PSI Blog 20250908 Existence or Nothing
Why there is
something rather than nothing.
By
ESA and the Planck Collaboration - Cosmic Microwave Background, CC BY 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130789180
Thanks to Erik Colon
for this question about my remark that:
"The fact that
we exist and that nothingness does not is support for our assumption the
universe is infinite."
In what way does it
support that conclusion?
[GB: Good question.
The Infinite Universe can produce an infinite number of things, but it cannot
produce nothing (perfectly empty space). Neither can it produce the opposite
end of that continuum: perfectly solid matter. All real XYZ portions of the
universe have both properties. In other words, all space contains what appears
to be both space and matter; all matter contains what appears to be both space
and matter. The infinite subdividability of matter always produces things with
both characteristics. The simplest atom, hydrogen, has a proton surrounded by
an electron, but has 99.9999999999996% “empty space.” I speculate that “empty
space” contains aether particles so small that I calculated there are 1020
aether particles in an electron (see appendix in “Infinite Universe Theory”).
In science, we often
find continua we characterize by using idealizations. Those are ideas we use to
understand the reality that exists between them. But we must never forget that
idealizations do not really exist. BTW: I must admit I fell into that trap in
grad school. I had obtained a sample of “pure” “ideal” montmorillonite (a
mineral). My analysis of it did not fit the claimed chemical composition. There
were traces of elements other than the Si, O, Mg, and Al it was supposed to
have. From then on, I took idealization “under advisement.”
In this regard,
maybe the use of fundamental assumptions will help.[1] The
Tenth Assumption of Science is interconnection (All things are
interconnected, that is, between any two objects exist other objects that
transmit matter and motion). Its opposite, the Tenth Assumption of Religion is disconnection (There may be perfectly empty space between any
two objects). As with all fundamental assumptions, neither of these is
completely provable or falsifiable. But, if one is true, its opposite is
false—neat! Infinity and finity have the same
relationship. The word “completely” is significant here because infinity does
not allow the complete description or test of anything. We can get pretty
close, however, with the recent discovery of an estimated 20 trillion galaxies
in support of Infinite Universe Theory. Science is like that. We never get
perfect answers—our measurements always have a plus or minus. Who knows, maybe
an improved telescope might eventually find perfectly empty space beyond the
observed universe? I would not bet on that.
“Existence” is an
obvious property of any XYZ portion of the universe. You are such a portion.
“Nothing” has never been found anywhere. Attempts to produce absolute zero,
where there ideally would be no matter capable of producing the vibrations we
measure as temperature have always failed.
When Einstein
rejected the aether, he essentially replaced it with “nothing.” If that were
true, outer space would have no temperature. Instead, the temperature of outer
space is 2.7oK, possibly because of the aether there. Of course,
cosmogonists claim the CMB (figure) is a remnant of the Big Bang, but remember,
the Big Bang Theory surreptitiously uses the Eighth Assumption of Religion, finity
(The universe is finite, both in the microcosmic and macrocosmic directions). Probably
because of the overwhelming number of religious folks, the resulting “Last
Creation Myth” became wildly popular along with disconnection. The perfectly empty space assumption is
necessary for the idea there could be the creation of something from nothing. That
would be a violation of the Fifth Assumption of Science, conservation (Matter and
the motion of matter can be neither created nor destroyed).
We are here because
the infinite matter in the Infinite Universe is always in motion, with its
various parts continually colliding, transforming each thing into other things.
A portion of the Infinite Universe that no longer is a fit for
the univironment[2] that produced it is
destroyed. We are products of a long chain of events in which each thing
survives temporarily until the univironment changes yet again.
Those who ask: Where
the universe came from are surreptitiously assuming: First there was nothing
and then there was something. That becomes a non sequitur when you realize that
“nothing” is imaginary and that “something” is not.]
PSI Blog 20250908
Thanks for reading
Infinite Universe Theory! Get your copy of the just-released Second Edition of
"The
Scientific Worldview" to see the step-by-step logic leading to the
rational view of the cosmos. Be part of the “Last Cosmological Revolution,” the
demise of the “Last Creation Myth,” and the age of enlightenment to come. Buy
Now.
[1] Borchardt, Glenn, 2004, The Ten Assumptions of
Science: Toward a New Scientific Worldview: Lincoln, NE, iUniverse, 125 p. [https://gborc.com/TTAOS; https://gborc.com/TTAOSpdf].
[2] The univironment is the combination of a microcosm (portion of the universe) and its macrocosm (environment). The universal mechanism of evolution is univironmental determinism (what happens to a portion of the universe depends on the infinite matter in motion within and without). For details see: "The Scientific Worldview."