Thought Experiments : The Blog

Monday, September 03, 2007

Early Warning...

Hawking is at it again. Would this man be taken seriously if it wasn't for his physical afflictions? Would Einstein have been regarded as an all-wise guru if he'd looked like a bank manager? Would Freud, if he'd looked like Harpo Marx? Presumably these people are the secular equivalent of prophets, and we need them to look the part.

# posted by Nige : 10:11 AM  

10 Comments:

  • At September 03, 2007 10:50 AM, Blogger ian russell said…

    I think he's pulling our leg. I mean, wouldn't you in his position? He must be a very bitter man on the quiet - he wants to tell us all to f*** off, but he can't owing to auto-moderation on his voice simulator. What ah bum ah!

    Lets have a whip round for a Virgin Galactica Club Class ticket for him. (Does that remind anyone of Adam's Golgafrinchans? only me then...)

    In the rhetoric of the day; they could find a way of just sending his brain - save on the old matter/anti-matter annihilation.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 11:07 AM, Blogger Johntyh said…

    I take your point, Nige. Would Robert Winston be regarded as a leading scientist and presenter if he looked like Groucho Marx? Without the cigar, I think he's just about getting away with it.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 11:09 AM, Anonymous Recusant said…

    You mean that Harpo Marx and Albert Einstein were different people?

    Well you learn something new every day.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 11:28 AM, Blogger ian russell said…

    I think you've got it arse about face. they would be taken seriously, of course, but would they be lampooned? lampoonability is a prerequisite of celebrity, surely - we build them up to knock them down.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 1:35 PM, Blogger Neil Forsyth said…

    We probably wouldn't take you seriously, Nige, if you actually existed. Not existing is not, strictly speaking, an affliction (it doesn't seem to bother you), but it is certainly something we humans admire in someone.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 1:42 PM, Blogger Tom P. said…

    "He told the BBC that life could be wiped out by a nuclear disaster or an asteroid hitting the planet."

    The sooner the better as far as I am concerned.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 2:01 PM, Blogger ian russell said…

    Well, I don't share your urgency but ''wiped out'' would be a better option, imo.

    the world is divided into those who believe they're going to a better place after death and those who think this is it. why would any member of either of these groups choose to spend their last years floating in a tin can for an interminable night shift?

    and to what purpose - who will grieve for the loss apart from the few fools left in space?

     

  • At September 03, 2007 2:15 PM, Blogger Peter Burnet said…

    Not to worry, ian. Guys like Hawkings always seem to know exactly how to fly us all to different solar systems, but they never have a clue what to do about the airport traffic cogestion problem.

     

  • At September 03, 2007 2:39 PM, Blogger Neil Forsyth said…

    My doctor has told me that nuclear warfare and asteroids are out of the question. High blood pressure, you see. So, I think I'll go for the tin can option. I'm sure it's not that bad. I'm used to flying Ryanair so I'll feel right at home in no time. Although, I would prefer a bit more legroom, if that was possible. And if they could relax the smoking ban...

     

  • At September 03, 2007 4:18 PM, Blogger Nige said…

    Good point back there Ian -'iconic' gurus have to be lampoonable. All those guys have been on The Simpsons haven't they? It's another thing about Gordon - Tony was on The Simpsons, Gordy will never be.

     

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