Blog 20140423
Here is a great
letter from a very sharp student in England:
Dear Mr.
Borchardt,
My name is
Meghan Avery and I'm a 16 year old student from the North of England. I'm doing
an Extended Project at School (a 5000 word investigation into a topic of my
choice) on the concept of Infinity, and the applications of it in Maths,
Physics and Philosophy. While researching the question of whether the Universe
is infinite, I came across your 2007 paper on the Infinite Universe Theory. I
found it really interesting to compare to the Big Bang theory and I was
wondering whether you could give me an opinion on my view on Infinite
Universes.
Before I
started researching the concept of an Infinite Universe, my opinion was that if
our universe was infinite, then surely there is an infinite amount of
planets, stars and anything you can think of. This means that some planets will
be identical to one another, so there will be an infinite number of planets
like our Earth in the Universe. However, ever since humans have been on this
planet, we have had no known contact with any other life forms from other planets.
Surely if there were an infinite number of different planets with human life,
we will have had contact with any of these planets, and in fact an infinite
number of times?
My opinion is
quite based on the theoretical idea of an infinite universe, and I hope it will
give you something to think about. I would be fascinated to receive your
opinion because I find the Infinite Universe theory really interesting!
Thank you very
much and looking forward to your reply,
Yours
sincerely,
Meghan Avery
[GB: Meghan,
thanks so much for your question. It is certainly one that many others will be interested
in.
It is not
possible to prove conclusively that the universe is infinite or finite. No one
will ever be able to go to the “edge” of the universe to get a yes or no
answer. Today, most cosmologists are cosmogonists. That is, they assume that
the universe is finite and must have had a beginning (like all finite things).
Although cosmogonists increased the age of this beginning by 100 million years about
a year ago, they now believe they know what happened during the first 10-35
seconds (I kid you not). Big Bangers feel that they pretty much have this
figured out, although the theory has many obvious contradictions (explosion
from nothing, etc.). Some of these have even resulted in speculations
concerning “multiverses” and “parallel” universes. Some of the smarter ones are
beginning to reach out toward Infinite Universe Theory, which is good even
though they have had to use oxymorons to do it. There can be only one universe.
Most of modern
physics assumes finity, but at the
Progressive Science Institute, we assume just the opposite, infinity,
which is the Eighth Assumption of Science (The universe is infinite, both in
the microcosmic and macrocosmic directions). Steve Puetz and I used this to
good effect in our recent book, "Universal Cycle Theory: Neomechanics of
the Hierarchically Infinite Universe."
Now to your
question: “If the universe is infinite, why are there not an infinite number of
planets similar to Earth, with beings who should have contacted us by now?” Your
question is similar to Olbers’ Paradox, which says: “If the universe is
infinite, why is the sky dark at night?” Paradox
resolution involves the discovery of the erroneous assumption that makes it
so. Olbers’ mistake was based on the assumption that light could travel an
infinite distance without anything happening to it. The same applies to all kinds
of electromagnetic radiation, including the radio waves generally considered necessary
for communication with extraterrestrials. Wave motion tends to diminish with distance
(that is why you do not feel the seismic waves from our California
earthquakes).
Our Milky Way
galaxy is finite, but still no word from those folks either. Even so, there are
about 300 billion stars in the Milky Way. Current speculation is that there are
from 8 to 60 billion associated planets with an Earth-like
habitable zone. That is not infinity, but it is quite a few. Either biopoesis
(the development of life from inorganic chemicals) is extremely rare, or the
transmission is bad. I vote for the latter.
Meghan, sorry
you were not able to determine whether or not the universe is finite or
infinite. I guess, like the rest of us, you will have to assume one or the
other. I hope you choose infinity. We need young folks like you
to help us discard the current paradigm, replacing it with Infinite Universe
Theory.]
7 comments:
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
I would like to help Meghan also. I have a grandaughter her age that has a potential of possibly reaching her grandfather's dream for her.
A PHD in Physics and one in Philosophy.With those two you will all the important stuff humans can know, and get paid at some point. If you can write, or find another niche.
So Meghan,
Re: Infinity. Could you really spend a few moments every other day meditating on this....It might take some time, or it could come sooner...who knows.
Answer for me...What is NOTHING?
Is it real or abstract?
After that one: Glenn said there can only be one universe. Explain how there could be more than one? Different physics? Located where?
But Meghan, your observation that we have not been visited (that we know of) is still quite striking. That bothers me also. Maybe Glenn has some statistics on how that could be. I have never studied that.
BTW there is the George Theory of Evolution: Eons ago, space travelers stopped here for a picnic lunch and left some (refuse)around, as casual visitors tend to do. (No not in England of course, but elsewhere in the Universe) We evolved out of that jump start. Maybe that explains Eukaryote genetics.
Grandpa George (I am copying this to Mera. She hasn't begun to think of these things yet, but maybe I can start a email correspondence between the two of you. Yes, I am a Socratic gadfly and can be a social gadfly as well.
George
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