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[IDKFA]

I love space. Always have. Although I have a degree in history, space has always been a passion of mine and always will be.

However, sometimes I think deeply about the universe and it breaks me. My human brain just can't wrap my head around it.

I should be sleeping right now, but instead I'm thinking of how the big bang doesn't make sense.

We all know the theory. The universe started with the big bang (it wouldn't have been a literal BANG, but it sounds cool), but I've always wondered - and I guess most people have - What came before that? What was there before the universe.

A common explanation, and personally what I think is the harshest idea, is: time itself began at the Big Bang. In that case, “before” is meaningless. Not because there wasn’t something, but because the concept of "before" doesn’t apply. It's like going to the north pole and trying to go further north. However, this idea hasn't sat well with me and my brain just taps out trying to think of "nothing" before the big bang, probably because I'm wired to think in cause and effect. How can you get a universe from nothing?

Instinctively, I know things don’t just happen for no reason. A bang doesn’t occur without a fuse—or a mechanism that can even support a bang. If there’s an effect, there must be a cause. And if nothing existed, then how could a cause even be possible?

The Big Bounce Theory is another one that really twists my melon. Instead of the universe having a one-time beginning, it could be part of a cyclical process. The universe expands, slows, contracts, and then "bounces" back into expansion—a new Big Bang. However, If true, something must existed before this universe: a previous one. This theory might describe a cycle, but it doesn't escape the need for a first cycle. A cosmic loop still needs something to initiate the loop. Saying “it’s eternal” fucking breaks me.

Maybe it all does make sense and human brains just can't comprehend it. It's like my cat staring at my wife and I going at it like hammer and tong. Her cat brain will never understand the complex positions, the screaming, the gadgets etc. To the cat, it's just two beings locked in some strange eternal battle. Maybe that's why we can't understand the universe.

I should probably try and sleep now.

 

[HRK69]

 

[Kilau]

If you can’t handle existentialism, then don’t.

 

[bitbydeath]

 

[EverydayBeast]

Hard to understand our own galaxy yet alone the entire universe, so I recommend history channel.

 

[Doom85]

Just read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books (well, 1-4, the 5th book I ignore, and even Adams himself wasn’t satisfied ending it on that note but he sadly passed), that’ll cheer you up.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Expansion and contraction cycles makes the most sense which means no beginning and end. I would think that after all the stars are gone only black holes will remain and space will start contracting and all the matter will end up inside a singular black hole and the gravity will compress it to such an extent that it creates the condition for another big bang.

Each cycle will last trillions and trillions (and more) of years. That multiplied by infinite cycles of expansion and contraction negates the question of the origin or beginning of the universe.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

We are literally nothing but it's cool to exist.

 

[Diddy X]

Some conecepts are just impossible for your brain to handle, we have evolved to comprehend just what we need about this world.

 

[PSYGN]

 

[niilokin]

I agree that our brains aren't exactly made to understand what lies beyond, our capabilities are very limited. For example we only see what our brains and eyes allow us to see. I like abstract thinking very much and am prone to the concept of "higher reality", that there is a timeless and unchanging framework in place beyond the physical reality, sort a fundamental law or force. Another interesting take I find is that cause and effect was in place before and physical reality came to be for it to "express" itself. Some mathematicians have said something like, mathematics does not simulate our reality but our reality simulates the realm of mathematics, implying that such abstract fundamentals actually exist even if our reality did not.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

in this context, "nothing" isn't just an empty void with no properties. they're referring to a quantum vacuum, a state that still has fluctuations, energy, and potential for particles to emerge spontaneously. this is different than some sort of concept of "absolute nothingness," which is more of a philosophical or classical concept.

edit: instead of thinking of the universe coming from "nothing" it might make more sense to think that it came from a quantum state where particles, energy, and even space-time could emerge.

Instinctively, I know things don’t just happen for no reason. A bang doesn’t occur without a fuse—or a mechanism that can even support a bang. If there’s an effect, there must be a cause. And if nothing existed, then how could a cause even be possible?

this is true for classical physics, but in quantum physics, events can occur probabilistically, and things can just happen without a direct cause in the traditional sense

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Maybe it all does make sense and human brains just can't comprehend it.

Yes since it isn't just space but space-time, the beginning of space is also the beginning of time, "before" doesn't apply because it can't apply.

 

[Hari Seldon]

If you want to blow your brain watch this (or get the book)

 

[EviLore]

It doesn't entirely make sense because it's incomplete information. We can observe quite a bit and we've dramatically increased our understanding over the past century, but more questions have arisen along the way. We don't even know what the composition of 96% of the observable universe is. And it doesn't answer our fundamental burning questions about the origin or meaning of reality.

 

[TheUnicornGuy]

What if the big bang was literally a bang though, what if it was the ignition cycle in a cylinder of an engine? What if when the universe finishes expanding it doesn't start shrinking as such but instead gets discarded during the exhaust cycle, making room for another proto universe to be injected, compressed, and bang, another universe is born. And so the cycle repeats, 6000 times a second from an external perspective.

 

[Illiterate Actual]

Overthinking it. Either there was nothing then something or else there was always something. Or a cycle of something. And you don't get to know, unless there's a big reveal when you die (X - Doubt) Whatever you do, don't convince yourself you're a Boltzmann Brain.

 

[INC]

I always wondered about the big bang, something from nothing, ever expanding

What if......

Black holes absorb light and everything round it, so does that mean the pulled in light etc is being exhausted the other side, of its event horizon, to that other universe, creating in theory that universe to expand

Could that mean our known universe was created by a black hole opening, and exhausting another universes light and mass........that makes perfect sense in my brain, as to how the big bang happened, the nothing to everything in an instance.

 

[Power Pro]

It really is unknowable, and I try not to take discomfort from the vastness of the universe, but rather comfort. It's so crazy to think that the materials that make us up were created likely from explosions in stars or nebula. It makes me feel closer to the universe in a way. One might call it spiritual.

I'm not really religious, as in I don't really believe in man made religions, but I'm not atheist either, because I like to leave open the possibility that there is a greater power, or something that binds us all. I guess that would make me an agnostic. Anyway, one idea of the big bang that I think is conceivable is that it was literally forged by a higher power. Power beyond our comprehension. I'm not saying that's what I believe, but I think it's a possibility.

What I'm basically saying is don't let the vastness of the universe scare you, but rather...maybe let it become a source of comfort. Know that you are more connected with parts of the universe that you never considered you were.

 

[Hudo]

Play Elite Dangerous

 

[protonion]

The algorithm has been sending me related videos lately.
My brain has melted with relativity... The concept of anything traveling in space is in it's own time bubble makes me crazy.

 

[Darchaos]

Wait, didnt this thread with thoose replys exist a couple of weeks ago? Am i living in an Simulation now?

 

[IDKFA]

It doesn't entirely make sense because it's incomplete information. We can observe quite a bit and we've dramatically increased our understanding over the past century, but more questions have arisen along the way. We don't even know what the composition of 96% of the observable universe is. And it doesn't answer our fundamental burning questions about the origin or meaning of reality.

You've hit the nail on the head.

Science can trace the timeline back to the Big Bang and piece together how elements formed and life evolved, but the “why” and “what does it all mean” questions lie in a different realm entirely. That's what keeps me up at night. The "why". Why does anything exist at all.

Are we looking at an infinite regression of causes? Is there an underlying principle or intelligence? Or is it all just random emergence from chaos?

Unfortunately I don't we'll get these answers in my lifetime, which makes it even more frustrating and mind bending.

 

[Rentahamster]

However, this idea hasn't sat well with me and my brain just taps out trying to think of "nothing" before the big bang, probably because I'm wired to think in cause and effect. How can you get a universe from nothing?

Because there wasn't "nothing" there was probably "something", but just in a form that is different from what we know now, since our extrapolation back in time only goes so far back before known physics breaks down and we can't investigate further.

Instinctively, I know things don’t just happen for no reason. A bang doesn’t occur without a fuse—or a mechanism that can even support a bang. If there’s an effect, there must be a cause. And if nothing existed, then how could a cause even be possible?

Instinctively, based on your primitive monkey brain understanding of 4 dimensional time-space that evolved on Earth. The scenario you're trying to imagine is nothing like what we've been equipped to understand instinctively.

This theory might describe a cycle, but it doesn't escape the need for a first cycle. A cosmic loop still needs something to initiate the loop. Saying “it’s eternal” fucking breaks me.

I don't think any of us are in any position to definitely state that this cosmic loop *needs* a beginning. If you look at a 2D loop of string, are you troubled that it doesn't have a beginning? No, you exist in 3D space and can obviously see it's a loop since you exist outside of 2D space, but if you only existed on that 2D loop of string and that's all you ever knew, your 2D self would also probably be just as brain broken as your 3D self is now.

We can only experience the dimension of time as we move through it from one moment to the next. If one day we can somehow transcend the dimension of time and see it in all of its entirety, perhaps it will make sense then. So don't worry about it. Enjoy the Earthly pleasures of 4D space-time, marvel at all we have left in front of us to discover, and play some vidya gaems.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

The more we know, the less we know.

 

[VulcanRaven]

I like this video:

 

[protonion]

And I think we will never I understand the whole picture.
We are children of the universe and our brains are wired inside it.
If there is another level "above", it is out of our mental capacity.

Like an AI. It sees and understands only 0s and 1s.

 

[Rentahamster]

Science can trace the timeline back to the Big Bang and piece together how elements formed and life evolved, but the “why” and “what does it all mean” questions lie in a different realm entirely. That's what keeps me up at night. The "why". Why does anything exist at all.

It exists because energy and matter does what it does. If what you're actually asking for is the answers to "how", those will come in due time with the progression of science. If you actually mean "why", then I would suggest that you try not to find the meaning of "why" in non-sentient matter. Instead find meaning in your relationship with other humans. It is our shared culture and shared existence with each other that ultimately is what we derive our meaning from.

Are we looking at an infinite regression of causes?

We don't know yet. But infinities aren't scary.

Is there an underlying principle or intelligence?

We don't know that either, but it's probably unlikely, and the people who claim that with certainty do so with hardly any justification.

Unfortunately I don't we'll get these answers in my lifetime, which makes it even more frustrating and mind bending.

We know more about the universe than at any other time in history, and our understanding grows daily. The more we learn, the more we realize how much more there is to learn. We are cursed with the blessings of knowledge, so I recommend the pursuit of discovery rather than the despair of the freshman dropout.

 

[Trilobit]

I love space. Always have. Although I have a degree in history, space has always been a passion of mine and always will be.

However, sometimes I think deeply about the universe and it breaks me. My human brain just can't wrap my head around it.

 

[Toots]

However, sometimes I think deeply about the universe and it breaks me. My human brain just can't wrap my head around it.

That's just because You Don't Know Fuck All (but still everyone love you )

 

[IDKFA]

I don't think any of us are in any position to definitely state that this cosmic loop *needs* a beginning. If you look at a 2D loop of string, are you troubled that it doesn't have a beginning? No, you exist in 3D space and can obviously see it's a loop since you exist outside of 2D space, but if you only existed on that 2D loop of string and that's all you ever knew, your 2D self would also probably be just as brain broken as your 3D self is now.

No, because I know the string came from somewhere. It had to be manufactured. Somebody or something made it into a loop. It has an obvious beginning.

We can only experience the dimension of time as we move through it from one moment to the next. If one day we can somehow transcend the dimension of time and see it in all of its entirety, perhaps it will make sense then. So don't worry about it. Enjoy the Earthly pleasures of 4D space-time, marvel at all we have left in front of us to discover, and play some vidya gaems.

I don't worry, but I have an urge to fully understand why everything is here. It's a natural curiosity, but one we may never answer, which makes it all the more mind bending.

I really feel the need to play a game set in space now.

 

[ClanOfNone]

“The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

 

[Rentahamster]

No, because I know the string came from somewhere.

That's not the point of the thought experiment. The point is to imagine yourself as a 2D being and your limited understanding of your 2D world without any way to investigate outside of it, whereas for you, as a 3D being, sees the entire picture clearly. What looks like an infinite universe to your 2D self is most obviously finite to your 3D self.

I don't worry, but I have an urge to fully understand why everything is here. It's a natural curiosity, but one we may never answer, which makes it all the more mind bending.

I really feel the need to play a game set in space now.

Try FTL

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

I like this video:

One of my favourites ever.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

but the “why” and “what does it all mean” questions lie in a different realm entirely. That's what keeps me up at night. The "why". Why does anything exist at all.

You're looking for purpose, nobody can give you that and that's ok; it's better to accept that it just "is".

 

[Hookshot]

Not getting the big bang doesn't really matter because even if you observe what was before it, then what was before that? or that? or the thing 10 things ago?

It's always the same issue where somehow, something existed for things to exist.

 

[cormack12]

If you think that's mad, if a fly gets on a plane, it doesn't know its travelling.

 

[rm082e]

Not getting the big bang doesn't really matter because even if you observe what was before it, then what was before that? or that? or the thing 10 things ago?

It's always the same issue where somehow, something existed for things to exist.

This. And this same logic applies to the concept of God - if a God created us, what created God? And what created the thing that created God, and so on?

This is sometimes called "Pandora's Infinity".

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I think about space and the universe as well when I'm trying to fall asleep and it really does mess up your brain.

I'll think about all the weird stuff like if this universe is actually in a black hole as some theorize.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

We all know the theory. The universe started with the big bang (it wouldn't have been a literal BANG, but it sounds cool), but I've always wondered - and I guess most people have - What came before that? What was there before the universe.

Maybe our universe is one of many and this "bubble" (universe) came into being just like infinite or near infinite others did in some higher dimension or whatever. Maybe this happens all the time.

Or maybe as I mentioned we are inside of a black hole in a black hole form in a different universe.

It really is mind-boggling.

In Halo, the Precursors are over 200 billion years old and our universe is only 13.8 billion years old. Lots of fun stuff here.

 

[IDKFA]

Maybe our universe is one of many and this "bubble" (universe) came into being just like infinite or near infinite others did in some higher dimension or whatever. Maybe this happens all the time.

Or maybe as I mentioned we are inside of a black hole in a black hole form in a different universe.

It really is mind-boggling.

In Halo, the Precursors are over 200 billion years old and our universe is only 13.8 billion years old. Lots of fun stuff here.

I like the idea of a multiverse or "bubble" universe, but as rm082e pointed out, that leads to a problem of always trying to get to the start. If there is a multiverse, then there had to be a first. A genesis universe, right? If so what started that?

My brain taps out at the thought of infinite anything.

I like the idea of a white hole being at the end of black hole. All the matter that gets pulled into the black hole gets blasted out as a white hole, which is in fact a "big bang" and creates another universe. However, even that idea brings back to "well, how did this process start?"

Maybe we're not supposed to know. After all, I'm only a collection of cells that are working together to survive. Maybe it will always be beyond our comprehension?

 

[sono]

 

[sono]

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.


And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.


And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.


And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.


And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

 

[The Fartist]

It makes perfect sense on DMT or a "heroic" dose of mushrooms, good luck bringing any info that makes sense, but in the moment, it's pretty clear.

 

[PonyStation4]

The universe could have always existed or came from nothing. Infinity, existence and nothing are human made concepts, because we can't comprehend anything without a comparison. For example, how do we know that a room is empty? Because there's another room with things in it. However, if every room had what you considered nothing, then that means that you consider nothing to be something that exists.

 

[cormack12]

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.


And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.


And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.


And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.


And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

 

[IDKFA]

It makes perfect sense on DMT or a "heroic" dose of mushrooms, good luck bringing any info that makes sense, but in the moment, it's pretty clear.

No. I've tried DMT and shrooms. Shrooms was mild compared to DMT, which was like entering a new dimension. I was a mess for days after DMT. I felt like the real world was fake and the DMT trip was the true reality. With shrooms I just saw bizarre nonsense which I knew wasn't real.

The universe could have always existed or came from nothing. Infinity, existence and nothing are human made concepts, because we can't comprehend anything without a comparison. For example, how do we know that a room is empty? Because there's another room with things in it. However, if every room had what you considered nothing, then that means that you consider nothing to be something that exists.

Spoiler

 

[Sardaukarama]

Carl Sagan

 

[The Fartist]

No. I've tried DMT and shrooms. Shrooms was mild compared to DMT, which was like entering a new dimension. I was a mess for days after DMT. I felt like the real world was fake and the DMT trip was the true reality. With shrooms I just saw bizarre nonsense which I knew wasn't real.

The "real world" is fake, I don't mean you shouldn't take it seriously, because I believe it's a great privilege to exist in it, but it is an illusion. As for the mushrooms, you didn't eat enough.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

No. I've tried DMT and shrooms. Shrooms was mild compared to DMT, which was like entering a new dimension. I was a mess for days after DMT. I felt like the real world was fake and the DMT trip was the true reality. With shrooms I just saw bizarre nonsense which I knew wasn't real.

Thank you for letting me know I will never touch this stuff. I have debilitating anxiety and this would really really screw me up.