Today we mourn the passing of not only a hero but a symbol of an age. Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series, passed away today at the age of 83 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and has left behind a void that simply cannot be filled.
Through his role as Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy portrayed one of the first characters seen on television that valued logic and scientific reasonable above simple passion and bullheadness. Today, intelligence is seen as trendy and cool and we have him to thank for that. In a way that, at the time of the first series he probably didn’t imagine he brought about a revolution of values. He inspired children who grew up to become scientists to quite literally change the world.
Through his roles in the original television series, and then the seven feature films (six of the original cast and then the first reboot) he become synonymous with logical reasoning and intelligence. While he may have reviled the type-casting that followed him everywhere and even wrote several books about it, he made one of the most promising impacts on modern culture.
His final tweet to his followers, which has been retweeted over 150,000 times at the time of this article was:
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.
He will never be replaced and few will ever live up to what he did, but he has left behind a vast legacy that will continue to grow… living long and prosperously.
