Posts tagged ‘Science fiction’

February 10th, 2010

I don’t know

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Image by † David Gunter via Flickr

Does the universe have an end, is there a literal and physical end to the universe? Or is the universe persistent and infinite? If finite, what lies beyond the boundaries of this universe?

I don’t know.

Not only do I not know, the sources I regularly depend on to keep me current on scientific research and speculation don’t appear to agree on the topic, either. At the moment they can only propose hypothesis based on mathematics. IMO, it’s one of the two major questions of life we may never find an answer to. The other is what happens after we die to our consciousness and self-awareness. I am pretty confident we won’t be any closer to an answer in my lifetime.

Since it’s unlikely any possibility we suggest will be completely disproven any time soon, we can enjoy science fiction. This is one arena in which I enjoy contemplating several possibilities with no reason to settle on one as most likely.

Due to the limits of our human imagination, we cannot easily conceive of the notion of infinity except through the language of mathematics. We lack experience with the concept of infinity. Our entire Earthly experience has been in the realm of the finite. We know that everything has a beginning and an end. The finite is intuitive, the infinite is incomprehensible.

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