Conversations Beyond Science and Religion – Beyond the Inflationary Big Bang

The universe began with the Big Bang, right? But how did this chaotic, random event lead to an ordered, balanced universe? Recognizing this problem, in the 1980′s, cosmologists developed a new theory called the inflationary Big Bang. This new model called for the early universe to inflate at super-warp speed in the blink of an eye; if this occurred, cosmologists said, it would be possible for the Big Bang to have produced the universe we live in without needing finely-tuned initial conditions. So the inflationary Big Bang made its way into college textbooks, television documentaries, and popular science books. Professor Paul Steinhardt, of Princeton University, is one of the leading theorists who refined the inflationary model into the form it appears today. In a recent Scientific American article, however, Professor Steinhardt raises serious doubts over the inflationary model, showing that it actually requires more fine-tuning than the original Big Bang theory. So where does cosmology go from here? On this show, Professor Steinhardt, along with host Philip Mereton, traces the development of the Big Bang theory and discusses what lies ahead for cosmology.

 

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  1. Bob Hiller Says: December 4, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Hi, Phillip-
    I just came across your writings today for the first time. Are you familiar with the work of Tom Campbell and his book, “My Big TOE”? Starting from the assumption that consciousness precedes matter (as opposed to the materialist view), he has derived a theoretical framework that explains why “c” is a constant and why particles behave as probability waves and more.

    Good luck propagating your ideas. Let me know if I can be of any help…

    best regards,
    Bob Hiller

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