(November 10, 2014 at 10:46 am)pocaracas Wrote: Finally, I took the time to hear what Vilenkin had to say...
Here's his last slide:
And the slides with Guth:
I suspect the universe "didn't" have a beginning.
It's very likely eternal - but nobody knows.
A distinction has to be made between just "our" universe, and the "entire cosmos", which would include all natural reality regardless of where it is. When Guth says "I suspect the universe didn't have a beginning", he is talking about the entire cosmos...all natural reality...but he does believe that OUR universe had a beginning.
Most scientists have test tubes so far up their asses that they are unaware of the philosophical implications of what they say..and as good of a scientist as Guth is, he falls into that category.