So like, I was all hanging at the beach, and stuff, and so like I thought I'd like really ponder the meaning of life... and stuff... you know?  And like dude, you totally won't believe what I thought up:

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which has received rave reviews from scientists.

Garrett Lisi, 39, has a doctorate but no university affiliation and spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii, where he has also been a hiking guide and bridge builder (when he slept in a jungle yurt).

In winter, he heads to the mountains near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where he snowboards. "Being poor sucks," Lisi says. "It's hard to figure out the secrets of the universe when you're trying to figure out where you and your girlfriend are going to sleep next month."

Despite this unusual career path, his proposal is remarkable because, by the arcane standards of particle physics, it does not require highly complex mathematics.

Even better, it does not require more than one dimension of time and three of space, when some rival theories need ten or even more spatial dimensions and other bizarre concepts. And it may even be possible to test his theory, which predicts a host of new particles, perhaps even using the new Large Hadron Collider atom smasher that will go into action near Geneva next year.

Actually, the fact that he's a surfer is really pretty minor here in the grand scheme of things.  The amazing part is that he may have found a GUT (Grand Unified Theory) which doesn't require any additional space or time dimensions.  This is huge in theoretical physics.  His theory also makes actual testable predictions about new particles that might be able to be confirmed by the Large Hadron Collider.  This is generally something that even most string theories are incapable of doing.  Even better, is that it uses a rather elegant (as complex mathematical standards go) set of theories to do all this.

Just another reason to spend some time in the Green Room if you need to do some serious thinking.