Hawking Paradox

After watching the Hawking paradox I got the distinct feeling that Stephen is not mentaly all there any longer. It saddens me to say this but his new theory has holes as big as the ozone hole in it.

I feel sorry for him he was once a great scientist. I kinda wish they would keep him quiet now so he can continue to age gracefully.

Bascially his theory debunks his old theory that information is lost forever once it enters a black hole. Now he says information cannot be lost because alternate universes without black holes would still contain that information.

Stephen has gone into the realm of science fiction in my opinion.

I do not think Stephen has enough time left with us to prove his point since he would have to prove string theory and prove that alternate universes actually exist.

I do not think he could prove this if he had 10 lifes to live. This new theory is really, really kinda "out there".


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Well surely a theory of this sorts is not something that must be proven by a specific scientist within a specific time frame, rather him posing the theory and allowing many scientists many years to work it out.

Originally posted by Xeven
Bascially his theory debunks his old theory that information is lost forever once it enters a black hole. Now he says information cannot be lost because alternate universes without black holes would still contain that information.

Stephen has gone into the realm of science fiction in my opinion.

Just out of curiosity, are you an astrophysicist? If you are, could you explain in a little more detail why you think Hawking's new theory is rubbish? And if you aren't an astrophysicist, could you explain why you feel qualified to make this judgement?

I think your fellow-members (and Prof. Hawking) deserve that much, don't you?

[edit on 24-10-2006 by Astyanax]

Well his Theory is nothing more than conjecture at this point. He is working on a workable theory right now.

The show itself gave me the opinion that he is reaching far (science fiction?)in an attempt to correct a mistake he made 30 years ago. His fellow scientist on the show where not willing to address his new theory out of respect, but they made it clear that his presentation was not very convincing and lacked any scientific evidence. In fact his new thoery is partially based on other unproven yet somewhat substantiated evidence (string theory for instance).

Bottom line is his new announcement was not followed up with good scientific background or research.

I do not have to be a astrophysiscist to have an opinion.

I am a long time fan of Stephen Hawking. I just think his age and illness is getting the best of him and it would be best if his new works and conjecture where not announced without peer review.

I would hate to see a long standing great scientists works be derailed, at what may be the end of his career. To put it bluntly I dont want him to look foolish if his brillant mind is begining to slip into old age/illness.

On the other hand I am hoping he can pull it off and provide us proof on his theories.

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[edit on 24-10-2006 by Xeven]

Please...

do you really think that anyone knows what is going on ?
ITs all just theories, until we obtain a higher level of thought then
there is nothing more then observations.

Most theories in such areas start out as wild conjecture! Its the idea of having vision... wasn't that how Einstein started all of his best ideas?

Hawkins might possibly be getting old but he is also an exceptionally qualified man and he probably has his reasons (too lengthy or complicated for a telivision show) for saying what he does. Has he not proven himself enough? He might not be right but all great discoveries start with a leap of faith. This is the first requirement for thinking outside the box and should be encouraged!

I thought the whole show was about discrediting this man, it was kind of strange because i haven't seen a show on the science channel do this before.

Originally posted by Xeven
Well his Theory is nothing more than conjecture at this point.

i stopped reading your post at this point. why? because i want you to find me a theory that isn't conjecture. i'm pretty sure that's the definition of a theory.

just because it's confusing to you and everyone else doesn't make it false. do you think the universe is simple? it's the most complex thing we could EVER IMAGINE! if we understood the universe, we'd know how to travel it. it's clear we know little to nothing about the universe, so i tend to believe that the crazier the theory, the closer to the truth it probably is.