(October 20, 2013 at 2:03 am)MindForgedManacle Wrote: Another misleading affirmation. This is the problem with equivocating between 'nothingness' as usually meant and however physicist X is using 'nothingness'. If you're going to say that the laws of quantum mechanics allows for weird things, then you're already assuming there is in fact something which follows those laws. And usually when referring to 'nothingness' (itself a contradiction in terms; 'nothingness' isn't a referant), physicists seem to mean empty space. Why not just say 'empty space' (assuming they mean such)?

'Nothing' is not empty space. 'Nothing' is no space at all.

(October 21, 2013 at 4:53 am)Chas Wrote: 'Nothing' is not empty space. 'Nothing' is no space at all.

I agree, but that's what physicists who talk of something coming from nothing usually mean. But to put it more accurately, 'nothing' isn't anything at all.

(October 20, 2013 at 3:10 am)Minimalist Wrote: Hey we live in a country where 20% of the population can't locate the US on a map. So old news or not it needs to be hammered home.

Your country is the US, right? Are you kidding me? 20%? That's all the kids, right? They're counting kids too young to vote in that study I hope.

(October 20, 2013 at 2:27 am)Polaris Wrote: Well most of the universe is made up of "nothing", as in the majority of the mass of the universe is essentially nothing to our observations (anyone know if we have had any actual readings to verify an observation of this mass?)....aka dark energy.

No, a vacuum has space and time, and is no longer considered "nothing."

(October 24, 2013 at 4:56 pm)John V Wrote: A vacuum has space, time, and energy (matter), and is no longer considered "nothing."

Fixed that for ya!

(October 21, 2013 at 3:59 am)Aractus Wrote: Actually, scientifically speaking "nothing" doesn't exist. All models, including self-creating models, are based on the fact that energy will exist within the system...

What system? No system either pre-universe (space/time) assumed.

Energy is an interesting question as I think I agree that there would have to be, at the very least, some kind of potential energy in nothingness for anything to happen.

I'm not sure if that is a problem as the origin of all things. It could be the most fundamental base state possible, but as of the current state of knowledge this is as much of a guess as any religion.

I'm not sure we'll ever be able to answer it completely.