The discussion in your newspaper columns about the teaching of evolution reflects badly on the education process in American Schools over the past fifty years. All scientific theory is hypothesis, e.g. Ptolemaic/Copernican/Gravitation/Evolution/Relativity. What matters is the proof, the facts backing up that theory and whether those facts can be proven by objective, scientific and mathematical evidence. Creationism is not based on any facts or any evidence. Facts proved the Ptolemaic system wrong and therefore bad science. Galileo proved the Copernican theory right by using Jupiter's moons. Einstein's Theory of relativity has been proved to be slightly wrong, mathematically (see red shift). That we have someone in charge of education promoting creationism as the scientific equivalent of The Theory of Evolution is like putting someone in charge of map making who believes the earth is flat.

As to the origins of Time and the Universe we're working on them. Stay tuned but most of all keep up your mathematics. It's exciting and part of the great mystery of being human. You can choose any "belief system" you want. Personally I prefer to believe in fairies....like Puck and Titania and Peasblossom.