Stephen Hawking: Universe Not Created By Godguardian - God did not create the universe, the man who is arguably Britain's most famous living scientist says in a forthcoming book.
In the new work, The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity.
In his 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking had seemed to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. But in the new text, co-written with American physicist Leonard Mlodinow, he said new theories showed a creator is "not necessary".
The Grand Design, an extract of which appears in the Times today, sets out to contest Sir Isaac Newton's belief that the universe must have been designed by God as it could not have been created out of chaos.
"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," he writes. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.
"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."
In the forthcoming book, published on 9 September, Hawking says that M-theory, a form of string theory, will achieve this goal: "M-theory is the unified theory Einstein was hoping to find," he theorises.
"The fact that we human beings – who are ourselves mere collections of fundamental particles of nature – have been able to come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our universe is a great triumph."
Hawking says the first blow to Newton's belief that the universe could not have arisen from chaos was the observation in 1992 of a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun. "That makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions – the single sun, the lucky combination of Earth-sun distance and solar mass – far less remarkable, and far less compelling as evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings," he writes.
Hawking had previously appeared to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. Writing in his bestseller A Brief History Of Time in 1988, he said: "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God."
Hawking resigned as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University last year after 30 years in the position.
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NOTE: Four years later, I still chuckle at this explanation that the banana is evidence of God's intelligent design. BTW, the two geniuses making this argument are Rev. Roy Comfort and Kirk Cameron...enough said. Lon
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Messin' With Sasquatch Student Commercial Contest
Jack Links - Messin' with ??? Film ContestJack Link’s® Beef Jerky is offering student filmmakers a chance to create their own TV spot!
The Assignment:
Since its introduction in 2006, the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky Messin’ With Sasquatch campaign has infiltrated pop culture and attracted millions of fans worldwide. Here’s your chance to write and shoot your very own Jack Link’s TV spot. However, rather than Messin’ with Sasquatch, you have full creative license to develop something completely new that plays off the “Messin’ With…” theme. Messin’ With Your Roommate, Messin’ With Your Neighbor, Messin’ With Your Little Brother – so long as Jack Link’s Beef Jerky is featured in your video, it’s 100 percent up to you.
The Payoff:
A panel of judges representing Jack Link’s Beef Jerky will view every submission and choose one winner that most exemplifies the true spirit of the Jack Link’s Messin’ With Sasquatch campaign. The winning submission will be aired nationally on ESPN and, in addition, the winning student will receive:
* A trip for two to Las Vegas to watch the winning commercial air live during an ESPN viewing party
* The chance to create a commercial that represents the No. 1 U.S. meat snack brand
* Enough Jack Link’s Beef Jerky to stay satisfied all school-year long
The Details:
* Using Jack Link’s Messin’ With Sasquatch commercials as a guide, your submission must involve Jack Link’s Jerky as the catalyst for the featured prank
* Send video entries to jacklinks@clynch.com
* Open only to legal residents of any one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia who are currently enrolled in post-secondary film or advertising school or degree program
* Entrants must be 18 years of age or older as of Nov. 1, 2010
* All entries must be received by 11:59:59 CST on Oct. 20, 2010
* Each entrant is allowed a total of ten (10) submissions
* The winner will be notified by Oct. 25, 2010
Jack Links - Messin' with ??? Film Contest
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Stranded, Ill Whale Blown Up
Explosives have been used to put down a sickly humpback whale which washed up onto a sandbar off Western Australia's southwest coast. The 9.5m humpback whale became stranded in Albany in WA's southwest two weeks ago.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) had intended to let the whale die of natural causes but on Thursday decided to euthanase the animal with an explosive charge after it repositioned itself on a sandbar.
In a statement, DEC Albany district manager Mike Shepherd said the whale had moved a couple of metres from its original position, which was enough to stabilise the whale and kill it humanely.
"This was not an option that was available to us until now as the animal, even while terminally sick, was still strong enough to present a serious safety risk to DEC staff and volunteers," he said.
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Chinese Traffic Jam Part Deux: Thousands of Vehicles Stuck in 120km Mess
BBC - More than 10,000 vehicles are stuck in a 120km (75-mile) traffic jam on China's Beijing to Tibet motorway.
A state television reporter said the gridlocked section of the road, in the north-eastern region of Inner Mongolia, resembled a "big car park".
The majority of the vehicles stuck in the jam, which began on Tuesday, are coal trucks heading to the capital.
A 100km traffic jam that had lasted nine days on the same motorway was cleared just over a week ago.
The authorities say roadworks are to blame for the latest gridlock.
The motorway is among China's busiest, as Beijing's population of more than 20 million requires massive quantities of goods.
For instance, a huge number of coal lorries have to travel daily from Inner Mongolia in order to ensure a constant supply for the country's coal-burning power plants, which provide more than half of its electricity.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says that in recent years, there has been a boom in road building across China, with the country spending billions of dollars on improving its infrastructure.
But critics say that China is still struggling to keep up with the demands of its growing economy, and that huge traffic jams could be here to stay.
Fortean / Oddball News - 9/3/2010