I was surprised not to see a thread about this man's death yesterday, guess he isn't very well known outside of the UK, or it may be because natural deaths late in life are less of a tragic loss than someone dying unexpectedly in their prime.
Patrick Moore was the inspiring and enthusiastic presenter of an astronomy show on British television for five decades called The Sky at Night. He started out like so:
His passionate and earnest treatment of all things astronomical led him to have an influence on budding scientists, just like Carl Sagan. And he once played a duet with Eistein, how about that! What I find most impressive is that he never received education in astronomy and taught himself everything, as he did with the xylophone which was an instrument he enjoyed playing even in public.
I always find that the world is starved of people with the genuine ability to communicate their love for things like this. A perfect combination of magnetic eccentricity and devotion to his subject.
Here is a nice retrospective video they made of the program not too long ago, presented by Patrick himself:
His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
Thanks for this, Patrick Moore was very old fashioned, but he educated generations of Britons about space and astronomy (and actually made it interesting), and of course I'll always remember him as the Games Master! As a lil kid it was my favourite show. He was an important man for science and gaming RIP.
On December 10 2012 22:00 Destro wrote: His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
Personally I like to separate political ideology from other achievements.
On December 10 2012 22:00 Destro wrote: His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
Personally I like to separate political ideology from other achievements.
Golden shit is still shit, and I'm not gonna smell it.
On December 10 2012 22:00 Destro wrote: His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
Personally I like to separate political ideology from other achievements.
No problem appreciating a good thing someone did, more of a problem celebrating a bad person who happened to do some good things.
Holy sugar, everyone seems out to get old Patrick. Tobberoth I think of it as celebrating a fantastic person with some unsavoury opinions. He didn't do anything bad, everything of note that he did was good. I guess this just becomes an argument on what makes a bad person: their deeds or opinions or a combination or something else entirely. People who had him pop up on their TVs now and again will probably find it easier to see the great side rather than the bad. It's kind of like the grandad in the corner who comes up with horribly conservative and backwards things but you forgive him because he's really quite harmless and besides he tells great stories...
On December 10 2012 23:01 sc4k wrote: Holy sugar, everyone seems out to get old Patrick. Tobberoth I think of it as celebrating a fantastic person with some unsavoury opinions. He didn't do anything bad, everything of note that he did was good. I guess this just becomes an argument on what makes a bad person: their deeds or opinions or a combination or something else entirely. People who had him pop up on their TVs now and again will probably find it easier to see the great side rather than the bad. It's kind of like the grandad in the corner who comes up with horribly conservative and backwards things but you forgive him because he's really quite harmless and besides he tells great stories...
I wouldn't call someone harmless if they are famous enough to get a whole memorial topic on TL. Might seem petty, but then again, a ton of people die every day, the vast majority of them are never mentioned here. This guy obviously had impact, which is never harmless if you go out and say "homosexuals are mainly responsible for the spreading of AIDS (the Garden of Eden is home of Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve)" or actively seed mistrust between England and other parts of Europe because of racist views.
I can accept my granddad having old values and an outdated outlook on life and equality... but at least he doesn't go on TV and spout that crap to a ton of people who actively watch and listen to him.
Well he wrote the homosexual thing in a book and I guess he gave interviews where he stated his outdated opinions, but his TV show never contained politics...I suppose it might be better to remember, therefore, the shows he made rather than the man as a whole. Just like it's nice for many people to indulge in Wagner or Disney movies and to appreciate their impact on their respective mediums.
On December 10 2012 22:00 Destro wrote: His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
What were his views then? I haven't really read about this guy at all.
On December 10 2012 22:00 Destro wrote: His political views and disgusting views against women and homosexuals will make him unmissed. It might be great what he did for astronomy in the public eye, but doesn't make him a good person. good riddance.
What were his views then? I haven't really read about this guy at all.
I knew nothing about person before i saw this thread. Checked the beliefs and political views on wiki. He is right winged, old fashioned, eccentric and a complex personality. Since i haven't seen him enough or heard himself personally say presumably offensive things, i can't make an opinion of that, really.
He doesn't seem as a guy to get easy along with, but the excerpts from the tv programm show that he definitely knew how to captivate audience.
Wow Team Liquid is ruthless... A lot of you are so morally pure though, it's really impressive. You guys should use your true moral compasses to make a difference in the world and route out evil, rather than posting on a forum!
Although he had archaic and unfair political views, he contributed a great deal to the world. Ya he was very sexist/homophobic, but he did a lot of good for society. More than most of us have.
On December 11 2012 00:18 BoX wrote: Wow Team Liquid is ruthless... A lot of you are so morally pure though, it's really impressive. You guys should use your true moral compasses to make a difference in the world and route out evil, rather than posting on a forum!
Because having moral values means not enjoying internet forums?
EPT
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![[image loading]](http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02373/patrickMoore_2373364b.jpg)
