not nearly as intelligent as Professor Hawking. If we got through our past, we can get through the future, everyday we're bombarded by the media with what's bad, but one thing that wasn't so bad back then, was probably the lack of television, and computers(with so-called "genius" Professors) to forecast doom all the time and stir things up.

Answer 2

First, consider that the esteemed Mr. Hawking is and has been in a quadraplegic state for the majority of his life, dependent on others for his very physical survival; he IS the guy sitting in front of a PC all day - not to mention electron microscopes, particle accelerators, etc.- giving us the benefit of his enormous intellect.
(What would you like to make your life easier, poor person? Just tell him and I'm sure he wil invent something to do your dishes, or entertain you in a comfortable way.)
Next consider the human brain, likened again and again to a muscle; though it is obviously an organ, it responds in character much like a muscle (i.e., the more it is used the more rapidly and efficiently it responds to stimuli). Let us assume, for argument sake, that Mr.Hawking is in possession of one of these "brains"; he doesn't play soccer or swim, or run marathons, so what does he do with his time?
He thinks; an activity in which you obviously don't much engage yourself by the rampant display of your insensitivity and ignorance (Senor Einstein never split one atom, and was only involved in the Manhattan Project in the most peripheral of ways; you should try Googling 'Oppenheimer' regarding fission).
Let's move on to the thrust of your question before we get bogged down in reality, shall we?
The reason we SHOULD care about a 'journey through space and time' is because of our human history of development: someone thinks of a concept, others talk about it and theorize, and some smart engineer builds a machine to make it happen. If we were able to journey through time and space, that would essentially mean free energy, which would mean that not only had we broken the atom and reformed it at will, we would have side-stepped the human tendency to consolidate knowledge and power.... Think of it in socially relevant terms: matter transmission. Ergo, no gas, no pollution, no traffic, no blaring horns, no tardiness. No oil cartels or oiled politicians taking resources from their constituents from both sides (although I think 'Giving it' would be more appropriately phrased, as in 'the shaft', or something similar). Can you see where I'm going with this? Honestly, I could care less about red-shift myself, though it is fun to jaw about it with friends, but the point remains: if he doesn't think about it, who is going to think about it, and who will help the human species become more than barely literate, bald monkeys?

You?

Answer 3

I don't think what you're proposing is likely. Or sane. Dr. Hawking is one of the most profound thinkers in history. Judging intelligence by what one has invented is not a good measurement (see: the Flowbee). Dr. Hawking is doing nothing less than Einstein (and many others) by trying to understand the mysteries of the creation of life and the universe.

I think his mind has developed to such an extent to compensate for his physical limitations. He can develop and understand theories and concepts that would drive ordinary minds insane to even consider.

Answer 4

Well - intelligence is as intelligence does, I guess. He may be able to suggest ways in which our very universe began - but can he programme a video recorder!!

Seriously - he has to be one of the most intelligent men on the planet, and I have nothing but respect for the way in which he has tried to make the most complex ideas in physics accessible to ordinary people like me.

He may not have quite reached the heights of Einstein (who has?) but he has contributed massively to modern physics.

Also, why is it necessary to invent something to make our lives easier (does splitting the atom come under that category anyway?) in order to achieve greatness. Personally, I welcome every extra little bit of insight into this incredible universe that I can get. I can't think these things up for myself, so I value people like Professor Hawking.

Answer 5

Einstein did not spit the atom; he didn't invent anything, and all his discoveries and theories came from thinking only. Inventing things is not the only product of intelligence. Understanding why things are the way they are also requires a great deal of intelligence.

Answer 6

Stephen Hawking is very intelligent, just like lots of other scientists are. But I wouldn't compare him to Einstein or Newton, as some people do. Woudn't compare him to Schrodinger, Heisenberg, or James Maxwell for that matter.

Answer 7

Stephen Hawking is without a doubt one of the greatest thinkers of our time. Everybody including Einstein, in retrospect, can, will, and has made mistakes. Everything cannot be known to one person, it is the people who push the limits of their own minds that are and will also be the greatest of people.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

You may not care about journey through space and time,
your grand-grand-grand children may do.

Remember the classic example, James C. Maxwell worked
on electro-magnetic theories, and later we had light bulb,
television, computer, etc.

Answer 10

The funny thing about time/space is that it takes space/time to even begin to understand it.

Primordia Quaerere Rerum.