Our universe could have popped into existence 13.7 billion years ago without any divine help whatsoever, researchers say. The original story is here.

That may run counter to our instincts, which recoil at the thought of something coming from nothing. But we shouldn’t necessarily trust our instincts, for they were honed to help us survive on the African savannah 150,000 years ago, not understand the inner workings of the universe.

Instead, scientists say, we should trust the laws of physics.

“The Big Bang could’ve occurred as a result of just the laws of physics being there,” said astrophysicist Alex Filippenko of the University of California, Berkeley. “With the laws of physics, you can get universes.”

What a fucking idiot…well, we already knew that but really?

“I think if I’m 40, and I don’t have any kids,and I’m not married, I would have a baby artificially inseminated,” she said. “I would feel like Mary, like Jesus is my baby.”

Just a quick note to say that I agree with this man, 100%.

Social media was buzzing about a Boston-area high school teacher’s blunt commencement speech that told students they “are not special.”

Wellesley High English teacher David McCullough Jr. told graduates “You are not special. You are not exceptional,” quoting empirical evidence:

“Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians … 37,000 class presidents … 92,000 harmonizing altos … 340,000 swaggering jocks … 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs,” he said in the speech published in the Boston Herald.

He added: “Even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.”

McCullough makes a statement on parents who overdo it in a modern society focused on collecting achievements. “You’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble wrapped … feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie.” But he adds in a video on Wellesley Channel TV YouTube page, “You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. … We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement.”

McCullough’s address does push students to recognize real achievement: “The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life is an achievement,” and he encourages graduates “to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance.”

Many expressed their approval of the message on Twitter:

This is awesome. I don’t remember my HS commencement speech. I think I would remember this one. — S.L. Gray

Fantastic speech which sums up the neglected duty of so many Americans in 1 phrase: “Be worthy of your advantages.” — Benjamin Yee

the greatest commencement speech ever. — Neil Raden

My new hero. Tells grads “You’re not that Special … when everyone gets a trophy, the trophy doesn’t mean anything.” — Jason Dobrolecki

The Boston Herald also reported that McCullough’s words were very well received by attendees. The teacher, a father of four, admitted he’s guilty of the actions he pokes fun at in his speech.

But near the end of the address he says, “The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special. Because everyone is.”

First,I need to make one thing clear…I am not an atheist. That would mean that I was certain that there is no “God”, whatever that may be. I do not believe that there is a god, but I am smart enough to know that I have no idea what else is out there. That being said, let’s get to the topic.This is from CNN.

Mack Wolford, one of the most famous Pentecostal serpent handlers in Appalachia, was laid to rest Saturday at a low-key service at his West Virginia church a week after succumbing to a snake bite that made headlines across the nation.

Mack Wolford, who was 44,  was bitten by his yellow timber rattlesnake at an evangelistic event in a state park about 80 miles west of Bluefield, in West Virginia’s isolated southern tip.

You can read the entire story at the link above. What kind of moron does this? Well, a dead one I guess, but seriously. There sure are a lot of gods, and they do some very strange, and sometimes stupid things. That has to be very far up the list of stupid things. Not as bad as blowing yourself up and expecting virgins as a reward, but definitely up there.