<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:13px"><div id="yiv3653467855"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631326316_3165"><div style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631326316_3164"><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2360">I was asked if Stephen Hawking is a GREAT scientist. I said no.</div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2360"><br></div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2361">This was part of a discussion about Philosophy of Science. I am aware he made a prediction about black holes evaporating and that he has made and lost several bets. To my knowledge the evaporating prediction has not been unambiguously verified by observation. Has he made a confirmed prediction not predicted made by other models?</div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2361"><br></div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2362">A great scientist must have a unique prediction verified by experiment the also rules out competing models. Newton (in my view) was not a great scientist until the delayed return of Halley's comet.</div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2362"><br></div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2363">The group is not composed of practicing scientist.</div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2363"><br></div><div id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2364">What do you think and why? (a Philosophy of Science question).</div><div dir="ltr" id="yiv3653467855yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1499631233416_2365">Hodge </div></div></div></div></div></body></html>