Steven Hawking Considering Move To Canada 378
thepacketmaster learned of "...the possibility of Steven Hawking moving to Waterloo in Canada: 'A report out of Britain suggests Stephen Hawking is considering an invitation to come work at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics....But he's also being encouraged to move to Ontario by his University of Cambridge colleague Neil Turok, the mathematical physicist who will take over as Perimeter's executive director on Oct. 1. Perimeter confirmed last night that it has made a standing offer to Hawking...Turok is leaving Cambridge after failing to persuade university authorities, research councils and sponsors to spend $40 million...By comparison, Waterloo's Perimeter Institute has about $600 million in funding...The addition of Hawking to Perimeter's staff of top physicists would be a major coup for the research institute, founded in 1999 by Mike Lazaridis, founder and co-CEO of Research In Motion, which makes the BlackBerry.'"
Didn't... (Score:5, Insightful)
all the top phycisits start leaving Germany when things started going downhill?
Re:Didn't... (Score:5, Funny)
And the physicists left too!
but the grammar nazi's stayed (Score:3, Funny)
Re:but the grammar nazi's stayed (Score:5, Funny)
He corrected himself and earned double +5s, smart on his part if you ask me.
Meanwhile, I expect this post to receive a -1 offtopic rating. Though it could go insightful. Moderator demigods are strange sometimes.
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Can moderator demigods make a moderation so permanent that even they can't undo it?
Oops, I just answered my question by asking it.
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In our case, some are Muslim and others don't want to work for a corrupt regime.
Ok, so we're not committing genocide and are several orders of magnitude less evil. But the basic point still stands.
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There isn't any corruption? Or racism? And scientists aren't willing to leave for greener pastures because of this? I'd like to know where you're getting your information.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Insightful)
Historically, Muslim regimes have been very favorable to the science. That's no so much the case today, but blaming current Muslim regimes on the Koran is like blaming the industrial revolution on Christianity. It's a stretch, at best.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Funny)
I guess you don't know where Cambridge is. Must be an American.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Insightful)
You laugh... but I've known people who live in Maine that couldn't find Canada on a map. I could understand from the deep south, where Canada is a mythical land of igloos and Eskimos, but Maine?!? There's parts of Canada that are further south than Maine, and there was a time when that state was part of Canada, for crying out loud....
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Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Informative)
I think I counted once, there are 12 states with territory of a higher latitude than the southernmost point in Canada. The strange part is that Vancouver has much milder winters than Pelee Island, despite having a more northern latitude by over 650mi.
And actually the southernmost territory in Canada is Middle Island, just south of Pelee Island (home to some nice wineries), which is south of Point Pelee, the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland.
And there are far more Canadians with residences in southern US than in Maine, aka Snowbirds.
I was worried about getting modded OT but the Cannuck posts are scoring better than the Hawking ones!
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Funny)
Real Mainiacs can be identified by their large feet evolved for crossing snow drifts, know where they are relative to Canada just by sniffing the air, and can find the nearest unguarded border crossings using a mutated recessive gene. A Real Maniac, most importantly though, will pretend to look at the map you shove at them and give you a fiendishly crafted answer with the sole intended result of making you go back to New York and never returning. An answer like "What's Canada?" for instance...
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Funny)
If someone mentions any American town I could probably name the state it is in.
Springfield. :)
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I got that wrong once...
I was talking about Cambridge in the context of text adventure games... You know, 'cause Cambridge, MA is where Infocom started out and all... And someone said if I wasn't talking about England then I should be clear about it... And I was all like, well, we are talking text adventures here, right? So maybe it's reasonable to assume Cambridge, MA?
As it turns out, one of the original text adventures ("Adventure", IIRC) was written in Cambridge, England, so I got to be wrong twice i
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The original text adventure [wikipedia.org] was written by Will Crowther, while working at BBN in Cambridge, MA, USA.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Informative)
To be fair, we have a Cambridge on this side of the pond, in Massachusetts, and it's home to a rather prestigious institution of higher learning. If one were unfamiliar with the work or background Stephen Hawking, it would be an innocent mistake to confuse our Cambridge (town) with your Cambridge (university).
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Informative)
It is possible to synthesize British accents. Hawking has had many opportunities to upgrade his speech software. He chooses to continue to use DECtalk even though it is outdated because it is "his voice" now.
