I do not read books, for in the words of Einstein, reading too much makes for a lazy mind. And there are much better ways to absorb information these days. The spoken word filled with intonation and passion conveys a depth of intent much more valuable to me than the forcible adherence to a wringer of publisher-approved diction.
The exception of my preference of hearing people speak for me is Stephen Hawking, who, because of his long illness, I find hard to watch, as all people with severe disabilities I find hard to watch. And yet, I have not read a single book of him either.
Life after earth
Most of my observations about Stephen are from the people I admire who have quoted him, the late Christopher Hitchens, Lawrence Kraus, Elon Musk, and a few others. And I have quoted him on a few occasions with regards to the impending extinction of humanity, a predicament for which Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, despite their respective genius, have offered a remarkably weak strategy of extraterrestrial escapism.
The problem I see with extraterrestrial escapism is that our malformed implementation of freedom, lacking renewable meritocracies and thus yielding systems filled with evolutionary ignorance, will merely continue unabashed on a different planet. With more confined personal space, climate restrictions, and limited resources exacerbating the problems we have today.
You see, the biggest problem of humanity is how we take ourselves on and escape our self-induced wrath as the most intelligent species on earth on a clear trajectory to live the shortest. For the operating-systems of humanity are in desperate need of a severe overhaul. The imminence of our escapism predicated on how we escape manmade mediocrity, regardless of the planet we live on.
Reality strikes back
But every time a discerning thinker emerges from seemingly boundless pageantry of cheap human populism, I am inspired to do better and more, and offer my viewpoints to the mix in an attempt to create a better world for us all.
Stephen Hawking was a man who contributed significantly to the refinement of realism, with a better understanding of how we came to be, and credible new foresight of where we are bound to end up. His stardust proved to be an inspiration for those who think for themselves. An inspiration sorely needed to combat those of us who just do not care.
Thank you, Stephen. Your work will live on.
