My knowledge of mathematics is dwarfed by anybody with a higher degree in the subject, and Algebra (the abstract kind, not the kind with lots of letters) was my worst subject, but part of me is a bit pleased that E8 might be related to an important bit of physics. It's a rather interesting structure, although not 'the largest' as the article claims, as there are some which (if I recall correctly), reach into million-dimensionality.
E8 also has some interesting properties relating to symmetry, so I'm not surprised that it gets used in physics. It's just a pity that the universe couldn't be related to A4, or A8, because I can actually grasp what's happening in those groups.
Even if he's wrong, it goes to show that stepping outside the mainstream can often times be the only way to starting out on a novel, and potentially revolutionary, approach.
E8 is an exceptional Lie group (ie a group that is also a manifold, hence in particular infinite). You seem to be mixing it up with the exceptional finite simple groups. Wikipedia explains.
E8 also has some interesting properties relating to symmetry, so I'm not surprised that it gets used in physics. It's just a pity that the universe couldn't be related to A4, or A8, because I can actually grasp what's happening in those groups.
Even if he's wrong, it goes to show that stepping outside the mainstream can often times be the only way to starting out on a novel, and potentially revolutionary, approach.