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Questioning the Big Bang
MSNBC.com ^ | 4/25/02 | By Alan Boyle

Posted on 04/25/2002 2:34:20 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts

How did the universe begin, and how will it end? Among cosmologists, the mainstream belief is that the universe began with a bang billions of years ago, and will fizzle out billions of years from now. But two theorists have just fired their latest volley at that belief, saying there could be a timeless cycle of expansion and contraction. It’s an idea as old as Hinduism, updated for the 21st century.

THE “CYCLIC MODEL,” developed by Princeton University’s Paul Steinhardt and Cambridge University’s Neil Turok, made its highest-profile appearance yet Thursday on Science Express, the Web site for the journal Science. But past incarnations of the idea have been hotly debated within the cosmological community for the past year — and Steinhardt acknowledges that he has an uphill battle on his hands.
       “It will take people a while to get used to it,” he told MSNBC.com. “This introduces a number of concepts that are quite unfamiliar, even to a cosmologist.”
       
TINKERING WITH THE COSMOS
       Years ago, Steinhardt played a prominent role in formulating what is now the most widely accepted scientific picture of the universe’s beginnings, known as inflationary Big Bang theory: that a vanishingly small quantum fluctuation gave rise in an instant to an inflated region of space-time, kicking off an expansion that is now picking up speed.
       The model has weathered repeated experimental tests, including studies of patterns in the microwave “afterglow” of the Big Bang.
       “All the competing models were knocked off,” Steinhardt said. “So we had a situation where it looked as if we had converged on a single idea. But I was always disturbed by the idea that there were no competitors around.”

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TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: astronomy; cosmology; crevolist; stringtheory
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To: VadeRetro
I think I'm the reincarnation of someone who lived in a prior cycle of the universe. In fact, I'm sure of it.
21 posted on 04/25/2002 6:29:46 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: PatrickHenry
I don't believe in reincarnation but I did in a few of my previous lives.
22 posted on 04/25/2002 6:31:28 PM PDT by VadeRetro
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To: All

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23 posted on 04/25/2002 6:31:44 PM PDT by Bob J
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To: RightWhale
"Pre-packaged, instant microwaved understanding. "

Where can I buy some? Wal-Mart?


24 posted on 04/25/2002 6:36:52 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts
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To: PatrickHenry; VadeRetro
Paul Davies brought the following point up in one of his books -

What would you say if I claimed I was the reincarnation of Napoleon, yet I simply did not possess his memories?

What is Self, other than the compilation of our memories, anyway? If you lost all of your memory, and had to start from scratch, would you still be "you"? Why could it not be said that you are a reincarnated Napoleon who has to learn everything all over again?

Sorry to get serious again. Actually, I'm sorry for asking so many questions in one post.

25 posted on 04/25/2002 6:40:05 PM PDT by Senator Pardek
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To: Senator Pardek
What would you say if I claimed I was the reincarnation of Napoleon, yet I simply did not possess his memories?

Balderdash! Actually, it is a little-known fact that reincarnation works backwards in time, so that I will one day be re-born as Napoleon. His greatness was because he will be me in a later life.

26 posted on 04/25/2002 6:46:54 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: PatrickHenry
I'm Napoleon! I just grew two or three inches, and instead of keeping my hand tucked in my military jacket, I keep it tucked in my pants while watching TV, a la Al Bundy.
27 posted on 04/25/2002 6:54:53 PM PDT by Senator Pardek
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To: Senator Pardek
I'm Napoleon!

If you persist in this shabby attempt at identity theft, I shall have to press the abuse button.

28 posted on 04/25/2002 7:02:04 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
They forgot to present any evidence.....the article is simply bald assertions.
29 posted on 04/25/2002 7:08:12 PM PDT by Ahban
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To: Senator Pardek
Napoleon was born understanding field artillery. He knew how to use it and how to work it. How is your field artillery expertise?
30 posted on 04/25/2002 7:23:02 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Where can I buy some?

Just log on to FR. Every post contains part of the answer. It's FRee.

31 posted on 04/25/2002 7:26:30 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: RightWhale
How is your field artillery expertise?

You realize that you're speaking to Napoleon, don't you?

32 posted on 04/25/2002 7:28:30 PM PDT by PatrickHenry
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To: Senator Pardek
If you lost all of your memory, and had to start from scratch, would you still be "you"?

If I owed money, the answer would be "Yes."

33 posted on 04/25/2002 7:33:39 PM PDT by VadeRetro
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To: RightWhale
Terrible - since I AM Napoleon, but I don't possess the memories of my previous life.

Is it impossible for me to be Napoleon without those memories, or is their something else which defines Self?

34 posted on 04/25/2002 7:34:06 PM PDT by Senator Pardek
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To: PatrickHenry
You realize that you're speaking to Napoleon, don't you?

Well Nappie meet my friend Arthur Wellesley.

35 posted on 04/25/2002 7:36:57 PM PDT by AndrewC
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts,right whale
 But I was always disturbed by the idea
that there were no competitors around

Occam's Razor without a blade...

36 posted on 04/25/2002 8:29:40 PM PDT by gcruse
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To: Lucas1
Yeah but someone had to cause the big bang to begin with no?

Not if space-time was created at the big bang.

37 posted on 04/25/2002 8:31:27 PM PDT by gcruse
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To: PatrickHenry
You realize that you're speaking to Napoleon, don't you?

And I am Spartacus!

38 posted on 04/25/2002 8:34:05 PM PDT by longshadow
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To: medved
I claim nobody needs to be Albert Einstein to figure this one out. Having all the mass of the universe collapsed to a point would be the mother of all black holes. How the hell is anything supposed to "big-bang" its way out of that??

Yeah! And the Earth is flat. Any moron can see that.

When you discover that there are some truths that aren't intuitive, you will be a wiser man.

39 posted on 04/25/2002 8:38:27 PM PDT by Dog Gone
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To: Senator Pardek
General Patton was another warrior who felt that he had been a warrior in a prior life. Which aspect of Napoleon carried over to you? Want to live on an island?
40 posted on 04/25/2002 9:52:50 PM PDT by RightWhale
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