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On the one hand, I appreciate Hawking's contribution to physical science overall. On the other - he had some unfortunate and unjustified statements in last years, which certainly didn't do well on his authority (as a scientist).

He left a bit "bittersweet" impression on me, but I still appreciate his contribution.
Less than a month ago some news outlets reported the "exciting" "news" that Hawking had said that time itself could have started with the big bang. Uhm, yeah, that's what's in my "Short History of Time" already, so where exactly is the "news"?

I wish Hawking was understood more and marveled at less; and that indeed means that I myself want to understand his theories more and marvel at the person less.

Concerning the sheer semantics of it: Hawking delivered the theories that explained our observations best. There will never be 'proof' of a 'black hole'. Theoretical physics is just that after all, in my understanding, theory to remain theory literally forever. And just like with Isaac Newton, when we eventually refine and replace his theories with others that explain our observations of nature even better, Hawking's contributions will still matter immeasurably.

They remain the solid steps from which the stairway is built.

There goes a great man.
Post edited March 14, 2018 by Vainamoinen
RIP
RIP.
:(

He lived much more than the doctors originally said to him, and finally he went away. A sad day for humanity and science.

Se va un grande de la Razón, que las estrellas guíen tu camino.
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Epitaph666: That's exactly what i mean. The only thing we know is that there's some type of Energy at the spots where "Black Holes" are. Only this is what we know.
Everything else about wormholes, singularity points, Schwarzschild radii, etc is pure speculation.
Also good jokes about "not even light can escape" but then "we see Black Holes spitting out matter/beams"... To my mind is just BS. Of course i may be wrong, that's why i said we need more time to investigate and pull safer conclusions that reflect what's out there and not make some awesome sci-fi deductions that would make great Hollywood movies.
Ah, the good old argument from ignorance. I don't mean that in the logic structure sense, either. You don't understand, so it must not be well understood.

We know an awful lot more than that there's energy to spare in areas where light behaves oddly. We know that they contribute to gravitational lensing. We know that singularities exist because they're necessary structures for mathematics which is bounded by limits. If you mean gravitational singularities, though, they're predicted by general relativity and that's been as resilient a theory as we've got.

No, just because you haven't been somewhere and seen a thing, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And just because you think something's BS - when you can't even hint at understanding entropy and information in areas of billions of solar masses - doesn't make it so. Physics is a collection of a whole lot of little pieces and you come to rely on some pieces. Astronomers and astrophysicists are sufficiently reliant on black holes existing that they assume it. If little details here and there change, that's just differentiating between Sapsuckers. Doesn't change that they exist and have predictable behavior.
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Epitaph666: That's exactly what i mean. The only thing we know is that there's some type of Energy at the spots where "Black Holes" are. Only this is what we know.
Everything else about wormholes, singularity points, Schwarzschild radii, etc is pure speculation.
Also good jokes about "not even light can escape" but then "we see Black Holes spitting out matter/beams"... To my mind is just BS. Of course i may be wrong, that's why i said we need more time to investigate and pull safer conclusions that reflect what's out there and not make some awesome sci-fi deductions that would make great Hollywood movies.
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OneFiercePuppy: Ah, the good old argument from ignorance. I don't mean that in the logic structure sense, either. You don't understand, so it must not be well understood.

We know an awful lot more than that there's energy to spare in areas where light behaves oddly. We know that they contribute to gravitational lensing. We know that singularities exist because they're necessary structures for mathematics which is bounded by limits. If you mean gravitational singularities, though, they're predicted by general relativity and that's been as resilient a theory as we've got.

No, just because you haven't been somewhere and seen a thing, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And just because you think something's BS - when you can't even hint at understanding entropy and information in areas of billions of solar masses - doesn't make it so. Physics is a collection of a whole lot of little pieces and you come to rely on some pieces. Astronomers and astrophysicists are sufficiently reliant on black holes existing that they assume it. If little details here and there change, that's just differentiating between Sapsuckers. Doesn't change that they exist and have predictable behavior.
Sure, they exist. Happy now? If you want to talk about it might as well create another thread.
But your arguments are kinda fail anyway.

Back in 1300 people didn't understand the existence of God. A good status-quo belief at the time.
They said "hang on ... why should we all believe in God, we have explained so much stuff with science!"
The Catholic Church said "ooooh Blasphemer!!! How dare you challenge the established beliefs! It's a lightning so GOD is sending the lightning to punish us!".

It's exactly the same thing with you folks. "Don't dare think of an alternative theory, you're already wrong."
And i didn't say i don't understand it. I said it's already too many crazy theories and invented parameters to fit the theory and just sounds BS to me.
You might be right though and i might be wrong.
Why don't you believe there's a chance you might be wrong?

And "As resilient a theory as we've got" doesn't cut it. For many reasons.
Also depends on how does one define "little details that here and there change".
Anyway i'd be glad to be wrong but have the truth right on my face with an actual example, rather than "yeeaaah there it must work that way...But let me invent something more crazy to back that up *cough Dark Energy cough*".

Therefore i won't talk anymore about this issue. Once they found out more info about all that i'd be glad to read it, try to understand it and admit i'm wrong.
Cheers
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Epitaph666: ...
Excuse me, but what does dark energy got to do with black holes?
Well, the average IQ of the human race just dropped a few points. As if there were many to spare.

As it happens, I was just about to reread A Short History of Time for the first time in many years, as part of an ongoing effort to improve my sadly lacking grasp of physics, and reading it now after hearing this news will certainly feel a bit different.
RIP
The zombie kept going by willpower, amazing man in several ways. Glad he got to live a full length life.
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Fairfox: how many episodes of simpsons was he on?
Not as many as in The Big Bang Theory...
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Epitaph666: ...
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muntdefems: Excuse me, but what does dark energy got to do with black holes?
Didn't say it had anything to do. It was a different example (expanding universes) of "making up stuff to back theories".
And just to be clear.

I don't disagree with thinking up of new possibilities. But when we do that and consider them as established facts (with not enough data) and then we ignore other possible theories that might even make more sense... well it makes me sad for the state of science.

Again that's just me. No need to attack me. I'm just a fool really that believes something only when it smacks me one the face.
Post edited March 14, 2018 by Epitaph666
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Fairfox: how many episodes of simpsons was he on?
Simpsons, bah. Star Trek TNG!