The Big Bang: From where?

[obvious Child]

I'm a firm believer that questions about the origin of the Universe and space/time will never be comprehended by the human brain. We pride our intelligence too much.

Indeed. We're going to have to evolve into something that can. Too bad mankind is selecting against that.

 

[Grateful Heart]

Indeed. We're going to have to evolve into something that can. Too bad mankind is selecting against that.

It's funny.... I saw something recently that IQs tend to be increasing worldwide. I was surprised to hear that. I think it was on Science Channel. I don't know how anyone would measure worldwide IQ... so the whole thing seemed a bit odd.

 

[Tucker Case]

It's funny.... I saw something recently that IQs tend to be increasing worldwide. I was surprised to hear that. I think it was on Science Channel. I don't know how anyone would measure worldwide IQ... so the whole thing seemed a bit odd.

Oh, I can explain that. My cousin Jethro died. His last words were "Hey guys! Watch this!"

His death raised worldwide intelligence by 15 points.

 

[rhinefire]

"I alone have all the answers to all of your questions here, but I cannot reveal the answers just yet".

-A candidate for the office of the President of the United States

 

[Mach]

My question is Where did the matter that formed the big bang come from? Well we do know that not all the energy converted into matter. What was left over became what is known as the Cosmic Background Radiation, and has now cooled to 3K. Where that energy came from - that we do not know.

"coming from something" is a useful way to think about things in our daily life, but may have no meaning when we are talking about the sandbox itself.

If the universe is defined as everything that is, then it necessarily was and always will be..at least in that logical framework.

Is the universe? Necessarily, yes.
Can something arise from nothing? No.
Can something exist forever? No evidence that it cannot, or even what "forever" means in a universal context.

To me it's reasonable to believe that the universe IS, and that is that. anything else is far more complicated, and relies more on guess-work than the simple fact that it IS.

Eastern philosophy picks up on this it seems to me (this is a koan)

Two monks were arguing about the temple flag waving in the wind.
One said, "The flag moves."
The other said, "The wind moves."
They argued back and forth but could not agree.

Hui-neng, the sixth patriarch, said: "Gentlemen! It is not the flag that moves. It is not the wind that moves. It is your mind that moves."

What was before the big bang? Where did the matter come from? A cosmological koan to be sure...

-Mach

 

[Bodi]

Originally Posted by theTANTALIZER
My question is Where did the matter that formed the big bang come from? Well we do know that not all the energy converted into matter. What was left over became what is known as the Cosmic Background Radiation, and has now cooled to 3K. Where that energy came from - that we do not know.

Some say that the Big Bang is infinite. That it explodes and implodes simultaneously forever...

 

[rhinefire]

The "Big Bang" is like this, time did not exist then instantly it did. There was no "bang" because there was no sound. What is troubling is if gases compressed to the point of heating up and exploding what "container" were the gases in?