2012 Symposium abstract: "The Early Universe: Is It Time to Cut the Bullshit?"
Throughout the years I have had the pleasure to work with Stephon on a few "out of the box ideas" regarding the early Universe. Under close inspection, however, the much-paraded mainstream is certainly not any better than these "peripheral" ideas, and is considerably more boring, intellectually. Cosmology has evolved from a highly speculative science into an observational science, where the observations have uncovered evident holes in our theoretical understanding of the Universe. It's time to face the early universe for what it is: a challenger of preconceptions; rather than just hide our ignorance under the carpet.
