Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Scientist Stephen Hawking wants to find a way to convince people to stop voting for Trump, and to start listening to people like him again, to save the planet from climate change and national borders.
This is the most dangerous time for our planet
Stephen Hawking
We can’t go on ignoring inequality, because we have the means to destroy our world but not to escape it.
As a theoretical physicist based in Cambridge, I have lived my life in an extraordinarily privileged bubble. Cambridge is an unusual town, centred around one of the world’s great universities. Within that town, the scientific community that I became part of in my 20s is even more rarefied.
And within that scientific community, the small group of international theoretical physicists with whom I have spent my working life might sometimes be tempted to regard themselves as the pinnacle. In addition to this, with the celebrity that has come with my books, and the isolation imposed by my illness, I feel as though my ivory tower is getting taller.
So the recent apparent rejection of the elites in both America and Britain is surely aimed at me, as much as anyone. Whatever we might think about the decision by the British electorate to reject membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald Trump as their next president, there is no doubt in the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders.
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What matters now, far more than the choices made by these two electorates, is how the elites react. Should we, in turn, reject these votes as outpourings of crude populism that fail to take account of the facts, and attempt to circumvent or circumscribe the choices that they represent? I would argue that this would be a terrible mistake.
The concerns underlying these votes about the economic consequences of globalisation and accelerating technological change are absolutely understandable. The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining.
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The consequences of this are plain to see: the rural poor flock to cities, to shanty towns, driven by hope. And then often, finding that the Instagram nirvana is not available there, they seek it overseas, joining the ever greater numbers of economic migrants in search of a better life. These migrants in turn place new demands on the infrastructures and economies of the countries in which they arrive, undermining tolerance and further fuelling political populism.
For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans.
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See, if we don’t start listening to our betters again, elite globalists like Stephen Hawking, we fools will destroy the world.
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I wonder which one of his theoretical physicist buds he calls when the drains back up or carpenter ants get at the door frame?
I do respect Mr Hawking a lot. However there are two things that he and his fellow elites could do for our planete. First admit that climat science is not settled. Second conceive and proceed with an experiment that could produce empirical data describing anthropogenic co2 effects on global temperature. That is where they are good at and where we expect them to teach us.
this laymans opinion is that hawking is out of touch with reality and cant be that intelligent IF he doesnt even understand the climate always changes
It would be good to remember that Steven Hawking is a THEORETICAL physicist, not an experimental physicist. As such, he has a gifted imagination that he augments with his knowledge of physics and math. He lives a cloistered life in a world of ideas. He literally does not live in the real world that 99% of the rest of us inhabit. Being gifted does not automatically mean that you have common sense or that your ideas and theories are correct, especially when your physical limitations prevent you from encountering the world in the same way that most of us do. Metaphorically speaking, Hawking LIVES in the same kind of bell jar that is used to prove the greenhouse effect, without the benefit of being able to test for all of the extraneous variables that exist outside the jar.
It’s a gray hole.
At least he prefaces his remarks with admission of the privileged, rarefied, bubble community of elites. Beyond that, he is leveraging all of that rarity to comment and implore on topics that he has no background in. He is in fact equivalent to all the other sage princes speaking from behind the walls, fences, and parapets to those who are being asked to submit to more sacrifice and redistribution for the globalized admin cause. No thanks. I know a flawed advocacy-reach effort when I see one. And this one is more flawed than usual.
Listening to scientists.
Hearing Scientists.
Abiding scientists.
I am inclined to abide by scientists carping about politics. If Stephen Hawking wants to discuss his errors wrt the loss of information in black holes, the big bang etc, then I am indeed curious.
Borrowing the ladder of scientific prowess and scientific popularity to practice economics, politics and religion has its flaws. On these matters he is babbling, if in fact is is he who is talking. So I tune out when Hawking ventures out of his area of expertise.
geese disinclined…
He is probably more ignored than he realizes. His best selling book A Brief History of Time has been described as “the most unread book ever”. Purchased by the same elites, and other assorted pseuds & poseurs, merely to be placed on their coffee tables to impress guests. I hope it is better than his apparently lame understanding of the chemistry of aqueous carbonate buffers.
Does this mean he is going to use his position to evaluate Mann’s model, data, proxies, statistical methods, and assertions anytime soon?
