Greetings. Does god exist? Even according to R Dawkins it's improbable but not impossible. This leads to the inevitable question who or what created god?
Then we have the big bang theory. The universe explodes into existence from a single point from nothing.
I find both concepts equally incomprehensible.

Then we have alternate theories like 12 more dimensions, multiple universes. I've heard some physicists say stuff like maybe the universe was sneezed out of a giant creature or maybe some kid in another dimension discarded a science experiment.

Is our finite brain capable of comprehending infinity?
If we are just a walking collection of atoms obeying the laws of physics and evolutionary biology we shouldn't be conscious, should we?

There is possibly a limit to what our finite human brains are capable of comprehending and perhaps the universe and it's existence exceeds this limit.

There is no direct evidence that god exists but an objective observer cannot rule out the possibility 100%. Perhaps god is the universe? Or perhaps it's all just pointless random physics and chance?

Welcome.

All questions that are reasonably pointless, and don't really matter tbh.

Do some research, educate yourself and see what you find.

I find these concepts interesting. So what do you think matters?

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What would you suggest that I research?

(April 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm)WallaceT Wrote: Then we have the big bang theory. The universe explodes into existence from a single point from nothing.

That is not what the Big Bang Theory states.

Quote:I've heard some physicists say stuff like maybe the universe was sneezed out of a giant creature or maybe some kid in another dimension discarded a science experiment.

Which physicists, and are you sure they weren't saying it as a joke, or to make a point about improbability / improvability?

Quote:Is our finite brain capable of comprehending infinity?

Of course not.

Quote:If we are just a walking collection of atoms obeying the laws of physics and evolutionary biology we shouldn't be conscious, should we?

Why not? It depends entirely how you define consciousness.

Quote:There is possibly a limit to what our finite human brains are capable of comprehending and perhaps the universe and it's existence exceeds this limit.

True, no one human brain could hold that knowledge. As a collection of brains, we are doing pretty well though. With enough people, I see no reason why the entirety of the universe couldn't be understood one day.

Quote:There is no direct evidence that god exists but an objective observer cannot rule out the possibility 100%. Perhaps god is the universe? Or perhaps it's all just pointless random physics and chance?

Perhaps, though I'm not sure why you are asking this question.

(April 18, 2012 at 3:54 pm)WallaceT Wrote: What would you suggest that I research?

Research into the very questions you ask. Look into biology for answers regarding our conciousness and other questions regarding how we think and live.

Look into cosmology for some really detailed information about the universe. Currently I'm studying 'virtual particles' which helps explain where all this came from. Really interesting data.

Look into the questions you ask and study the answers given by science. You'd be amazed at how much you end up knowing when you take the time to educate yourself. I'm having a rather interesting time looking into more cosmology.

Hi Wallace, hope you enjoy your stay. Just a couple of points regarding your questions:

(April 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm)WallaceT Wrote: Then we have the big bang theory. The universe explodes into existence from a single point from nothing.
I find both concepts equally incomprehensible.

First off, nobody other than theists say that the Universe came from nothing. However, even if that is exactly what happened, the fact that you find the idea incomprehensible is irrelevant. Don't mean to sound harsh but you should look up Argument from Ignorance - just because we may not understand a thing does not make that thing wrong. As far as current understanding can determine, the Big Bang is historical fact.

(April 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm)WallaceT Wrote: There is no direct evidence that god exists but an objective observer cannot rule out the possibility 100%.

This is true as far as it goes, but the lack of direct evidence is the key point. Until such evidence becomes available, the rational position is to presume the entity does not exist. Don't fall into the trap of confusing what is possible with what is plausible.

(April 18, 2012 at 3:42 pm)WallaceT Wrote: Perhaps god is the universe? Or perhaps it's all just pointless random physics and chance?

This is bordering on a false dichotomy: either it's all down to a god or it's random chance. There's nothing pointlessly random about physics, and if you can't see that, I invite you to step out of a first-floor window and see how random the result is.*

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* Meant for illustration only. I do not seriously recommend stepping out of a first-floor window.

Thanks for the response Tiberius. I believe that is basically what the big bang theory says. Care to elaborate? I've studied physics and evolutionary biology. I've seen quite a few documentaries where scientists speculate half jokingly about all kinds of strange concepts probably to illustrate that there are no answers.

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There's nothing pointlessly random about physics? Very interesting view indeed.

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"the rational position is to presume the entity does not exist". I don't agree I think the rational position is to presume nothing.

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Thanks for the interesting responses guys. Just to let you know I've studied physics, evolutionary biology, the big bang, dark matter, dark energy, anti-matter, quantum physics, sub-atomic particles. My questions are more philosophical than scientific I suppose and there are no real answers.

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I've seen a number of interesting theories on what was before the big bang. Time and space didn't exist. Time existed. Some form of energy existed. A bubble escaped from another dimension or universe. We don't know what was there before the big bang.

(April 18, 2012 at 3:54 pm)WallaceT Wrote: I find these concepts interesting. So what do you think matters?

What do I think matters? Just enjoying myself. Playing music, drawing, writing... just anything I find great.

Well firstly, there was no "explosion", it was an expansion of space and time. The universe already existed, but in a very small (possibly infinitely so) point, with no space. In this point was all the energy and matter that currently makes up our universe. Whether there was time or not is still hotly debated, but for some reason, 13.7 billion years ago, that point of energy and matter rapidly expanded and still does today.