It’s a nicely symmetrical bit of newsmaking, news gathering, and news receiving that is underway today. Stephen Hawking, nearly immobilized by ALS, spoke via computerized voice synthesizer – delivering a speech laboriously composed in advance – at a session in DC to celebrate NASA’s 50th anniversary. Reporters, nearly immobilized by deadlines, then hunched over and fed their digested reports into laptops. The re-digitized result flew around the world, bouncing from computer to computer and occasionally winding up on newsprint. But mostly read, one suspects, on computer monitors. What an amazing time we’re in.
The astrophysicist spoke on chances for extraterrestrial life (intelligent and not), on his hopes for further space research, weirdos who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens, and the long term necessity for humankind to establish colonies off Earth.
Stories:
AP Seth Borenstein‘s account gets widest play (of course) does it wisely, focussing on anything fresh that Hawking said, not so much the over-reported singularity that is his life and his ability to survive ALS so long ; Economic Times (India) knits INS and other wire copy, leading on a call for massive investment in space, including colonies on Moon and Mars ; ABC News (US) Melissa Chee includes a pretty good line from Hawking up high: if we are to survive another million years “we will probably have to go where nobody has gone before” (emphasis added. Dunno if the synthesizer does stress), and she dwells on his call for more money for space ; AFP ; iTWire (Australia) William Akins uses extensive quotes from the talk, along with numerous links to additional info ;
Pic: Hawking “weightless” on microgravity flight. Source Nat’l Geo.
-CP
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