First, who is “we”? I think – I’m sure, it wasn’t written to common folks like us – -opps, like me. (Sorry, I had a momentary attack of groupism.) Find in his missive everywhere he says “we.” Clearly, that is not “these two electorates.” And note how he is ignoring the majority that didn’t vote! Didn’t at all or didn’t vote the way the way HE thinks they should have, be it here or in Britain. That’s not on purpose, that’s by default. In his mind, (I suspect) THEY are NOT part of HIS ivory tower click either. I doubt he sees them as being as smart as he and his click are, even though they voted the “right” way. Therefore, I too think the title is wrong. (No offense Eric.) I think it should have been, “Most dangerous time for our Planet” because “we” elitist aren’t getting the facts (as “we” elitist KNOW them to be) across to the folks.
Second, he falls on his elitist petard by writing in an amazingly illogical way, particularly for someone that one would expect to be nothing but logical. What does “ignoring inequality” have to do with “means to destroy” anything? And then, not to be able escape that which is destroyed? Isn’t destruction of something the ultimate “escape” of it?
Yes, illogic abounds BUT, that is not to say his fellow “elitists” are not “getting” the message therein. Read his title again: “Most dangerous time for our Planet” How? Why? Because WE (elitist) are not getting the “facts” to the common folk. WE need to be more “humble” to make THEM understand that it is one world and THEY all need to come together – and think like WE do. Which of course IS the ultimate of illogical beliefs.
Hey, Mr. Hawking, it’s NOT about getting a pint of humility down at the local pub, it’s about understanding humanity, stupid. There are 7 billion+ humans on this planet and not two of us are the same. Every one of us “sees” our existence differently. THIS is the essence of the US Constitution. Though we be different, we all have the same rights AND responsibility to not usurp those rights.
So Mr. Hawking, you want to bring the world “together,” start by acknowledging that fact then go preach that message to those that are hell bent to take those rights away, including those here in the US that “think” they know better and that have already corrupted their duty and oath to the common folks. This is NOT a matter of “feelings” Mr. Hawking.
In other words, Hillary didn’t lose because of a flawed message, campaign, candidate, etc. She lost because she got out foxed by master of strategic messaging in the places where it was needed, that message being the alt-left socialists, MSM, Democrats and one-worlders are corrupt, both spiritually and factually! And now they are doubling-down on that corruption. So it begs the question; is YOUR message part of that corruption, Mr. Hawking?
Stick to physics Stephen, you’re becoming an embarrassment.
I’ve never visited this site before, I only did so to hear what Hawking had to say! I’m not surprised to see that the contributors to its comments section are just as mathematically and scientifically illiterate as the rest of humanity! What morons!
Hey I made it through differential equations and I two years of physics.
That was a LOT of reading, I can assure you.
How come people have allowed themselves to be conned by this buffoon for so long? He has brought nothing of much use to mankind and now is so deluded he thinks he is capable of giving political advise. It really does beggar belief!!!.
You mean Worrall?
No he means Hawking.
I’ll ask the question none of the Hawking worshipers seem to want to answer.
“Could someone please tell me what he has contributed to society and science other than theoretical unproven / unprovable “deep thought”.”
“So the recent apparent rejection of the elites in both America and Britain is surely aimed at me, as much as anyone ……. this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders.”
No Mr. Hawking, it was not surely aimed at you. In fact both votes had nothing to do with you at all. Don’t over-think it. Brexit voters simply did not want to be part of the EU and Trump voters did not want what the Democrats were offering. It was not a cry of anger by people who felt abandoned either – it was simply voters voting for what they wanted. The only people who were surprised by the results were those who thought the media were telling the truth about those campaigns.
President Eisenhower warned against people like Hawking in his farewell speech. In addition to the famous warning about “the military industrial complex”, he warned against the “danger that public policy itself could become the captive of a scientific-technological elite”.
The reality is that the climate change we have been experiencing is caused by the sun and the oceans over which Mankind has no control. Despite the hype, there is no real evidence that CO2 has any effect on climate. There is no such evidence in the paleoclimate record. There is plenty of scientific reasoning to support the idea that the climate sensivity of CO2 is some very small number if not zero. It is a total waste of time and resources trying to solve a problem that Mankind does not have the power to solve. Extreme weather events are part of the current global climate and if we did manage to stop climate change we would still have extreme weather everts and sea level rise so what is the point? We should also be aware that the previous interglacial period was warmer than this one with more ice cap melting and higher sea levels yet CO2 levels were lower than today. Our current interglacial period will eventually end but such may be several thousand years away and the transition may occour very gradually. With the transition to the next ice age sea levels will lower but ice sheets will form where none are today. Mankind does not have the power to change it.
There are many good reasons to be conserving on the use of fossil fuels but climate change is not one of them. Rather than waisting time and resources on trying to solve problems that we do not have the power to solve we need to be solving problems that can be solved, like Mankind’s out of control population. Before the fuel runs out, Mankind must switch to alternate sources of energy and reduce our population so that alternate forms of energy will be sufficient. If Mankind does not control his own population then Nature will, catastrophically.
“As a theoretical physicist based in Cambridge, I have lived my life in an extraordinarily privileged bubble. ”
I don’t care how smart Mr. Hawking is, he still can’t see Forest for all those deplorable trees right in front of him. The man identifies the problem, then goes on to ignore it. Reinforcing Einstein’s Axiom: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
“For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. ”
Sure, now that the Leftist E.litist U.topians are out of power and are losing control, now L.E.U.’s make calls “to work together”. Well I say to them, ForGetAboutIt. We are going steamroll over you, undo all the Socialist, Communist, Fascist actions, and Make America Great Again.
Dec·i·mate
verb: past tense: decimated; past participle: decimated
1. Kill, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of. “the project would decimate the fragile wetland wilderness” drastically reduce the strength or effectiveness of (something). “plant viruses that can decimate yields”
2. Historical: kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers or others) as a punishment for the whole group.
Origin: late Middle English: from Latin decimat- ‘taken as a tenth,’ from the verb decimare, from decimus ‘tenth.’ In Middle English the term decimation denoted the levying of a tithe, and later the tax imposed in England by Cromwell on the Royalists (1655). The verb decimate originally alluded to the Roman punishment of executing one man in ten of a mutinous legion.[1]
So the meaning of decimate (current meaning) in the original post, “The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing”. Is correct. Meaning many jobs have been lost not one in ten.
Regards
Climate Heretic
[1] Google “decimate meaning”
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/09/does-decimate-mean-destroy-one-tenth/
after the article, read the comments.
If you have to go around telling people you are part of the elite. Then you aren’t.
Interesting that Stephen with his illness has beaten the odds of survival.
I think this is a classic case of Will Rogers’ folksy wisdom.
“Everybody’s ignorant…only on different subjects.”
He may be (have been?) brilliant in his field. But he’s not commenting on his field here, is he?
This resembles those actors and actresses who are very, very good at acting but there opinions on a subject are given weight because “I acted in a Holiday Inn Express last night”.
(I remember Meryl Streep testified before Congress a decade or so ago about Alar used on apple trees. Her expertise? She had played a farmers wife in a movie.)
A reputation earned and deserved in one field, at one time, does not make one an expert in a different field.
PS Deserved respect as an expert would be to the one who added something to the field but was later shown to be off a bit. Or even flat out wrong. And welcomed the correction. If, instead, they cling to the error, are they still an “expert”?
My “PS” was poorly worded. I didn’t mean to imply by “Deserved respect as an expert” is only due to those who were wrong and admit it. I meant those open to admit and welcome any added understanding.
Without humility, what we have are a bunch of, as soon as they are crossed, Mad Scientist.
We do have serious issues on the surface of this planet, that do need to be addressed. In over 4 1/2 billion years the climate has changed lots of times.
What part of that change in recent times is natural or man made, has not yet been made clear to me.
We have a global immigration crisis or problem on three or more fronts. hmmm I wouldn’t want to live in China or India either. Just saying..
Stephen Hawking shares some concerns that we should all at least think about.
“””For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans.”””
I did like this Carlin video, mostly, that someone had posted above.
The first 2:24 I didn’t much care for. But the “Planet is Fine,” bit is hilarious starting at 2:24……but real. Try it Dr. S. just for a hoot…he does mention sunspots and GCR….
https://youtu.be/BB0aFPXr4n4?t=2m24s
Shut up, Stephen.
“…how the elites react.”, OMG, the complete arrogance.
Two most dangerous things in the world after, “an idea” Stupid people in large groups, i.e. Rioters in Seattle, LA, NY, and people who think they have all the answers.
So, it seems that at both ends of the intellectual spectrum think the same. One, what does that say about them? Second, what does say about the rest of us?
One possible answer is that we are not willing to all either too dictate how we live.
Hmm. Another Dr. Strangelove….