1.   Because string theory has so much symmetry, it can accommodate the disparate faces of nature displayed by gravity and quantum theory.

2.   But string theory is just beginning to be understood.

3.   Physicists like the mathematical beauty of string theory because it banishes the absurdities that pop up when quantum mechanics and gravity combine.

4.   String theory has a curious history.

5.   And if gravity could be described by string theory, then maybe the other forces could also be reformulated this way.

6.   And no one at the university knew much about his scientific passion, a highly abstract and mathematical area of physics called string theory.

7.   Because all force-carrying particles are included, including gravitons, which theoretically transmit gravity, string theory has the potential to unify all of physics.

8.   Adding to the frustration, there seemed to be five candidate string theories with no sign of which one explained this universe.

9.   By their nature string theories include gravity.

10.   Here, for example, is Hawking about those troublesome extra dimensions required by string theory but apparently unavailable for parking cars.