From: Miriam English (miriam@werple.net.au)
Date: Thu Jul 26 2001 - 01:26:06 MDT
At 02:19 PM 25/07/2001 -0400, Mike Lorrey wrote:
>Well, what I want to know is: if everything is a steady state, then why
>is there quantum tension enough between galaxies to cause hydrogen to
>pop into existence? There is expansion of course, but do the steady
>staters claim the universe has been expanding FOREVER?
Yep, that is the general idea. It gets away from that dumb mistake people
tend to make over and over again:
Europe is the single center of the world... oops, the Earth is round.
The Earth is the single center of the solar system... oops, the sun is.
Our solar system is the single center of the universe... oops, we are on
the edge of our Milky Way galaxy.
Our galaxy is the single center of the universe... oops, those other things
way out there -- they are other galaxies.
The universe had a single central starting point 15 billion years ago... oops
If you hear people talk about the big-bang theory you could be forgiven for
thinking that it is proven fact and not simply a theory. Even the microwave
background radiation which is hailed as a great vidicator for big-bang was
a real problem for it in the early days. But theories get modified to fit.
I kinda like the idea of old material getting squashed out of existence in
black holes and new material popping into existence in the great voids. Now
that we know about vacuum energy (can't remember the proper term) it
doesn't seem infeasible.
I have never understood the problem most people have with infinity. It
seems way more natural than a beginning or an end. As one who has
subscribed to an extropian way of thinking since early childhood the
prospect of a universe which never dies is infinitely more appealing.
Cheers,
- Miriam
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Q. What is the similarity between an elephant and a grape?
A. They are both purple... except for the elephant.
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http://werple.net.au/~miriam
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Virtual Reality Association http://www.vr.org.au
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