Phinds… In your opening post you said, “…and in the first sentence they say that the universe started out as a single infinitely small point.” This is what I was referring to and was pointing out that this very description and others like it have been stated in this forum. But we’re getting wrapped around the axle here. The point of my posts is that the science publications and broadcasts do perform a service in presenting basic cosmology concepts to the general public.
I recently read an internet news article commenting on a poll that supposedly showed that 1 in 4 Americans don’t know that the Earth orbits the sun. In one of your posts in this thread you said, “The size of the universe at the time of the singularity is unknown. It may have been infinite or it may have had a topology that is finite but unbounded (no center).”
Do you really think those 25% who don’t know that the Earth orbits the sun are going to understand the words or concept? And I’ll bet that more than those 25% will be scratching their heads as they consult their dictionary, and that’s assuming that what you said has aroused their interest.
Now…what if they heard Morgan Freeman say “…billions of years ago the universe expanded. It didn’t explode – grenades explode. It expanded, just like a baby grows, but much faster. We don’t know the size of the universe before it expanded but we assume it was smaller than it is now.” Clear as a bell - no dictionary needed.
If I am appointed to the next vacancy for LCCF (Layman in Charge of Cosmology Funding) and you request funding in your jargon, even if you are on the verge of a major discovery you are probably not going to get your money. If you hire Morgan to present with you…the check is in the mail.
... Resistance is futile.
