Homages to Stephen Hawking in Latin America's Media Show How Mourning for the Scientist Transcends Borders

 

                                                                                                                                                           News of Stephen Hawking's death, announced on 14 March 2018, caused sorrow throughout the world, and Latin America was no exception.

Hawking, 76, was known in the scientific community for his advanced theories on the radiation emitted from black holes, as well as for his studies into the origins of the universe and the Big Bang theory.

However, the British theoretical physicist and cosmologist had achieved fame among the public too, through his efforts to bring science to a more generalized audience and raise awareness about various, often little understood, phenomena. These include advances in artificial intelligence and the survival of the human race.

Hawking also dealt with what some would regard as highly controversial subjects, such as the existence of a divine being in the context of the creation of the universe.

The Spanish-language website Sopitas published the news like this, using an interesting wink at the possible existence of parallel universes:

• 
  

We don't know about other universes, but in this one at least, the great Stephen Hawking died yesterday. With this sad news, millions of internet users came out to express their admiration for such an amazing person. When we say amazing, we are not just referring to his presence and his personality, but also his work as an astrophysicist that never failed to fascinate, even those who know little or nothing about science.

On another note, Raúl Morales put his reaction to Hawking's death in this way on a Spanish-language site dedicated to climbing, mountaineering and other sports:

• 
  

The British physicist and scientific figure died […] after over half a century outliving his prognosis for the illness he suffered from, and taking humanity forward toward the most important discovery to which we aspire: that which explains reality itself.

If we climb to reach a summit, go caving to discover the caves, then we use science to explore the universe, which is no more than the rational systemization of this same human spirit which makes us cross a river, or go see what is on the other side of the mountain. This work is like that of a mountaineer, an explorer, but of different summits, summits which we don't often find on our planet or, in the case of Stephen Hawking, not even within our spacetime.

In a piece entitled “Stephen Hawking's laboratory was the universe”, which appeared on a Puerto Rican newspaper called El Nuevo Día, the complexity of Hawking's theories was described like this:

• 
  

Everybody knew about Stephen Hawking's cosmic brilliance, but few understood it. Not even first-class astronomers.

Furthermore, on the same site they created a compilation of some of Hawking's famous phrases, including this one:

• 
  

If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans

On Twitter, users reacted like 

Lartenostra@lartenostra

Hemos perdido a uno de los científicos mas brillantes que ha dado la humanidad, comparable quizás solo con Sir Issac Newton; descanse en paz Stephen #Hawking

Información y privacidad de Twitter Ads

We have lost one of the most brilliant scientists humanity has ever seen, comparable perhaps only to Sir Isaac Newton. Rest in peace Stephen #Hawking

Mexican news presenter Carmen Aristegui remembered when Hawking played himself in American TV show “The Big Bang Theory,” quoting one of the lead actresses Kaley Cuoco: