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![]() http://www.cosmologystatement.org/ An Open Letter to the Scientific Community (Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004) The big bang today relies on a growing number of hypothetical entities, things that we have never observed-- inflation, dark matter and dark energy are the most prominent examples. Without them, there would be a fatal contradiction between the observations made by astronomers and the predictions of the big bang theory. In no other field of physics would this continual recourse to new hypothetical objects be accepted as a way of bridging the gap between theory and observation. It would, at the least, raise serious questions about the validity of the underlying theory. But the big bang theory can't survive without these fudge factors. Without the hypothetical inflation field, the big bang does not predict the smooth, isotropic cosmic background radiation that is observed, because there would be no way for parts of the universe that are now more than a few degrees away in the sky to come to the same temperature and thus emit the same amount of microwave radiation. Without some kind of dark matter, unlike any that we have observed on Earth despite 20 years of experiments, big-bang theory makes contradictory predictions for the density of matter in the universe. Inflation requires a density 20 times larger than that implied by big bang nucleosynthesis, the theory's explanation of the origin of the light elements. And without dark energy, the theory predicts that the universe is only about 8 billion years old, which is billions of years younger than the age of many stars in our galaxy. What is more, the big bang theory can boast of no quantitative predictions that have subsequently been validated by observation. The successes claimed by the theory's supporters consist of its ability to retrospectively fit observations with a steadily increasing array of adjustable parameters, just as the old Earth-centered cosmology of Ptolemy needed layer upon layer of epicycles. Yet the big bang is not the only framework available for understanding the history of the universe. Plasma cosmology and the steady-state model both hypothesize an evolving universe without beginning or end. These and other alternative approaches can also explain the basic phenomena of the cosmos, including the abundances of light elements, the generation of large-scale structure, the cosmic background radiation, and how the redshift of far-away galaxies increases with distance. They have even predicted new phenomena that were subsequently observed, something the big bang has failed to do. Supporters of the big bang theory may retort that these theories do not explain every cosmological observation. But that is scarcely surprising, as their development has been severely hampered by a complete lack of funding. Indeed, such questions and alternatives cannot even now be freely discussed and examined. An open exchange of ideas is lacking in most mainstream conferences. Whereas Richard Feynman could say that "science is the culture of doubt", in cosmology today doubt and dissent are not tolerated, and young scientists learn to remain silent if they have something negative to say about the standard big bang model. Those who doubt the big bang fear that saying so will cost them their funding. Even observations are now interpreted through this biased filter, judged right or wrong depending on whether or not they support the big bang. So discordant data on red shifts, lithium and helium abundances, and galaxy distribution, among other topics, are ignored or ridiculed. This reflects a growing dogmatic mindset that is alien to the spirit of free scientific inquiry. Today, virtually all financial and experimental resources in cosmology are devoted to big bang studies. Funding comes from only a few sources, and all the peer-review committees that control them are dominated by supporters of the big bang. As a result, the dominance of the big bang within the field has become self-sustaining, irrespective of the scientific validity of the theory. Giving support only to projects within the big bang framework undermines a fundamental element of the scientific method -- the constant testing of theory against observation. Such a restriction makes unbiased discussion and research impossible. To redress this, we urge those agencies that fund work in cosmology to set aside a significant fraction of their funding for investigations into alternative theories and observational contradictions of the big bang. To avoid bias, the peer review committee that allocates such funds could be composed of astronomers and physicists from outside the field of cosmology. Allocating funding to investigations into the big bang's validity, and its alternatives, would allow the scientific process to determine our most accurate model of the history of the universe. |
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Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.cosmologystatement.org/ An Open Letter to the Scientific Community (Published in New Scientist, May 22, 2004) The big bang today relies on a growing number of hypothetical entities, things that we have never observed-- inflation, dark matter and dark energy are the most prominent examples. Without them, there would be a fatal contradiction between the observations made by astronomers and the predictions of the big bang theory. In no other field of physics would this continual recourse to new hypothetical objects be accepted as a way of bridging the gap between theory and observation. It would, at the least, raise serious questions about the validity of the underlying theory. Maybe we should do what the Christians do, and just ignore the contradictions? -- Kevin Anthoney kanthoney[a]dsl.pipex.com |
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![]() Sound of Trumpet wrote: http://www.cosmologystatement.org/ An Open Letter to the Scientific Community snip... Yet the big bang is not the only framework available for understanding the history of the universe. Plasma cosmology and the steady-state model both hypothesize an evolving universe without beginning or end. LOL! Do you know what is steady state universe, Ray? It is universe that always existed, universe without beginning - something that is as anti-biblical as you can get. When was Big Bang proven to exist, your people were screaming from the rooftops: "Bible says that universe had a beginning and science agrees! Science proves Bible true!" Do you really want to flush your Bible down the toilet, Ray? |
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![]() Where lots of scientists go wrong is after excepting that the big Bang took place they extrapolate to say that this was the start of the universe in both space and time. Just because we have so far not been able to see what happened before this big bang does not mean that there was nothing. For all we know big bangs are happening all over the place and throughout time. Just because we can not see or detect the others (yet) does not mean we can assume that they did not take place. Maybe the universe did start with a big bang but it was very unlikely to have been this current one that we see. The universe is everything remember. I see no reason to put bounds on the age or size or dimensions even. |
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On 22 Oct 2006 20:44:52 -0700, while bungee jumping, "steve"
shouted thusly: Where lots of scientists go wrong is after excepting that the big Bang took place they extrapolate to say that this was the start of the universe in both space and time. Just because we have so far not been able to see what happened before this big bang does not mean that there was nothing. For all we know big bangs are happening all over the place and throughout time. Just because we can not see or detect the others (yet) does not mean we can assume that they did not take place. Maybe the universe did start with a big bang but it was very unlikely to have been this current one that we see. The universe is everything remember. I see no reason to put bounds on the age or size or dimensions even. You seem to have made a god of the universe. The universe had a beginning. So now the question is, who or what began it? -- Azaliah |
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On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:13:47 GMT, Giant Waffle
wrote: - Refer: On 22 Oct 2006 20:44:52 -0700, while bungee jumping, "steve" shouted thusly: Where lots of scientists go wrong is after excepting that the big Bang took place they extrapolate to say that this was the start of the universe in both space and time. Just because we have so far not been able to see what happened before this big bang does not mean that there was nothing. For all we know big bangs are happening all over the place and throughout time. Just because we can not see or detect the others (yet) does not mean we can assume that they did not take place. Maybe the universe did start with a big bang but it was very unlikely to have been this current one that we see. The universe is everything remember. I see no reason to put bounds on the age or size or dimensions even. You seem to have made a god of the universe. The universe had a beginning. So now the question is, who or what began it? What is a lower temperature than absolute zero? What is north of the north pole? |
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On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:13:47 GMT, Giant Waffle
wrote: The universe had a beginning. Evidence? -- rukbat at optonline dot net "A truly unselfish act would be a Christian volunteering to have his soul take your soul's place in hell, so yours could go to Heaven. Don't hold your breath." - John Popelish (random sig, produced by SigChanger) |
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"Al Klein" wrote in message
news ![]() On Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:13:47 GMT, Giant Waffle wrote: The universe had a beginning. Evidence? Cosmic microwave background radiation, which was predicted by the big bang theory and has since been found and mapped. "Big bang" was originally a pejorative term given to the theory by the astronomer Fred Hoyle who rejected the theory. Many astrophysicists and astronomers held fast to the universe as a steady state phenomenon that had always existed. The "conventional" Big Bang theory had the thing happening, basically, like an explosion, but that kind of explosion was completely at odds with the "flatness" of the universe, which included most especially the evenness of its thermal distribution. It was Alan Guth who first proposed the theory of cosmic inflation, circa 1980 (I could be off by ten years there, without checking), which posits a, to say the least, very remarkable period of "inflation" during which the universe expands to the size of the observable universe in an instant, which explains the equally remarkable evenness, or flatness, of the universe. Subsequent satellite data continues to confirm cosmic inflation. |
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On 22 Oct 2006 20:44:52 -0700, "steve"
wrote: - Refer: .com Where lots of scientists go wrong is after excepting that the big Bang took place they extrapolate to say that this was the start of the universe in both space and time. Just because we have so far not been able to see what happened before this big bang does not mean that there was nothing. For all we know big bangs are happening all over the place and throughout time. Just because we can not see or detect the others (yet) does not mean we can assume that they did not take place. Maybe the universe did start with a big bang but it was very unlikely to have been this current one that we see. The universe is everything remember. I see no reason to put bounds on the age or size or dimensions even. What is north of the north pole? |
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On 22 Oct 2006 20:44:52 -0700, in alt.atheism , "steve"
in .com wrote: Where lots of scientists go wrong is after excepting that the big Bang took place they extrapolate to say that this was the start of the universe in both space and time. Just because we have so far not been able to see what happened before this big bang does not mean that there was nothing. For all we know big bangs are happening all over the place and throughout time. Just because we can not see or detect the others (yet) does not mean we can assume that they did not take place. Maybe the universe did start with a big bang but it was very unlikely to have been this current one that we see. The universe is everything remember. I see no reason to put bounds on the age or size or dimensions even. What is north of the North Pole? What is before T = 0? -- Matt Silberstein Do something today about the Darfur Genocide http://www.beawitness.org http://www.darfurgenocide.org http://www.savedarfur.org "Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop" |
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