Cambridge University physics prof Neil Turok impressed the folks at TED (and vexed the anti-string-theory contingent) by positing a new notion of the universe's birth - namely, that it never had one.
The Big Bang, he says, is just one of many "bangs" in an infinite cycle of expansion and contraction between string-theoretical objects called "branes." Dark energy pulls two branes together and -- Ka-BLAMO -- they "separate and expand to form galaxies and stars."
Sound weird? Read Wired's interview with Turok, which covers the basic questions. They fall into two rough categories: "WTF?" and "what about this makes people so angry?"
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