Did anyone else catch Hawking last night?

[onager]

The Science Channel debuted a new show, Curiosity, on Sunday 8/7.

The episode title: "Did God Create The Universe?"

Stephen Hawking's answer: "No." For once, unequivocally. With very good explanations of the quantum physics involved, for us dummies.

I couldn't believe Hawking got away with that on American television! No waffling or pandering to the fragile feelings of believers. Just a firm "No," followed by the reasons why we "have no need of that hypothesis..." - to quote some famous snarky dead guy.

http://curiosity.discovery.com/topic/space-exploration/did-god-create-universe-episode.htm

BUT...the believers got their Faith Fix in a panel discussion following the show. Sean Carroll's comments:

I played the role of the hard-boiled atheist; Paul Davies played the physicist who was willing to entertain the possibility of “God” if defined with sufficient abstraction, while John Haught played the Catholic theologian who is sympathetic to science.

The Hawking special is the kick-off episode to a major new Discovery program, called simply Curiosity. I predict it will make something of a splash. The reason is simple: although most of the episode is about science, Hawking clearly goes all-in with “God does not exist.” It’s not a message we often hear on American TV.

Nevertheless, there was no way that Discovery was going to feature an hour of rah-rah atheism without a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Thus, our panel discussion...

http://shroudofturin.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/hawking-to-appear-on-the-discovery-channel/

[laconicsax]

1. There really is no need for that hypothesis.

Of course the top comment over at http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/did-god-create-the-universe-videos">Discovery reads

Genesis 1
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Stuckinthebush]

2. I thought it was very good

I showed it to my 12 year old last night and she understood it with the occasional pause of the DVR for some explanation from me. The ultimate point he makes about how there could be no creator because there was no time for a creator prior to the big bang will get a shrug from believers though. Their deity doesn't need time. He/she/it can live outside of time. So, it won't have an impact on their beliefs.

I would have liked more discussion on the quantum side of the argument but other than that I thought it was excellent.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

3. I saw the show and was pleasantly surprised

I thought it was going to end up being some half-assed attempt to promote the goddidit view. I was wrong.

[plcdude]

4. have you seen the movie

Hawking? Watch it online http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGqcRGJ4VVY