Is the Universe…
I’ve brought this up in the past before but was interested to know what most people believe about the state of our universe.
I personally feel that the universe is infinite, and I don’t feel that there is any evidence to refute that, but of course I can’t be certain.
Natural Sciences.
Yeah I know, but no-one ever looks at that forum, usually people go to Mundane Babble or Philosophy, and I was actually hoping to get some responses…
This isn’t really the wrong forum, it just isn’t the ‘best’ forum.
I’m very sorry to have disturbed the natural order of things…
First, that’s not true. Second, plenty of topics in this forum also go unresponded to; there’s no guarentee of response simply because you put it here - and wouldn’t you think those members browsing the Natural Sciences forum would be more inclined to respond opposed to those browsing philosophy? Third, don’t take it personally, I was simply making an objective observation: wrong forum. Otherwise, best of luck on your thread. I hope you get lots and lots of responses.
I really can’t say. I dont know enough to come to any conclusions, or any theory or hypothesis.
You’re probably right, and I’ll try not to take it personally 
I trust the scientific evidence that the universe has an actual finite size, but that’s not to say that this is the only level of reality to experience, and that there isn’t more to the universe than meets the eye.
Agree.
And great avatar, btw.
There might be more then meets the eye. If the string theory landscape is correct then we could be part of a vast mutli-verse
To me a multi-verse is the very definition of an ‘infinite universe’.
I don’t think it could actually be possible for there to be a finite number of seperate universe.
Rather the entire universe is infinite among which there exist a infinite number of parrallel universes for every passing moment.
But really when we are talking about infinity you can’t really say that things are seperate, everything is intertwined as an infinite whole.
Thanks!
Yes, String Theory purposes that we live in a ‘membrane’, this universe corresponds to a specific set of universal rules, and one of the other ‘membranes’ bumped into this one, transferring matter, thus the big bang.
Theories suggest that other ‘membranes’ can have different physical laws, such perhaps that while matter can’t be created from thin air in this ‘membrane’, others might not bode the same way.
An alternative is that the universe is infinite and expanding in the sense that an expanding balloon is infinite in two dimensions but is finite and expanding in the third.
A more reasonable alternative to the multiverse is that there is but one real universe. It is the past that we observe everywhere we look. What is multi is the infinity of possibilities of other universes that could have happened but didn’t.
That was more of a theory formed to relieve the paradoxes you’d face if you went back in time. Go back in time, kill your grandfather before he has your father, your father never had you, so you never existed. So if you never existed, how can someone who hasn’t ever existed go back and kill his own grandfather? This solves that type of paradox.
String Theory (and many others) assumes time not as the different ‘membranes’ of the universe, but a dimension (the fourth) like spatial dimensions, but of time. Check this out.
I think the answer to whether or not the universe is infinite or finite is impossible to know scientifically. How would we know when we reach the end of the universe? Do we run into a brick wall? Does space cease to exist? Shouldnt it theoretically be possible to look further and further into space, and when we come to the point where space should end then why wouldnt there be anything beyond that point? If the universe is finite, then there would be nothing at all beyond a certain point - no matter or energy. To me, this idea of absolute nothingness is incomprehensible and it is indeed unobservable. If the universe is infinite, then that would indicate that there would be no beginning and no end. This fact would make matter and energy to be eternal. In essence, matter and energy become gods. This too is incomprehensible. I must insert a transcendent being to make sense of it all. A deity of some sorts must be fabricated to account for these incomprehensibilities.
I basically don’t really know where I stand on this, having never really thought about it. so i’ll post someone else’s viewpoint simply for arguments sake…
Didn’t epicurus think that the universe is infinite, or at least unlimited in size (if they’re the same thing). If the universe were limited in size you could go to the end of it, stick your fist out and where your fist reached would be a new bit of universe (so to speak), and you could keep doing this making the universe bigger and bigger.
etc, and also he thought things didn’t come in to existence out of nothing so the universe had always been here and will always exist, which would also make it infinite in a time sense as well as a size sense…
sara
xxx
All respect, Epicurus is the last person I would call upon for trustworthy information on this subject. Stephen Hawking or Brian Greene - hell, even Newton - are a bit more appropriate.
Both finite and infinite. Depends where you’re standing.
A
obviously, but hey, he kinda came up with atoms… plus it was the first thing that came to mind! 
Sure, sure - fair. I mention that mostly because when spending some time with him, I was utterly disappointed, him being so thoroughly dated. It’s not his fault, lol, but I resent him a bit for that, having expected a lot more.
lol at his time of life he was contempary, credit where credit’s due lol
plus i kinda like the idea of going to the edge of the universe, sticking my fist out, and getting more universe, hee, “look what i did”…
his blurb on not fearing death makes sense too…
sara
xxx