Does the Universe really have to be at least as old as the oldest thing in it?

[Jupiter60]

TL;DR

It is commonly said that the universe must be at least as old as the oldest thing in it but is this really the case? Could something older than our universe originating from another universe get sucked into a wormhole and wind up our universe and therefore actually be older than our universe itself?

Could something older than our universe originating from another universe get sucked into a wormhole and wind up in our universe therefore being older than our universe itself?

 

[PeterDonis]

Could something older than our universe originating from another universe get sucked into a wormhole and wind up in our universe therefore being older than our universe itself?

The short answer is no.

The slightly longer answer is that we have absolutely no evidence for the kind of thing you describe.

The somewhat longer answer is that, even if we did find evidence for things appearing through wormholes in our universe, we would not interpret that as evidence for "other universes". We would interpret it as evidence that our own universe contained parts that we hadn't known about before. So the things coming through the wormholes would have come from our universe and would still be younger than it.

Most cosmologists would probably just stop at the second answer above.

 

[Drakkith]

Could something older than our universe originating from another universe get sucked into a wormhole and wind up in our universe therefore being older than our universe itself?

Wormholes, as they are currently understood, exist entirely within our own universe and don't lead to others. So, no. There is no chance of this within the current realm of scientific possibility.

 

[Delta2]

I am not an expert in cosmology but I guess current mainstream cosmological theories don't allow for wormholes that connect different universes.

However it might be the case that what you are saying is somehow true via some theory unknown to us, which contradicts current mainstream theories. Human kind still hasn't evolve a lot in terms of technology required to examine distant objects and determine their origin. There might be many objects out there, next to us or million light years away , that we are unable to examine and determine their origin. What you saying is an open possibility.

However according to my personal opinion, there is only one universe, there is no multiverse.

 

[PeterDonis]

However it might be the case that what you are saying is somehow true via some theory unknown to us, which contradicts current mainstream theories.

We cannot discuss such hypothetical theories here. We can only discuss theories that actually exist, based on textbooks or peer-reviewed papers that describe what the theory says.

There might be many objects out there, next to us or million light years away , that we are unable to examine and determine their origin.

Of course, but this is not at all the same as saying there might be objects coming through wormholes from other universes.

What you saying is an open possibility.

Please do not make claims based on hypothetical theories that don't even exist. Our best current theories do not include what the OP is saying as an open possibility. And our best current theories are the best we have to go on at this point in spacetime.