Black Hole Son

Aside from a plane ticket, some music gear, or a night out with some no-good hookers (kidding about that last one), we can’t think of one good darn reason to fork over $125 for anything. Until now.

You see, the one and only Stephen J. Hawking will speak at Gammage Auditorium. Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time and a genius who has contributed unparallelled knowledge in the fields of cosmology and black-hole theory, headlines the all-day public Symposium, which concludes with Hawking’s gift of gab in the evening.

The open-to-the-public think tank will feature 70 of the greatest scientific minds discussing the origins of everything. Other participants include Hugh Downs, Ann Druyan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, and Donald Johanson. National Public Radio's Ira Flatow moderates the "Nobel Panel."