Surfing and the LHC

I had heard tell of this great man via a coworker who loves television and saw something about him on one of those cable TV science type channels. Now news of his genius has crossed my path and made me an envious man.

Garrett Lisi has a Ph.D. (pronounced 'Fudd') in physics but spends much of his time following other pursuits.

How a Surfer Dude Stunned the World of Science With the "Theory of Everything"

With a lifestyle revolving around riding wave and snow drifts, The Daily Galaxy had one burning question for Lisi: “How on Earth did you have the time to come up with the “Theory of Everything” in between so much snowboarding and surfing?”

Lisi’s chill response was, “I don't watch TV. Miraculously, this gives me plenty of time to surf, contemplate the secrets of the universe, and keep my girlfriend happy.”

Hell yeah! I'd be hard pressed to come up with a better life than one that revolved around surfing, contemplating the secrets of the universe, and keeping my girlfriend happy.

So far it seems to have treated him well. His Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything has proven quite popular. It might have a bit to do with people liking simple explanations. Especially one that explains everything.

Perhaps even more exciting, Lisi’s theory does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space. Rival theories require ten to twenty-six or more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts before they start to become plausible. But what really sets Lisi’s theory apart from the pack is that it appears to be testable! His theory predicts a host of new particles, which could possibly be found using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year.

Surfing, physics, sex, and the LHC. This story has got it all!

Hearing that a revolutionary idea in physics came from the mind of a surfer surprised me no more than hearing that Carl Sagan liked to smoke pot. Of course.