29th June 2004, 11:23 AM
asm, the current models don't need a way to explain before the big bang, because there is no before, just like there is nothing BEFORE the north pole of the planet (magnetic or rotational, pick whichever you want, same concept). It's basically saying that considering what's before the big bang is like saying "but what was there before the north pole of the Earth? what's norther than north?". It would make no sense. Essentially, they are saying the universe, and all the realities within (other realities are not other universes, because the term universe encompasses EVERYTHING that is, including alternate realities), are a closed system. The start and end are only as we see it, but it's basically a large sphere of existance that just has always been and always will be. Why does it exist? That's an interesting question of course. "It just does" simply isn't enough from a scientific perspective. However, they are basically saying they don't NEED to explain how the matter of the big bang got there, because there is no time before that moment. It simply is one of many moments that all exist, in various forms. Time itself is basically just the process of travelling from one side to the other, so time itself does NOT exist before the big bang or after the heat death (otherwise called "the wimper"). Nothing exists outside these two extremes, according to this model. I myself hold that God exists, and I go on it in faith, but yes, from a scientific perspective God's simply existing without time and the universe's existing without time are basically the same claim. The only difference is God has become superfluous to the whole thing, an uneeded thing so far in the explaining, because just saying "oh yes, the universe exists because of God" still leaves God to be explained as He exists in the same manner. As a person of faith, the fact that believing this doesn't comply with Occam's razor doesn't really matter to me. I'm happy with an extra being not really needed as far as science, because as far as spirituality goes, He is NOT superfluous to me.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)