Stephen Hawking seriously ill
 

[url]http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gXTqqeOkfGj1m48YIY_JoiFK-q3wD97MD5J81[/url]

Apparently the situation is one of extreme gravity.

[QUOTE=Mr. P-1;170184]Apparently the situation is one of extreme gravity.[/QUOTE]

Hopefully not enough to create a black hole...

Stephen Hawking expected to recover: family
[url]http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/04/21/stephen-hawking-health021.html[/url]

[QUOTE=Jeff Gilchrist;170361]Hopefully not enough to create a black hole...
[/QUOTE]:jokedrum:

Yous ain't makin fun of a cripple is you?

[QUOTE=Jeff Gilchrist;170361]Hopefully not enough to create a black hole...[/quote]

Ouch.

I wish him the best ... it is worth noting that he has survived amazingly long by ALS-victim standards.

[QUOTE=Jeff Gilchrist;170361]Hopefully not enough to create a black hole...

Stephen Hawking expected to recover: family
[url]http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/04/21/stephen-hawking-health021.html[/url][/QUOTE]

So he's not expected to cross the event horizon.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;170403]it is worth noting that he has survived amazingly long by ALS-victim standards.[/QUOTE]In no small part because he can live in his head better than most. He has a wicked funny sense of humor. I once gave up my lunch hour, took time off in the middle of the day, and travelled ~80km to hear him give a talk once.

[quote=Mr. P-1;170408]So he's not expected to cross the event horizon.[/quote]

There are many [strike]singularities[/strike] similarities between illness and black holes. For instance, when you are ill, your family are "sucked in" towards you, and a black hole sucks other stars in to it.

Can a mod correct the spelling in the title to "Stephen" please.

[QUOTE=ewmayer;170403]I wish him the best ... it is worth noting that he has survived amazingly long by ALS-victim standards.[/QUOTE]

Yes very long. My aunt lasted a few years which is also fairly long compared to others I know.

I had the pleasure of "running" into him in Oxford when I was a teen. I was on a school trip to the UK and we were visiting Oxford. I happened to see him on the street going into a hobby shop to buy a present for his son's birthday. We followed him in to the store, and I was the only one with the guts to talk to him. We spoke briefly and he allowed me to take a picture with him. The others in the group asked if they could buy a copy of the picture. :grin: My parents know who he is, but I was disappointed that most other people asked if that was my grandmother in the picture when I showed them.

Considering he teaches/researches at Cambridge it was a fluke we were both in Oxford that day.

[quote=Jeff Gilchrist;170716]Yes very long. My aunt lasted a few years which is also fairly long compared to others I know.

I had the pleasure of "running" into him in Oxford when I was a teen. I was on a school trip to the UK and we were visiting Oxford. I happened to see him on the street going into a hobby shop to buy a present for his son's birthday. We followed him in to the store, and I was the only one with the guts to talk to him. We spoke briefly and he allowed me to take a picture with him. The others in the group asked if they could buy a copy of the picture. :grin: My parents know who he is, but I was disappointed that most other people asked if that was my grandmother in the picture when I showed them.

Considering he teaches/researches at Cambridge it was a fluke we were both in Oxford that day.[/quote]

THX for that anecdote.
When I was doing "Part III" at Cambridge (71-2) I saw him and his
wheelchair being lifted up the stairs to "DAMTP" most days.
(Disabled access wasn't a big issue then)
My parents had told me not to gawp at people with disabilities,
but...
His speech was pretty pathetic even then.
I was duly informed that he was some kind of genius
(not yet the celebrity he has become).

He did his first degree at Oxford, and then went to Cambridge
(as did I, Paul Leyland and a few other folks)

David

[QUOTE=davieddy;170826]THX for that anecdote.
When I was doing "Part III" at Cambridge (71-2) I saw him and his
wheelchair being lifted up the stairs to "DAMTP" most days.
(Disabled access wasn't a big issue then)
My parents had told me not to gawp at people with disabilities,
but...
His speech was pretty pathetic even then.
I was duly informed that he was some kind of genius
(not yet the celebrity he has become).

He did his first degree at Oxford, and then went to Cambridge
(as did I, Paul Leyland and a few other folks)

David[/QUOTE]Well, if this is a name-dropping competition ...

I've had dinner with Hawking. Twice.

I've also helped lift him up steps to get into a building.


Paul