Learning he was right about Big Bang theory

[roywhite]

Don't claim to understand the science, but this is quite a moment for Stanford scientist Andrei Linde

What It's Like to Learn You Were Right About the Big Bang

[moonpie23]

i've been reading about this...pretty awesome...

[summerwind03]

One of the lead scientists is Dr. Jamie Bock, Duke '87.

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...-the-big-bang/

[Deslok]

Cool news, though kind of odd to be hailing Linde as opposed to Guth. I haven't checked up on particular details of the discovery, but Guth is the father of Inflationary Theory, Linde may have been the advocate for the particular branch of it that was evidenced, but the overall theory is Guth's. But whatever, cool news regardless.

[Olympic Fan]

Watching this clip reminds me of a moment in one of the greatest films ever made about science -- the 1987 BBC production 'The Race for the Double Helix"

Jeff Goldblum is James Watson, Tom Pigott-Smith is Francis Crick and they are trying to decode the shape of DNA, using data they've "borrowed/stolen" from Rosalind Franklin (Juliet Stevenson in a great performance) and Maurice Wilkins (Alan Howard).

The moment when Watson figures out how the differently shaped bases fit together inside the double helix -- essentially solving the problem -- is one of the most exhilarating moments in my movie-viewing history. Their reaction to the discovery (a bit more boisterous than Dr. Linde's reaction) still reminded me of this clip.

Based on Watson book (he consulted on the script), the film is from everything I gather, an accurate depiction of what happened from his point of view ... although reading comments that it may not have been fair to Franklin led me to Sayres biography of the tragic figure in the DNA race (the other three scientists shared the Nobel prize ... she died before it was awarded and there are no posthumous awards by the Nobel committee).

PS I have a well-worn VHS tape of this film and a self-made DVD copy. It kills me that the owners of this film won't release it to the public. They sell it (and a VERY high price) to schools.

[Udaman]

Agreed with what another poster said. Linde is a deserving contributor and will likely share in the Nobel Prize, but inflation was thought up by Alan Guth. He's the father of it. All the praising stories should start and end with him. That said, there are many physicists who feel this is the greatest discovery in the history of science.