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To be fair, we have a Cambridge on this side of the pond, in Massachusetts, and it's home to a rather prestigious institution of higher learning. If one were unfamiliar with the work or background Stephen Hawking, it would be an innocent mistake to confuse our Cambridge (town) with your Cambridge (university).
And due to some weirdness involving Cambridge University statues and a Cambridge-MIT exchange program, the University has decreed the entirety of Cambridge and Boston, MA to fall within 3 miles of the University Church.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Informative)
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The funny thing is there is a Cambridge Ontario which just happens to border on Kitchener-Waterloo which is where Perimeter is. Wouldn't it be funny if he ends up moving from Cambridge to Cambridge? :)
Today class I have question for you: what is the distance between Cambridge and Cambridge. Does not compute is not an answer :)
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The difference is that the US' corrupt regime don't give a rats ass of your religion.
Two words: Intelligent Design.
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Atheism is a religion like making fun of people for collecting stamps is a hobby.
There, I fixed that for you.
Shame (Score:5, Funny)
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The typical response to that I see these days is that:
"Atheists have faith that there is no God since they have no proof that God does not exist.
Since they have faith then atheists are religious."
It would seem that all the reasons atheists may have for stating that do not count as "proof".
If you ignore the fallacy of proving a negative existence.
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In reality the argument is asinine. "Look, you Atheists are just a religious as us!" is what seems to be the point. The reality is a bit deeper than that. As another post pointed out, an overwhelming lack of evidence of the positive existence of something requires that you default to "that thing does not exist".
The requirement that it *might* exist derives completely from the person making the positive proposition. You say that you believe a "God" exists. You have no proof of course, or at least none
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not collecting stamps gives you time for a real hobby, just like atheism gives you time to do real science.
Now, I don't say you can't be religious as a scientist. Actually I know quite a few very good scientists that believe in God. Usually, though, they take the Bible as a guideline for being a "good person", not a book telling you how the scientific parts of the world work. They understand the Bible as a guideline to live a good life, and quite frankly, it is a good book as such. Don't kill, don't steal, take a day off per week so you don't run into a burnout, and generally don't do what you wouldn't want others to do to you. That's a pretty good guideline to work with, if you ask me.
Frankly, I wonder how many of those that want to take the Bible all literally and insist in it being the all encompassing truth really want to use it to live a better life (for themselves, but even more for those around them), and how many just want to use it as a tool to wield power over others. It's been used for that purpose far too often. I'd say, more often than for the "better person" goals...
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:5, Insightful)
Only if you ignore the parts that say you should stone people, and eradicate whole villages if one of the members doesn't believe in the Bible's god, retain slaves, and that giving up your virgin daughter to a rape gang is preferable to turning over a foreign man to them. Those are just a few examples...
Re:yes but there was a difference. (Score:4, Interesting)
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In a random universe the fundamental rule it is: This is a random universe.
In a universe with an all powerful god then it is: God decides how things operate.
In a non random universe without god it is: Some set of rules define how all interactions take place.
Now it might not seem obvious how science could differenti
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What is "simpler" ?
Your are basing your assumption that #3 is simpler because it is simpler given your frame of reference. A lot of people will think #2 is simpler. You will even find some wakos that will think #1 is simpler.
What is it called when you try to adapt facts to your (mine, theirs) theory ? There is a word for it, but I forgot.
I find it interesting that you are trying to proof that god doesn't exist to an agnostic. How often have you tried doing that before ? (Trying to prove god doesn't exist to
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Godwin right in the first post! Bravo I say, Bravo! A true and shining accomplishment in the field of utterly irrelevant comparisons.
In all seriousness, I do think scientists are an excellent canary for the local political/cultural environment. They rely on public funding while demanding the right to teach/work as they see best.
That's what Hitler said when he forced scientists to bow to the party line.
One reason: (Score:2)
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BTW, Canadian taxes are actually a little lower than ours, and they get free healthcare! taxes in Canada.
No, they're not. Assuming the author of that page is correct, their federal income tax is (slightly) lower than what the US has.
However, Canada also has federal sales tax, provincial income tax, and provincial sales tax. The US has no federal sales tax, and state taxes vary widely (no sales tax in Oregon, no income tax in Washington, etc).
