Gathering of genius's discuss "theory of everything"

Houston Chronicle:

The setting wasn't Cambridge. Nor was it Harvard University, the California Institute of Technology or even Princeton, where Albert Einstein once taught.

It was, instead, a pristine 6,000-acre stand of piney woods northwest of Houston where some of the world's most brilliant scientists — theoretical physicists who ponder the universe's deepest questions — chose to gather. Among them was perhaps the most famous living scientist, Stephen Hawking.

They had come at the behest of George Mitchell, a one-time wildcatter and the developer of The Woodlands, who in the last decade has gained a deep appreciation for cosmology, the science of the universe.

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The critical problem is trying to reconcile two leading theories. One, quantum mechanics, explains the behavior of matter at the tiniest scales — atoms, electrons and smaller particles — and the forces that act upon them. At the other end of the spectrum is Einstein's theory of general relativity, which explains gravity and the behavior of planets, stars and galaxies.

The problem is that when quantum mechanics and relativity both are called upon to answer certain questions, they return radically different answers.

Scientists have been searching for an overarching "theory of everything," which might incorporate one or both of the existing theories, and explain the behavior of everything from the smallest subatomic particle to the expansion of the universe.

The last decade or so has dropped a trove of data into the laps of theorists, as new satellites and instruments have delivered exquisitely precise measurements. For example, instead of estimating the universe to be 8 to 15 billion years old, they now estimate it's 13.7 billion years old.

The rush of new data has turned cosmology upside down. Last month, Imperial College in London hosted a scientific meeting titled, "Outstanding questions for the standard cosmological model." That's a polite way of saying, what if our existing theories are wrong?

That's where meetings such as the one northwest of Houston this week come in. In an informal setting, Warner said, participants can step back from their own, more focused areas of work to ponder the big picture. And they can bring up crazy ideas without fear of scorn from their peers.

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You might say these are the real big picture guys. Hawkings' book is pretty interesting and he explains quantum mechanics in a way that is understandable to the non scientist. George Mitchell is an interesting guy who has invested his fortune from building an energy company in real estate and now in scientific study.