Why there is something rather than nothing...

[Arkilogue]

So "quantum" is the magic in the empty space?  I thought there was no space or time before inflation? What is the measure of nothing?

"Nothing" cannot exist; it is a non-sequitur.  It's like asking, "What color is Saturday?"  Eternal cosmologies are one possible answer to the question of ultimate origins.  Yes, science may never know for sure; the problem may be simply unknowable.

Which is why I go by this from the physics department of the University of Oregon: http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec17.html

Physics of the early Universe is at the boundary of astronomy and philosophy since we do not currently have a complete theory that unifies all the fundamental forces of Nature at the moment of Creation. In addition, there is no possibility of linking observation or experimentation of early Universe physics to our theories (i.e. it's not possible to `build' another Universe). Our theories are rejected or accepted based on simplicity and aesthetic grounds, plus their power of prediction to later times, rather than an appeal to empirical results. This is a very difference way of doing science from previous centuries of research.


Simplicity and aesthetics are nice and everyone likes them but predictive power is where all the evidence we have already collected comes into play.