Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: RobC on 04/04/2016 19:29:04
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In relation to our universe what are peoples theories to the age old question – “what the hell is it all about” ?
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It is everything. It isn't about anything.
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In relation to our universe what are peoples theories to the age old question – “what the hell is it all about” ?
More philosophy than science Rob. It is not about the universe , it never has been, it is about us, we are gifted with an increment of time in the Universe, it is about making the most of that time .
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Not quite the replies I was hoping for. I was looking for more scientific answers or ideas. From people who might say “I wonder if this is what’s happening or has happened".
Knowledge has been so slow in coming out. Centuries between Newton and Einstein.
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42
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Now you've gone and done it. Watch out for Vogons.
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Knowledge has been so slow in coming out. Centuries between Newton and Einstein.
Slow?
So you don't think much happened between Newton & Einstein?
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A lot has happened but my point is that it has taken a long time to come out.
In a similar way there does not seem for much to have happened for many decades in explaining the mysteries of quantum mechanics.
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Can I give examples of ideas that have prompted me to ask the original question.
Leonard Susskind said “our reality is much stranger than it appears to be and life, the universe, EVERYTHING, might just be a holographic projection”.
Neil deGrasse Tyson puts the odds at 50-50 that our entire existence is a program on someone else’s hard drive.
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In relation to our universe what are peoples theories to the age old question – “what the hell is it all about” ?
If you're asking what science has to say along those lines then the appropriate response is that it's not something science is able to answer. Science, i.e. our means to address questions about "what" is about describing nature, not explaining the "why's" we have about the nature. The answers you seek can only come from religion.
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I have tried to steer this thread away from philosophical or religious replies. What I am seeking is peoples speculative views on the science involved. The type that in a few centuries time will be accepted and will elicit comments like “why did they not realise that”?
Analogous to our ancestors coming to the conclusion that the earth was not flat and that the sun did not go around the earth.
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If the cosmos is infinite in size and has an eternal time span then it is about the evolution of an unending and infinite combination of unique state spaces. On the way through those infinite combinations there will be states that will be indistinguishable from the one we are experiencing right now.
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Hi jeffreyH,
Thanks for your reply, can you explain what you mean, in scientific terms, by a “state space”?
RobC
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A state space is an abstract representation of a system using vectors. These vectors do not represent points in space but collectively do represent the state of the system. Linear algebra can be used to derive information about the system. I am probably not the best person to ask for a fuller explanation. It is an interesting but often complex subject. Maybe others can fill in the gaps.
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I feel that an impasse has been reached. I see a tremendous amount of research being carried out but only into fine detail. I see no progress being made into answering core questions.
Who can explain the behaviour of electrons fired singly through a double slit and similarly who can explain what dark energy is.
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What I am seeking is peoples speculative views on the science involved. The type that in a few centuries time will be accepted and will elicit comments like “why did they not realise that”?
Analogous to our ancestors coming to the conclusion that the earth was not flat and that the sun did not go around the earth.
The universe is the collection of all matter that exists within either the open or closed space that exists. It's not worth considering speculations right now because there are many of them, none of which have been demonstrated to be better than the theories we now have. You can learn about the universe in Wikipedia.
And there's no knowing if there will ever be questions like "why did they not realize that?"