I lived in Canada for three years, and I paid something like 20% c
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Completely off topic of course but:
The GST Tax (General Services Tax) is currently at 6%, the Provincial Sales Tax (at least here in British Columbia) is at 7%, so here I pay a grand total of 13% tax on most purchased items and services. In Alberta there is no provincial sales tax.
We do pay both Federal and Provincial Income tax though.
However, after hearing the horror stories of people experiencing problems under the US health care system, I will take ours anytime. Its not perfect but its available to ever
Actually.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Actually.... (Score:4, Funny)
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I'm an 11th level vice president!
I wonder (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I wonder (Score:4, Funny)
Fringe Benefits (Score:4, Informative)
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For all twenty buildings.
Re:Fringe Benefits (Score:5, Funny)
I will not stand by and take this slander against my home and native land. I'll have you know that Canada has hundreds of buildings and has had them for decades now!
Its our (Score:5, Funny)
Its our national healthcare system.
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It's better than [cmwf.org] the American [openmedicine.ca] health [forbes.com] care [businessweek.com] system [commonwealthfund.org], so that would be a plus compared to going to the USA.
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Re:Its our (Score:4, Informative)
Indeed. For those who don't get the joke, the UK's health care system is probably (depending of course on the metric) better than Canada's.
Like Freeman, but more not theoretical (Score:5, Funny)
Mr. Turok, mathematical physicist and dinosaur hunter, to you, pal.
Re:Like Freeman, but more not theoretical (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Like Freeman, but more not theoretical (Score:5, Funny)
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Say what you will about Mr. Turok, but I think it's *really* cool that a bridge officer from Voyager went on to be a mathematical physicist. Imagine our loss if the ship was still stuck in the delta quadrant.
The voice (Score:5, Funny)
Can we get the computerized voice with a Canadian accent, eh?
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
British? (Score:5, Funny)
They see me rollin (Score:5, Funny)
Phew! (Score:4, Funny)
No more traffic jams on Silver Street.
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Stephen Hawking changed his mind about what he wanted to eat for lunch.
"At first I thought I wanted fish," said Mr. Hawkings, "but then I decided I did not want fish. I eventually went with spaghetti."
There is much debate in science-related blogs as well as in academia about the significance of this change.
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He was very obvously toughed by His Noodly Appendage.
New voicebox. (Score:3, Funny)
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Hawking will have his venerable voicebox replaced by one of Canadian manufacture, based on an amalgamation of Geddy Lee and Alex Trebek's voice, which automatically interjects "eh" every 8th word.
Meh, everybody's raising this possibility.... While it is a very real possibility, I think you're all missing the bigger picture here.
What do they make in Canada? Beer, Mounties, snow... oh, and the frikkin Canadarm [wikipedia.org]! The chair is bound to receive upgrades based on this technology - probably a quadrupedal locomotion system and two massive manipulators, all Canadarm-based...
Perimeter Institute? (Score:3, Funny)
That sounds like a front organization for Aperture Science.
Public Lectures (Score:5, Informative)
The Institute has most of them available for offline viewing and reading [perimeterinstitute.ca]. Maybe they could get Stephen Hawking one day.
Heavy Duty Keyboard On Order For Speeches... (Score:5, Funny)
Waterloo is getting there... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Waterloo is getting there... (Score:5, Funny)
There's lots of movies with references to Waterloo, though they generally deal with this Napoleon guy, I guess he was a bigshot there.
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There's lots of movies with references to Waterloo, though they generally deal with this Napoleon guy, I guess he was a bigshot there.
Oh, yeah - like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! I love waterslides!
"steVen"? (Score:5, Informative)
I heard him speak (Score:2)
I guess that gig he has with the Cable Weather Satellite channel was just a temporary gig. I heard him on there the other day:
Tomorrow's weather, partly cloudy with little temperature change.
On an unrelated note... Anyone know how Canada got its name?
They placed a bunch of letters in a hat and drew them out. The one doing the drawing picked out the first letter, "C, Eh". then "N, Eh" and finally "D, Eh." (if you didn't get it, say it out loud).
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Actually, Canada got it's name when Jacques Cartier and company, well, mangled the St-Lawrence Iroquois word 'kanata,' which means 'town' or 'village.'
