Lightkeeper
Well-Known Member
Since everything comes to an end, will the universe always be here? Will there be a time of absolute nothingness?
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Will The Universe Always Be Here?
- Thread starter Lightkeeper
- Start date
No. <unnecessary characters added to meet posting requirement. />
bandgeek500
Member
i guess we'll have to wait and find out
I'm intrigued. How many reasonable interpretations can you offer?Engyo said:
Lightkeeper
Well-Known Member
:biglaugh: Uno, Ein, Un, One:biglaugh:Deut. 32.8 said:
Irenicas
high overlord of sod all
Well, I disagree with your first statement - I don't think all things do come to an end. And the universe is one of those that doesn't... or at least, the philosophical deifnition of the universe, which is probably better specified as "reality" as the universe is most certainly not infinite. The universe a scientific entity will msot definitely come to an end, but there are other universes in the multiverses, and many many multiverses in reality.
To summerise: As the universe is usually taken by philosophers, no. As the universe is usually taken by scientists, yes.
To summerise: As the universe is usually taken by philosophers, no. As the universe is usually taken by scientists, yes.
Engyo
Prince of Dorkness!
Well, by always, do you mean a mathematical infinity of continuous linear time as humans experience it? If so then since we have reasonable evidence scientifically (if that is your bent), or the words of the Bible (if you prefer) to indicate that the universe (in the form we can currently perceive) seems to have had a beginning point. Mathematically a line which has a beginning point cannot be considered infinite.
If by always do you mean for as long as the human race will last as we recognize humanity today, then probably yes, it's true. [Aside: for a really brain-twisting tale about this, I refer you to Greg Benford's scifi novel Beyond Infinity.] It all depends on your point of view and what yardstick you are using to measure with.
There is also the question of whether linear time as humans perceive it is really what's going on, or if we only see that linearity through the filter of our physical brains. Some scientific evidence recently suggests that things, events, and so on that we perceive as happening "before" or "after" each other are actually happening simultaneously; and that some things that we perceive as being simultaneous aren't really connected in time at all.
Then there is always a question of how one defines "universe". You and I might be talking about planets, stars, galaxies, metagalaxies, dark matter, black holes, neutron stars and so on. A physicist might be talking about a series of multiple universes lying side by side like sheets of paper in a stack; or about the substrate that our current incarnation of space-time is built upon.
Engyo
Prince of Dorkness!
My question for all in regards to this thread would be "What possible difference could it make?" No matter what, this human life is finite. Whatever your beliefs regarding what happens afterward are, does it really matter? If you are no longer part of "this" universe as we humans percieve it, then what does it matter to you *today and tomorrow* whether or not the universe itself is finite or infinite? How does that change what you do today, or when you wake up tomorrow?
Lightkeeper
Well-Known Member
One way to expand our horizons is to not take anything for granted. Nothing stays the same.