Question:
How do you explain the Big Silence?
Guest
2009-09-22 02:11:28 UTC
So many dumb hypotheses about the " Big Bang" model -(with everything coming out of nothing) so how do you explain the converse,that nothingness is able to produce somethingness?
A bit "Edward Lear" I know but their must be a more logical proposal.

Anyone else read " Big Bang small voice" ? by PG Nelson
Four answers:
gribbling
2009-09-22 08:41:24 UTC
> "So many dumb hypotheses about the " Big Bang" model -(with everything coming out of nothing) so how do you explain the converse,that nothingness is able to produce somethingness?"



If I understand you correctly, you are effectively asking "what made the Big Bang; from where did it originate?"



Firstly, the Big Bang theory doesn't explain the origin of the universe - it merely describes how the universe expanded (and continues to expand) from an *already-existing* singularity. Where that singularity came from is outside the bounds of the theory.



BUT:

- the idea that everything has a cause (so *something* must have caused the Big Bang) is called the Law of Causality. This is an aspect of the laws of physics of our universe, and therefore does not necessarily apply "before" or "outside" the universe. So it is perfect conceivable that the singularity which was the "seed" of the Big Bang sprung into existence with no cause.

- also, even if we suppose that the physics of our universe does indeed apply "outside" its bounds, we know that causality does not always apply. On a subatomic scale, events can and do happen "just because"; particles are constantly springing into being from nothing and then disappearing again. Since the singularity that was the "seed" for the Big Bang was just such a subatomic phenomenon (a point of zero volume), it could still have sprung into being with no causation.



> "Just question how materialist minds can be so authoratative about pre -bang science when it could well be non material or super material science."



Oh we cannot.

My suggestions above were only possibilities.

BUT - if we are to remain within the realm of "science", then we must chose the most parsimonious explanation until further evidence suggests a more complicated one must be a better fit.

And invoking the intervention of an external agency (which must prsumably be at least as complex as the thing created) at least doubles the complexity of the situation, and is therefor not parsimonious.



Occam's razor therefore dictates that science insist on an explanation which does not involve any creator or "cosmic universe-creating engine" or similar.

_______________________________________________



Edit:



> "Griblin has interesting points"



Thanks ;-)



> "Well it may be conceivable to some people but not on the basis of human experience."



Quantum physics rarely matches-up with normal human experience. As Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynmann once said "If you think you understand quantum mechanics you don't understand quantum mechanics."



> "So many things in recorded history defy material explanation so why is it untenable to consider doubling the complexity ,whether in genetic terms or cosmological?"



It is not that science/parsimony says "A more complex explanation is not possible"; it is that it says "We should not consider a more complex explanation until we have eliminated the simplest one."

It's a tool to provide a systematic approach to problem solving and scientific investigation.



> "Nobody considers external agency do they?"



Of course they do - either a theistic or deistic approach would obviously consider such an agency. But these approaches are not scientific.



> "Must check out the "causeless" particles as it seems to defy just about all the other scientific disciplines including common sense"



A good place to start is Hawking Radiation and Virtual Particles.
Vlad the Inhaler
2009-09-22 02:33:11 UTC
Thats a paradox mate.



If you explain the big silence.its not silent anymore Is it !



Been looking for a big bang for a while !



Everything did not come from nothing. The universe is a big engine.

Firing and then the universe contracts to fire again. The universe is an endless engine with only spaces to fill the void. The void being the reality the bang being the dream.



I know I dream of a big bang. And my life is full of voids.



It all seems rather clear to me matey...........You don't mate. It is your concept that is at fault. No one ever stated or suggested the above.............The universe is infinite and fires with big bangs with infinite regularity. What we are is the result of the exhaust into the ether.



All paradoxes are a result of misunderstanding and are the result of an inability to engage with the reality that surrounds us with the limited resourse of communication and current knowledge.

We are speks of what we will know and what we will know will be communicated in broken gibberish.......and thats to the ones that have the potential to understand. So there you go.........but thanks anyhow..........just busy with me BBC watererd down none accurate and non offensive documentary.......my case rests your worships !!.
Mike1942f
2009-09-22 06:17:46 UTC
Since the Big Silence is non-existent, it is a bit tough to explain it.

The big bang doesn't say everything appeared out of nothing, it says that in the beginning everything in the universe was compressed so that all evidence of what went before was destroyed and the current evidence is that the universe is not going to collapse or make a cycle of it.

And that last paragraph is strange nonsense - "materialistic science" do you practice "spiritual science" without defining your terms before dumping on us?
2009-09-22 03:06:52 UTC
Your mistake is to assume that the physics we experience in our Universe is the only "physics" there is. It is therefore not necessary for the Universe to have popped into existence out of nothing. It's just that the something out of which it popped cannot exist (or even be described) in our physical Universe.



It's as though you were born in a closed room and had lived all your life completely isolated in there. You would have no way of explaining or describing anything that existed outside your room. But that doesn't prove that there is nothing outside.



"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy". William Shakespeare


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
Loading...