He admitted it was his biggest mistake. You tell me why he did it.
You could be indeed.
Scientists when actually doing science don't worry about the things you think they worry about.
By the way, in high school, I wrote a paper about various theories of the creation of the universe, when there were several competing theories (unlike now, when BB is rather accepted), and opined that the Big Bang theory was the most persuasive to me. Of course I got the highest grade possible for such a clairvoyant essay. Of course.
Cheers.