Stephen Hawking Going To Canada 204
thepacketmaster writes "A previous Slashdot article I posted mentioned the possibility of Stephen Hawking coming to Canada. The Toronto Star now reports that he has accepted the position. Hawking will hold the title of distinguished research chair at the prestigious Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics."
Re:He is both coming to Canada and not simultaneou (Score:1, Informative)
Note to the geographically cgalenged: It is possible to go from England to Canada without crossing the US/Canada border. In fact it is the most direct route.
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:3, Informative)
Not to mention at the high end of the income spectrum (~350k+), US taxes can (depending on which states/provinces and municipalities we're comparing) actually be higher than they are in Canada, in addition to the not-provided-by-the-government stuff you mention.
Re:Serious question (Score:5, Informative)
He's actually starting to have trouble communicating, as the movements he used for it back then (blinking I think?) are starting to become harder. He's still productive, but not as much as he used to, and probably not for very long.
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:5, Informative)
The tax rate is way higher in California than in Canada. Sure, when you look at percentages alone it seems to be the other way around, but for a few measly more points Canadians get free health care, decent and safe free public schools, much higher welfare and unemployment insurance benefits, lower tuition fees at the University level and public infrastructure that isn't crumbling.
The way I see it, Californians are getting royally screwed.
Re:Distinguished research chair? (Score:2, Informative)
<disgruntled linguist>
Moreover...
(1) "oot and aboot" is NOT what Canadian Raising sounds like (nor "oat in a boat")...the vowel in "oot" is high and back, whereas the vowel in Canadian Raised "out" is (well, technically starts, since it's a diphthong) mid-high and central (like the vowel in "cut")
(2) Most Canadians don't speak that way
(3) A fair chunk of people in the US speak that way
</disgruntled linguist>
Re:Distinguished research chair? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:4, Informative)
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_countries_by_gun_ownership [wikipedia.org]. Per 100 people, the United States has 90 guns. Canada has 31.5. All I can say to that is, "weak." France and Finland are beating you (which I wouldn't have expected). Switzerland up there doesn't surprise me though.
Not sure why the U.S. is so ridiculously high. I guess a better statistic would be the percentage of people who own guns. I'm pretty sure a lot of people who buys guns buy a lot of them.
Now check out fire-arm related deaths at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate [wikipedia.org]. Man, the U.S. is awesome. I've never felt more proud to be an American.
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:3, Informative)
You say that infrastructure is crumbling in California, and I think you are probably right (I've only been to California a couple of times). But on the other hand, it is too in Quebec, which has had a spate of lethal collapses in the last couple of years (this being the most recent [theglobeandmail.com]). Last year a bridge collapsed and killed a person on a busy highway, and the same thing happened several years before that. This spring, a major elevated concrete highway interchange in Montreal (the Turcot Interchange) was closed after the authorities discovered a 1m (!!) deep pothole IN THE BRIDGE. Canadians like to blame the weather, but having grown up in New England, where we get all the same weather, I can assure you that our bridges are not collapsing.
Sure the healthcare is free, and everyone has access, but I'll tell you, having to wait 4 hours to see a doctor (as I have done many times) really sucks.
The public high schools are sufficient, but are not by any means greatly superior to americans. 50% dropout rates are commonplace in many places and years of price freezes on tuition has greatly hindered the ability of universities to fund their students (everything from research to maintenance of buildings has been cut for the last 5 years at my university). Many of the cuts would be unheard of at an American university. My first year undergrad chemistry class was 1500 students.
To be fair, Canada does a lot of things better than the United States. And we do things better than Canada, although I think we could both learn from each other, and I don't mean to repudiate social democracy or universal healthcare. These are certainly things we could use in the US. But to say that Californians are "royally screwed" is uninformed - Canadians are plenty screwed in other ways (that you take for granted in the states).
Rifles != Pistols (Score:5, Informative)
There is a HUGE difference between a hunting rifle and an automatic pistol. Try to conceal one.
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:1, Informative)
This is true, but Quebec is a pathological case within Canada: highest taxes in the country, crumbling infrastructure and lowest level of funding to their universities over the last fifteen years. The 50% dropout rate is a myth, though. The true rate is 12%.
The reason? the premier of the province said it during last week's debate: while the economy crumbles all political parties talk about is whether to reopen the constitution or not.
As a UW Student.... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Someone sent us up the brain! (Score:3, Informative)
Somewhat offtopic, but the Swiss have lots of guns because most adult males are obliged - as part of military sevice - to have one at home.
Unlike the US, when they misuse them, it's to kill themselves, not other people.
Re:Serious question (Score:3, Informative)