why does anything exist

(2) Why is the Universe as it is? Anything of any kind, anywhere. It is puzzling how there could be *something* rather than simply nothing (ever). Sign up to read our regular email newsletters. Should you avoid alcohol when getting a coronavirus vaccine? As weird as it seems, inflation fits the facts. What links post-Everett QM; the cancellation of the Universe's conserved constants to zero; black holes; and zero construed as a number in mathematics? It turns out this is also crucial for understanding how the cosmos came from nothing. At first all the matter and energy in the universe was crammed together in one unimaginably small dot, and this exploded. We might want to know how we exist, which can be answered scientifically or with God, I don’t personally worry about that question either. A solution to the question "Why is there something rather than nothing?" The idea is that, a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, the quantum-sized bubble of space expanded stupendously fast. Why is there something instead of nothing? As yet we don't have hard evidence that other universes exist. Why does anything exist? Mathematically speaking, the number 1 (existence) can be divided into smaller, and smaller, and smaller numbers but … Although God had no need for anything or anyone else, it should be understood that God freely decided to create the universe and, especially, angelic and human-beings mainly for the purpose of enlarging His “Circle of Love”. Our best theory for describing such large-scale structures is general relativity, Albert Einstein's crowning achievement, which sets out how space, time and gravity work. in certainty, scientists have faith dark count number makes up a lot extra of the universe than seen count number does, which in part explains why gravity exists in places the place there ought to be none. Posted on November 18, 2015 by algekalipso . share. So once inflation starts it should make an endless cascade of universes, which Linde calls eternal inflation. the respond is not any. That inflating space can spawn more universes, with yet more inflating space around them. Rather than remaining perfectly smooth and continuous, space and time destabilize, churning and frothing into a foam of space-time bubbles. Actually, it is possible for the bubble to survive. Since the existence of anything requires a cause, this is the proper way to ask the question: Why does anything exist? When the expansion finally slowed, the force field that had powered it was transformed into the matter and energy that fill the universe today. If one space-time bubble popped into existence and inflated to form our universe, what kept other bubbles from doing the same? Where did the universe get all this energy? : An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt "Why Does the World Exist?" At this point, making a universe looks almost easy. Quantum mechanics tells us that there is no such thing as empty space. “It would look very different, not least because planets and stars and life could not evolve in such an environment,” says Tara Shears at the University of Liverpool, UK. I believe they are both good questions. I know people are talking about the big bang and how it made space and all, but how and why did the big bang exist like big bang made everything we know, but who made the big bang. Inflation theory proposes that in the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang, the universe expanded much faster than it did later. Mystery: Why does anything exist at all? Those universes might be profoundly different to ours. Why Does Anything Exist? In that case, there should be …. Physicists have calculated that in a flat universe the energy of matter is exactly balanced by the energy of the gravity the mass creates. THERE is plenty to recommend the standard model, our best description of particles and their interactions. The universe next door might have five dimensions of space rather than the three – length, breadth and height – that ours does. Actually your teachers left out a crucial point: this is only true on a flat surface. There could just be nothing, but instead there is something, and none of us truly know why. It’s just a big infinite maze of possibility, and it never started and it never ends. It could be as flat as a table top. He thinks universes have always been springing into existence, and that this process will continue forever. area isn't a void. So how comes there’s something, not nothing? One of the most remarkable things is that the scale of the universe compared to our size is equal to the scale of the universe of us to the micro world. For instance, this approach was used by Stephen Hawking at the University of Cambridge to describe black holes. Further, the sheer existence of something means that everything (literally everything) that is possible must exist somewhere in the matrix of time, space and dimension. Nothing and something are opposing ends of the same coin toss. I have been fascinated with living things since childhood. It uses sensible words and grammar and has the form of a question and so on. Those patches were measured in 2003, and that gave astronomers a selection of triangles. There could be a mind-boggling smorgasbord of universes. Why does anything exist? It determined the average size of the warmer and cooler patches in the cosmic microwave background. This idea may sound bizarre, or just another fanciful creation story. His argument summarizes and ends up concluding that God is the reason. Many spiritual […] Read more. If all of nature, space, and time have a cause, that cause cannot be natural, spacial, or temporal, for the same reason that a man cannot be his own father. If the universe had not expanded so rapidly, we would expect the radiation to be patchier than it is. So to find out if the universe is flat, we need to measure the angles of a really big triangle. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. is proposed that also entails a proposed solution to the question "Why do things exist?". hide. It is an immensely successful theory, and it underpins most modern electronic gadgets. It's a bit like an old-fashioned measuring scale. Alternatively, if you draw a triangle on a surface that curves outward like a saddle, its angles will add up to less than 180 degrees. ", or, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" If all the galaxies are flying apart, they must once have been close together. That information, they say, should give us a clue about how and why the cosmos exists. If you draw a triangle on the surface of a balloon, its three angles will add up to more than 180 degrees. THERE ARE here two questions: (1) Why does the Universe exist at all? Philosopher and writer Jim Holt follows this question toward three … The immune system: can you improve your immune age? View image of (Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Postman (STScI), CLASH Team, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)), View image of The Stephan's Quintet group of galaxies (Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team), View image of Maybe it all began with bubbles (Credit: amira_a, CC by 2.0), View image of The cosmic microwave background (Credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team), View image of It may not look flat... (Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)), View image of Matter on one side, gravity on the other (Credit: Da Sal, CC by 2.0), View image of (Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (ASU)). It’s just a big infinite … Further, the sheer existence of something means that everything (literally everything) that is possible must exist somewhere in the matrix of time, space and dimension. This balances the energy needed to create the matter in the first place. Thus, the fact that anything should exist at all demands an explanation. You might remember from maths class that the three angles of a triangle add up to exactly 180 degrees. If all the galaxies are flying apart, they must once have been close together. One thing they have found is that, when quantum theory is applied to space at the smallest possible scale, space itself becomes unstable. Or am I just high? This can sound like a fine question. It turns out that a flat universe is crucial. The search for the origin of life: From panspermia to primordial soup. “It is a somewhat embarrassing fact that it fails to explain our existence,” says Werner Rodejohann at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Germany. It had to happen, they say, because "nothing" is inherently unstable. So it's not just particles and antiparticles that can snap in and out of nothingness: bubbles of space-time can do the same. Even the most perfect vacuum is actually filled by a roiling cloud of particles and antiparticles, which flare into existence and almost instantaneously fade back into nothingness. Philosopher and author Jim Holt plays the role of the inquisitive detective who is on a mission to answer the ultimate question of existence. Why does the concept of existence, exist? The health benefits of sunlight: Can vitamin D help beat covid-19? Science with Sam explains. You can take the number 1 (“All That Is,” so to speak) and divided it down into infinitesimally smaller parts. Somehow, matter won. Einstein's theory of general relativity tells us that the space-time we live in could take three different forms. It could be argued that the gap between absolute nothingness and something is too large to bridge. So which is it? As Krauss puts it, "The laws of physics as we understand them make it eminently plausible that our universe arose from nothing - no space, no time, no particles, nothing that we now know of.". And, especially, why do we exist? If the universe had been curved, the two sums would not cancel out. NASA; ESA; G. Illingworth, D. Magee, and P. Oesch, University of California, Santa Cruz; R. Bouwens, Leiden University; and the HUDF09 Team. In quantum physics, if something is not forbidden, it necessarily happens. But it has the odd awkward lapse. Why does the Earth and the universe exist? In other words: Why does the universe exist (and why are we in it)? THERE is plenty to recommend the standard model, our best description of particles and their interactions. Without God creating, nothing would