f13.net

His fame probably outdid his actual work in the latter part of his career, but he paved the way for a lot of high level physics (most of which I still don't understand) to make its way to a mainstream audience from his books and those that followed his model.

 :heartbreak:

Amazing run for someone with ALS. Definitely paved the way for tons of new ideas. RIP.

 :heartbreak:

I always hoped we could have found a cure.

(https://i.imgur.com/7IMzALl.jpg)

This was just drawn and tweeted by artist Mitchell Toy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEa7CfPaCRw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEa7CfPaCRw)

Celebrities dying doesn't bother me much. Brilliant minds dying does.

 :heartbreak:

Especially at a time when we desperately need them.

 :cry:

Fuck.

I get why you're saying this, but we really always need them. I actually feel guilty because I don't have kids, not that intelligent parents are any guarantee of intelligent kids. But still. I work with the public. I see things.

Died on 3.14. Fitting really. Saw this photo on a tweet from Scientific american and I thought it was very sweet. Article is pretty good too.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYSnwGRVAAAAVLK.jpg:large)

https://twitter.com/sciam/status/974087866216312832

He lived 55 years after doctors gave him 2 years to live.

If that isn't a cosmic FUCK YOU to the universe I don't know what is.

My father has been living with ALS for 5+ years now.  He can't walk, feed himself or go to the bathroom on his own but he's still around.  It's an awful condition that robs you of your independence and, often, dignity.  Seeing how long Hawking lived with it is comforting in a way because I know it doesn't necessarily have to mean death in a short period of time.  Most the people you hear of that die quickly after being diagnosed (1-2 years after diagnosis) it usually effects their breathing and has a more pronounced effect on the inner parts of their body.  For my father, and I suspect Hawking too, the effects were more in his outer extremities (legs and arms).  He gets regular tests for his breathing and thankfully it's still normal.

ALS is a horrible, horrible condition and the fact Stephen Hawking did so much while suffering from it makes him even more remarkable.

ALS behaves differently when you get it young like Hawking did. His condition was also extremely unusual in that his ALS essentially reached an equilibrium of sorts where it stopped getting worse. I.e. his motor neuron degeneration from the disease either stopped or slowed down enough to be offset by his natural regeneration. Hawking did have a tracheostomy so your father is lucky in that regard.

ALS scares me more than cancer. I can't even begin to imagine dying that way.

A guy I used to work with's father had ALS. In fact he and Steven Hawking were the longest surviving sufferers at the time and used to meet regularly. It's an utterly horrible fae and I wouldn't even wish it on a Trump.