Jean Baudrillard, 77: French thinker

*Gosh, Baudrillard is dead. That's a loss. He was always my favorite among that crowd – he was the one who thought most like a science fiction writer.

Link: TheStar.com - artsentertainment - Jean Baudrillard, 77: French thinker .

Baudrillard, a sociologist by training, is perhaps best known for his concepts of "hyperreality" and "simulation." Baudrillard advocated the idea that spectacle is crucial in creating our view of events – what he termed "hyperreality." Things do not happen if they are not seen to happen.