Leonard Nimoy, the passing of a great man

I was shocked to hear about Leonard Nimoy’s passing as I headed home Friday night, February 27th, 2015. My first thought was Sci-Fi lost a great hero. My second thought was to think how much Leonard Nimoy’s acting through his character Spock on Star Trek and the many other shows he played in changed my life. Leonard left his mark on multiple generations around the world, inspiring scientists and engineers that made the Sci-Fi of his day a reality that we now live in many ways. Not only in this way did Leonard Nimoy change the worlds, but through his acting with his character Spock he taught the world that intelligence was cool. He wasn’t just the hero to a generation of geeks, but a fighter for his beliefs in feminism and opposition to prejudice.

For me personally his characterization of Spock taught me valuable lessons on life, expanded my mind and pushed me to become a better person. Being a “latch-key kid”, a gamer and a geek, Spock was one of my personal heroes while growing up and affected my life on so many different levels. Leonard Nimoy was in many of the TV shows and movies that were personal favorites of mine and marked generations of hackers, gamers and Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans through shows like Star Trek, The Outer Limits, Mission Impossible, The Twilight Zone, In Search of …, World of the Unexplained Museum, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ancient Mysteries, narrator of Civilization IV and so many more. It sounds crazy that an actor could have had such a major impact on so many lives and generations of people around the world, but none the less it is true.

Leonard Nimoy’s personal message of sharing such as “The miracle is this. The more we share, the more we have” and his work of giving back to the community throughout his life is another sign of his remarkable character.