There's a sweet little 'Canadian Heritage' edvert that illustrates this as Cartier and company coming over a hill and meeting said Iroquois for the first time. The local elder offers to bring them to his village, repeatedly using the word 'kanata.' Cartier turns to a religious scholar, and asks for a translation. The scholar, having never heard this langua
Hot damn! (Score:2, Interesting)
Will his voicebox... (Score:2, Funny)
need to speak French first then English to be legal over there? Or is that only in Quebec?
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Will he have to reprogram the English syntax algorithm to add an "eh?" at the end of every sentence?
He's not coming to Canada (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/16/hawking-perimeter.html [www.cbc.ca]
The University of Cambridge has poured cold water on reports its most famous physicist might be coming to Canada to work, saying Wednesday Stephen Hawking "has no plans" to leave.
A report in the Daily Telegraph in the U.K. said Hawking was contemplating joining his colleague Neil Turok at Waterloo, Ont.'s Perimeter Institute. The South African-born cosmologist Turok, 49, is leaving Cambridge to take over the role of executive director at the institute, which was founded in 2000 by Research in Motion co-founder Mike Lazaridis and is devoted to the study of theoretical physics.
Cambridge's statement called the report "unfounded speculation."
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Probability states the worlds brightest people are probably in China or India. However due to political structure it may be harder to find these people in those countries. (less so in India)
Re:NOOoOOOO!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Your ideas are shaped not just by your capabilities, but the ideas and interactions you came up with when you were growing up.
I believe that there is a significant percentage of population (probably around 10%) that could be just as bright as the top people in sciences, but they just took a different path. They didn't get the encouragements, or maybe they just didn't meet a friend in the 5th grade that had the same interest as them.
There is more to whom we become than some political structure. The ultimate you is shaped MUCH closer to your personal life than even the city hall.
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I believe that there is a significant percentage of population (probably around 10%) that could be just as bright as the top people in sciences, but they just took a different path. They didn't get the encouragements, or maybe they just didn't meet a friend in the 5th grade that had the same interest as them.
In India, I'd bet the caste system [wikipedia.org] has a bit to do with that as well...
Re:NOOoOOOO!!! (Score:5, Interesting)
The same could be said for countries as a whole. One would expect to find a greater proportion of scientists in an industrialized country over an agrarian one, or over a nation that has only recently industrialized.
I am not trying to make a nationalistic or xenophobic argument against India or China, because I know for a fact that they have lots of brilliant people, I am just trying to delve deeper into the notion that a larger national population equals a larger population of [whatever else].
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The same could be said for countries as a whole. One would expect to find a greater proportion of scientists in an industrialized country over an agrarian one, or over a nation that has only recently industrialized.
Or that has over 50% people with a nonscientific worldview?
</flamebait> :)
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Well, on the point of providing value to society, that will rathole into a debate about what is "good for society", assuming that there's an objective or even subjective-with-high-consensus notion of such a thing. It's not clear that people want to live longer, healthier, more intellectually sti
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Mr. President, we must not allow a foreign scientist gap !
Re:who in their right mind (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean, really, the university isn't even the best in Ontario, let alone the country
For math and physics it sure is the best, especially with the perimeter institute there now. Sounds like they sent you a nice rejection letter :)
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Ah, the "perimeter" institute. eh?
Is that where mathematical geniuses figured out that the perimeter of a circle is 2*PI*r?
Have they made any headway on finding a formula for the perimeter of a Mandelbrot fractal?
Re:who in their right mind (Score:5, Insightful)
I am a grad student in physics at waterloo (phd) and my female counterparts do not get paid anymore than me from the uni. Where the heck did you hear this?
Are you sure that you aren't just talking about 3rd party scholarships that are only available to women? The amount from you get from the actual university is the same for men and women.
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Side note: I somewhat forgot that the perimeter institute is based there (I'm not in theory so I don't pay much attention to where their institutions are actually located).
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Sounds like a headline from a 007 movie (Score:5, Funny)
"World's leading physicist moves to the university in the middle of nowhere"
I wonder...
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Er.... (Score:2)
I mean, really, the university isn't even the best in Ontario, let alone the country and Waterloo itself is in the middle of nowhere.
Depending on what you're studying, Waterloo actually is the best University in the country.
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Perhaps Balmer might be able to make a modified version
Computerized voice: "Steve, get your dirty hands off my chair."