Questions About Time Before the Big Bang

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of time in relation to the Big Bang, specifically questioning whether time began with the Big Bang and what, if anything, occurred before it. Participants explore theoretical implications, philosophical considerations, and the limits of current scientific understanding regarding events prior to the Big Bang.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the beginning of time coincides with the Big Bang and if it is meaningful to discuss events before it.
  • One participant humorously suggests that time is a man-made concept, implying that it may not have a true existence outside of human perception.
  • Another participant notes that current theories can describe events after the Big Bang, but the nature of "before" the Big Bang remains speculative and possibly unknowable.
  • A speculative analogy is presented, comparing the universe's origin to a catastrophe or bifurcation point, suggesting a non-linear transition from pre-existence to existence.
  • Some participants assert that mainstream theory posits time began with the Big Bang, leading to the conclusion that "before" has no meaning, while others propose that there may be complex hypotheses about pre-Big Bang conditions.
  • One participant challenges the assumption that time had a beginning, seeking clarification on the reasoning behind this presumption.
  • Philosophical considerations are raised regarding the nature of existence and the implications of cause and effect in relation to the universe's origin.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of time and the Big Bang, with no consensus reached. Some agree that time as we understand it may have started with the Big Bang, while others challenge this notion and explore the implications of a potential pre-Big Bang state.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the speculative nature of discussions regarding events before the Big Bang and the limitations of current scientific theories in addressing these questions. The conversation reflects a blend of scientific inquiry and philosophical exploration.

  • #91
Only that which exists can change - act or be acted upon. This means cause and effect is a FUNCTION OF existence, a derivative of the fundamental phenomenon of being. No phenomenon can be the result of its own subordinate derivative, so the reverse can't be true - existence is NOT a function of cause and effect.

Time is simply the measurement of change.

If existence is not a function of cause and effect, it is not temporal in nature. And since existence didn't "begin", then neither did time.
 
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  • #92
Entropy leads to heat death of our visible universe, if this is the future what is the past? Big bang is one way to "look" back to the beginning but how do "we see" it? What if you think of big bang as a single event with two directions of motion, in and out like a focal point, let's call this motion energy and visualize it as a black and white whole. After 13 billion light years I would expect these two extremes to still be visible as our horizons. I like to think that because we are inside of the black hole and all paths are curved is why we always see a vanishing point, and the outside of the worm holes formed when the white whole flew apart is what makes up our focal points. Matter is the past that I "see" and mass is the past that I feel and if you think of the world line of matter as always beginning at the center connection called mass then you will always look towards the beginning by "seeing" the past.
 
  • #93
I tend to agree with Stephen Hawking's idea of before the big bang. Assume that the lattitude lines on Earth represent time intervals in the early universe. You would assume the big bang took place at the south pole, moving north (along time). So therefore, it is silly to ask what is "south" of the south pole, as it would be to ask what is before the big bang
 
  • #94
Apparently the concept that the phenomenon of existence is not a function of cause and effect is not so easily grasped. Understandable, given the proclivaties of Judeo-Christian science and religion...but specious, just the same.
 
  • #95
March 3, 1923

http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml
 
  • #96
SW VandeCarr said:
March 3, 1923

http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml

:-p LOL...OK...OK...so Time really DID begin. And the way it is going, it will probably come to an end very soon.
 
  • #97
Mr. Burns said:
I tend to agree with Stephen Hawking's idea of before the big bang. Assume that the lattitude lines on Earth represent time intervals in the early universe. You would assume the big bang took place at the south pole, moving north (along time). So therefore, it is silly to ask what is "south" of the south pole, as it would be to ask what is before the big bang

I would not assume time as moving in one direction only. I assume that time is more like a dilating point or area, with the latitude lines as the surface, there by making both north and south poles possible.
 
  • #98
petm1 said:
I would not assume time as moving in one direction only. I assume that time is more like a dilating point or area, with the latitude lines as the surface, there by making both north and south poles possible.

I assume that time is more like a burrito, with the tortilla as the surface, thereby making both salsa and avocado possible.
 
  • #99
bcrowell said:
I assume that time is more like a burrito, with the tortilla as the surface, thereby making both salsa and avocado possible.

The difference between our examples says a lot about how we think. I see dilating light waves as the motion of time, why else would time be tied to the speed of light? I see these individual dilating areas, each emitted from a massive point, as a dilating image within my eye. These images make up my present, they are my future, but my past is anchored within this dilating frame we call earth. Your world seems to revolve around food. :wink:
 

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