[kittygilchrist]

Agree with Rubicon. You're asking ME for a scientific viewpoint? I try to be aware of what I don't know and I don't know this subject anymore even at a high school level.

Agree with Rubicon that the brain is useless in attaining the realm implied, that of consciousness of infinite creator. We are not without the capacity to attain it, but the mind itself creates the barrier to awareness.

I think, therefore I am limited to only what's in this head. Must be a better way.

[blueash]

I am neither an astrophysicist nor cosmologist but I have no difficulty with accepting the prevailing wisdom of the experts in the field who are constantly repeating studies, analyzing new data, and revising the theory as needed to fit new discoveries. This is of course the essential difference between science and faith. One never changes and is based on a small fixed set of data (the words in a book) although there may be variations on the emphasis of one sentence in one faith versus de-emphasis of those same words in another, or slight variations in the effect of multiple translations over several centuries, faith is fairly immutable. Science is not immutable which those who need absolute certainty may find uncomfortable.

I do not need to know what existed before the big bang to accept the big bang. The bb is a theory that attempts to understand what happened when this universe began its existence as a rapidly expanding phenomena. It does not really, if I grasp the bb correctly, attempt to describe what is before the bb began but rather what happens in the micro fractions of seconds as the universe began. Two thought experiments I suggest. For those of you with faith who attack the idea of the bb because of the "who" created the singularity from which the bb emerged. People of faith have no difficulty accepting that their God has been forever and don't seem to ask what created God. I have no difficulty accepting that time may be meaningless in a singularity and that the physics to gain a better understanding of a singularity or multiple singularities of various types are not yet known which does not mean unknowable. So for those who say what existed before the singularity, I ask what existed before God? Second thought experiment.. I hope everyone understands the concept of infinity. There is no infinity plus one in standard math (put aside hyperreals) no meaning to X divided by zero but we understand it to be something we can approach but never quite reach. There does not need to be some number beyond infinity any more than there needs to be some "thing" before a singularity. I may have it all wrong and welcome corrections.
But to re-emphasize the original question. The BB only deals with what happens after the beginning in the time beginning in the one divided by infinity seconds of the universe.

[zcaveman]

I will stick with Genesis chapter 1 from the bible.

GENESIS CHAPTER 1

There is no other explanation.

Z

[Tom Grooms]

I've been studying Inflationary cosmology for the past 10 years and we've made alot of discoveries in that time frame. You really can't ask what happened before inflation because that's when "time started", 13.8 billion years ago....

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by zcaveman

I will stick with Genesis chapter 1 from the bible.

GENESIS CHAPTER 1

There is no other explanation.

Z

Do you believe that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old and that Adam & Eve walked around with dinosaurs?

Check out the website for the Creation Museum. It is rather amazing.

[Taltarzac725]

Philosophy of space and time - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Check out what this has to say about Immanuel Kant's ideas.

In 1788, Immanuel Kant published the Critique of Pure Reason, one of the most influential works in the history of the philosophy of space and time. He describes time as an a priori notion that, together with other a priori notions such as space, allows us to comprehend sense experience. Kant denies that either space or time are substance, entities in themselves, or learned by experience; he holds, rather, that both are elements of a systematic framework we use to structure our experience. Spatial measurements are used to quantify how far apart objects are, and temporal measurements are used to quantitatively compare the interval between (or duration of) events. Although space and time are held to be transcendentally ideal in this sense, they are also empirically real—that is, not mere illusions.

[tuccillo]

There are some theories that suggest that the Big Bang was the collision to two "membranes" that exist in the 10-dim space of string theory. As such, our 13.8 billion year old universe is just one of an infinite number of universes that are created and destroyed endlessly. Or something like that ...

Originally Posted by Villages PL

I think it has some merit, as far as it goes. There's no explanation of where the singularity came from. Why did it exist in the first place, where did it come from, and why did it explode? It serves to prove that Einstein was right when he said, "energy can be neither be created or destroyed, but can change forms."

The above theory just never had much appeal to me. But I read a book, a few years ago, that put forth another theory. The author, an astrophysicist, stated that the universe always existed. Why not? For some reason I like it better.

They are all good as far as they go. There's no theory that I know of that can create something from nothing.

What do you think, from a scientific perspective?

[OldManTime]

It is trash TV,
I watched it once, and never will again. It is not a "G" rated for my grandchildren to see

[DAWN MARIE]

Originally Posted by buggyone

Do you believe that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old and that Adam & Eve walked around with dinosaurs?

Check out the website for the Creation Museum. It is rather amazing.

I've been there and it is very amazing. One of a kind. My son is a Scientist and thinks well of Ken Ham who is behind the Creation Museum. Hoping to go again soon. Ken Ham

[skyguy79]

No opinion here about the "big bang," but I do hope I get enough advanced warning to plug my ears!

[Tom Grooms]

Here's a good debate with your guy Ken Ham...

Watch "Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official)" on YouTube
Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official): http://youtu.be/z6kgvhG3AkI

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Tom Grooms

Here's a good debate with your guy Ken Ham...

Watch "Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official)" on YouTube
Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official): Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official) - YouTube

This is a situation where kind people just drop the subject. IMHO

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Tom Grooms

Here's a good debate with your guy Ken Ham...

Watch "Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official)" on YouTube
Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official): Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - HD (Official) - YouTube

Originally Posted by graciegirl

This is a situation where kind people just drop the subject. IMHO

Actually, it is of interest to some. I would not talk about this at Doggie Doo Run Run but they have certainly had conversations like this one. It does sometimes upset the pooches. You can usually tell when a dog owner is getting upset or stressed from the actions of her dog.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by DAWN MARIE

I've been there and it is very amazing. One of a kind. My son is a Scientist and thinks well of Ken Ham who is behind the Creation Museum. Hoping to go again soon. Ken Ham

I hope your son (the Scientist) does not think that Ken Ham has any credibility as a scientist whatsoever. He may think well of Mr. Ham as in being a nice guy, a good golfer, or a gracious host - but not a credible scientist by any means.

The Creation Museum definitely is a one of kind place but to think of it in terms of any reality does not make sense. The museum founder, Ken Ham, believes the Earth is 6,000 years old and will not even look at the facts that disprove that such as the Grand Canyon. Naturally, he and his followers think that evolution is completely bogus.

[JP]

Big bang theory---don't buy it.

Evolution---for sure.

Creationism---not a chance.