RE:RE:RE:Professor Stephen HawkingRegarding Hawking, MarkDayCEO1 commented, "His legacy will be timeless."
Is it timeless now, or will it be timeless later? What is later? What will trigger timelessness later? Who will judge it? (If an atom falls in a black hole, will anybody perceive it? [paraphrasing Bruce Cockburn])
If we understand Hawking and Einstein correctly, we and our atoms will all end up in a black hole where time effectively stops for anybody watching from afar, but may or may not be normal for anything in the black hole.
Perhaps it is more accurate to say that his legacy will last as long as his name and the works associated with his name remain accurate and remain known to intelligent beings.
However long that might be... ... ... ...
Why do we say "timeless," meaning forever, when (I mean if) there is no time in a black hole, meaning that black holes, having no time, are timeless, the opposite of forever.
So Hawking's legacy will be timeless until it falls into a black hole where (and when) it will become timeless.
jdstox