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The laws of physics usually change as we go to higher energies. This means we have a really good understanding of how things operate at low energies, but are completely clueless about how they operate at higher energies. Usually we test ideas usually a particle accelerator like CERN, but even this is not nearly powerful enough to test the really interesting theories like superstring theory. Fortunately Nature has already performed an ultra-high energy experiment, The Big Bang! I try to understand how the Big Bang could allow us to test such laws of physics.

I wake up and have coffee (this really is necessary). I go to the office and read which articles have been published that day, especially those which might have any relevance to my own work. The rest of the day is spent thinking, jotting down equations, scribbling them out and writing more. Often I talk with colleagues to bounce ideas off them, or attend lectures. By the end of the day, I often have a headache from going around in circles in my mind. And just before I go to bed, when I’m so tired that I cannot think completely logically, I have a vague idea which isn’t completely thought out but seems like it could have some bearing on the problem. I write it down then go to sleep. In the morning I read this and often realize this was some insight into the puzzle. It’s amazing how many times I made a discovery while very sleepy.