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  • I do not think we will. You can philosophize about it though but a scientific answer is unlikely.
    The reason I think this is that I subscribe to the theory that the universe is the result of a black hole in another parallel universe. Black hole forms, eats matter and spews it back into a newly formed parallel universe, hence all the matter being present without us being able to explain how it came about. We call it the Big Bang. Likewise, we create new parallel universes with our black holes, the cycle continues. Always found it a neat explanation for it al.
    But will we know 'why' our universe was created? No, we would need to look beyond the veil and that means going through a black hole and I do not see that happening anytime soon.
    Problem with this theory is of course that matter keeps being flung around, what it the point of origin and will that deplete or be recycled?

    Fascinating stuff and this theory I talk about is most probably wrong as I also believe we are not capable of handling this query.

  • We don't even know if there is a reason or not. If stuff like cause and effect are properties of the universe itself, they they don't necessarily have to apply to it coming into existence (and if time and space are merely a part of the universe with no equivalent beyond, then the concept of it being caused by something runs into the issue of there being no time before it for a cause to occur and no place before it for that event to happen in).

    There could be some equivalent of all those things of course, that the universe exists within, but we can't just assume that.

  • Ultimately, it is extremely rare in nature for there to be just one of anything. Phenomena rarely occur alone. Why should this not extend to the very existence of Universes, independent Big Bangs? Maybe the Big Bang is some incredibly rare quantum fluctuation in the vacuum that occurs by odd chance once every "ten to the ten to the ten to the ten...." years. Some freakishly long length of time. But who cares? There's no one around to count the empty years. But once in a very blue moon, in some random patch of the vast infinite, infinitely expanding space time, a Big Bang occurs. It has its course and eventually decays down to nothing, returning to the quantum foam from which it sprung. In time, everything decays down to photons, those photons are stretched beyond the cosmic horizon. A Big Bang happens, a Universe thrives, and it decays to nothing. Awhile later, another Big Bang, etc.

    So while a Universe is a rare thing, it is not unique. But in turn, it does give a sense of meaning. Suddenly we are now a part of a grand infinity of time and space. The concept of the Wheel of Time is made literal! And that is the thing that whole religions are built on. There are ways to find meaning in an infinite circle.

  • Well depends on what you mean by "scientific". Do I think modern science is capable of seeing anything beyond the testable and observable? No way, so there is nothing to determine a "why" with science alone. If there is an answer to why the universe began, I believe you'd have to ask the Infinite Void and hope for a response. According to the big bang theory we all came from one place, i.e. one "thing" created the entire universe, so only that "thing" would know "why" we were created.

  • No. There is a range of hypotheses, from “none” to “because a supernatural creator willed so”, but they'll stay hypotheses. You can study them and find which one makes more sense for you, but there will never be certainties.

  • We're entirely too removed from the start to know with 100% certainty. The best we can hope for is a plausible theory.

  • We exist to maximize profits for shareholders. I thought your boss would have told you that.

  • Why?
    No
    How?
    Maybe

    Science doesn't answer the Why?* questions. Philosophy does.

    Are we a brain in a jar living in a simulation? Are we creation of God? There isn't an experiment that can test those hypothesizes.


    Why? has different meanings and science does answer some of them and the one that I assume you are asking is one of them that it doesn't.

  • We got about 10 years left to do anything radical to save our planet before all chances of known sapience are gone. Sorry bud, we're still arguing whether we should oppress minorities and trans people, we ain't figuring shit out.

  • First we'd need to establish whether there actually is a "why." That's an unspoken assumption you're making, not something we know to be true.

  • My bet is if we do it'll be some unsatisfactory brute fact the last smart guy will figure out 3 days before the Sun grows too hot for us to survive any longer.

46 comments