The Economist on the surfboard Theory of Everything

“A shape could describe the cosmos and all it contains”, the Economist announces, profiling the claim of a surfer dude with science cred to have discovered a theory of everything:

ONE of the mysteries of the universe is why it should speak the language of mathematics. Numbers and the relationships between them are, after all, just abstract reasoning. Yet mathematics has shown itself to be particularly adept at describing both the contents of the universe and the forces that act on them. Now comes a paper which argues that one branch of the subject—geometry—could form the basis of all the laws of physics.

Reach for your hat whenever someone claims that a simple idea explains absolutely everything.

Personally, I think it will turn out to be a crock, and I’ll be hearing about Paris Hilton long after I’m hearing about this. But this certainly shows the level of anxiety out there to find a Theory of Everything.