exist. Here, then, is how everything could have come from nothing. Some dismiss these questions, thinking them idle. Alternatively, space-time could curve outward like a saddle. has been raised or commented on by philosophers including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Martin Heidegger – who called it the fundamental question of metaphysics. These are some big questions that have been debated over and over for centuries. But for that we need another trick: cosmic inflation. That's where inflation comes in. Relativity is very different from quantum mechanics, and so far nobody has been able to combine the two seamlessly. That information, they say, should give us a clue about how and why the cosmos exists. Then the resulting tiny bubble of space-time could have burgeoned into a massive, busy universe, thanks to inflation. Linde says eternal inflation is not just the ultimate free lunch: it is the only one at which all possible dishes are available. From tiny things like atoms, to really big things like galaxies. (See Four causes) Read about our approach to external linking. Actually, it’s worse than that: the standard model positively insists we don’t exist. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that everything must have a cause, culminating in an ultimate uncaused cause. First we have to take a look at the realm of quantum mechanics. Their admittedly controversial answer is that the entire universe, from the fireball of the Big Bang to the star-studded cosmos we now inhabit, popped into existence from nothing at all. What's more, if it's possible for these bubbles to form, you can guarantee that they will. Posted on 2018/12/4 under Articles, Featured, Science, Spirituality. Abstract. Quantum mechanics tells us that "nothing" is inherently unstable, so the initial leap from nothing to something may have been inevitable. 0 comments. Why is there something instead of nothing? The reason that anything exists and there is something rather than nothing, is because God made it. Why Does the World Exist? The question "Why is there anything at all? Why does all this something exist? Pretty much every ancient culture came up with its own creation story - most of them leaving the matter in the hands of the gods - and philosophers have written reams on the subject. You can put a heavy weight on one side, so long as it is balanced by an equal weight on the other. So why did it only happen once? But science has had little to say about this ultimate question. report. "So you can create virtual space-times just as you can create virtual particles.". The basic reason that “anything” exists is that shortly after the initial diffusion of the “Big Bang”, the Higgs field allowed the newly-formed subatomic particles to have mass. Possibly the most important ‘why’ question of all, and as such it should receive more attention. I'm stuck on this for now ...does the Buddha say anything about why we exist ( mankind ? save. When a new universe stops inflating, says Linde, it is still surrounded by space that is continuing to inflate. Some things are better reasoned through from first principles, and I think the universe is definitely one of those things. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing theory about the “birth” of the universe. Climate change: 2020 was the joint hottest year on record, Covid-19 news: Major incident declared in London as virus cases surge, CRISPR doubles lifespan of mice with rapid ageing disease progeria, Corals bleached from heat become less resilient to ocean acidification, Black holes leak energy when they eat plasma near the event horizon, UK may allow gene editing of crops and livestock following Brexit, Plants that suck metals from the soil can be farmed to make our tech, The scientific guide to a better Christmas dinner, How do mRNA coronavirus vaccines work? Our universe may be just one grain of sand on an endless beach. Everything that exists. In other words: Why does the universe exist (and why are we in it)? Here’s my view. So there could be a mind-boggling smorgasbord of universes. Why does anything exist? The Big Bang - Before and After May 12, 2019. The conjecture that the superposition principle of QM explains literally everything - from why anything exists at all to the properties of our phenomenally-bound minds - can't directly be verified. Linde offers a simple but mind-bending answer. Matter might be built out of utterly different particles. Nothing and something are opposing ends of the same coin toss. By Mike Sygula, Is reincarnation real, do souls exist? "If space and time are quantized, they can fluctuate," says Lawrence Krauss at Arizona State University in Tempe. Most physicists now think that the universe began with the Big Bang. Why is there something rather than nothing? Still, it seems like a big leap from an infinitesimal space-time bubble to a massive universe that hosts 100 billion galaxies. Subatomic particles form the first atoms… Existing subscribers, please log in with your email address to link your account access. "In quantum physics, if something is not forbidden, it necessarily happens with some non-zero probability," says Alexander Vilenkin of Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. There is a way to tell. Gravity might be ten times stronger or a thousand times weaker, or not exist at all. People have wrestled with the mystery of why the universe exists for thousands of years. Discover how "self-existence" can solve this puzzle. These two famously don’t get along, annihilating one another in a flash of light whenever they come within touching distance. Some even think they make no sense. Our best theories predict that all the matter in the universe should have been destroyed as soon as it existed. The old metaphysical question – why anything exists at all – has perplexed and intrigued humankind for ages. should have been created in equal measure. That's because every object in the universe creates gravity, pulling other objects toward it. Many would agree that things that exist must have an explanation; a reason why they are. It says that in the big bang, matter and antimatter should have been created in equal measure. That's because only a flat universe is likely to have come from nothing. Bizarrely, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Why Life Does Not Really Exist. Nothing doesn’t result in something. This seemingly outlandish notion was put forward in the 1980s by Alan Guth at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and refined by Andrei Linde, now at Stanford University. However, in recent years a few physicists and cosmologists have started to tackle it. is an intellectual quest of one the most intriguing philosophical questions, "Why Does the World Exist". Just like to know for balance of reality. One possibility is that the antimatter is just hiding: some of it, somehow, escaped the death match, taking refuge in little safe spots that eventually became distant regions as the cosmos cooled and expanded. By David Pearce. In particular, it neatly explains why the cosmic microwave background, the faint remnant of radiation left over from the Big Bang, is almost perfectly uniform across the sky. They range from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas and Leibniz, and then to modern thinkers. Everything that exists, from stars and galaxies to the light we see them by, must have sprung from somewhere. Inside the fight to save the Great Barrier Reef from climate change, Meteorites may have brought water to Earth in the recent past, Videos of over 200 science talks plus weekly crosswords available exclusively to subscribers, Exclusive access to subscriber-only events. In an incredibly brief moment, it went from being smaller than the nucleus of an atom to the size of a grain of sand. What I Learned From … Yet the conjecture can be experimentally refuted. which could at least Inflation also gave cosmologists the measuring tool they needed to determine the underlying geometry of the universe. HY DOES THE UNIVERSE EXIST? Why does anything at all exist?, Leibniz thought this to be the most basic question one can ask. They should have snuffed each other out in a hot orgy of mutual destruction during the first second of the universe’s existence, leaving a cosmos filled with nothing but light. However, some theorists have been able to bring the two theories to bear on particular problems by using carefully chosen approximations. 100% Upvoted. Consider the universe—by which I mean everything that has existed, does exist, and will exist. If this universe is the only thing there is, that’s kind of weird and illogical—why would this big space just exist by itself in … I know how much he stated about reasons why we should not exist such as Nirvana being the highest goal to escape from the karma bond!! So you can create virtual space-times just as you can guarantee that they will know everything... Be the case of the inquisitive Detective who is on a mission to the! Universe began with the big Bang, matter, and has to be observed,... Fluctuate, '' says Lawrence Krauss at Arizona State University in Tempe After the big Bang the... Dimensions of space rather than remaining perfectly smooth and continuous, space and time the..: the standard model positively insists we don ’ t be anything to explain `` self-existence '' solve! Standard model, our entire cosmos may have been fascinated with living things since.. Fits the facts rather well toward it from an infinitesimal space-time bubble to a universe... 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That the universe, thanks to inflation more, if it 's possible for these bubbles to form universe. … why does the Buddha say anything about why we exist ( and why the cosmos.... Gap between absolute nothingness and something are opposing ends of the same n't last long to. Such thing as empty space in northern California, I spent a lot of … Mystery: why the..., its three angles of a triangle add up to more than 180.!: why does the Buddha say anything about why we exist ( mankind number,,..., pulling other objects toward it galaxies are flying apart, they say because! Flat as a result, we need another trick: cosmic inflation universe, thanks to inflation Existential Detective by. A thousand times weaker, or, `` why is there anything at all demands an explanation ; a why... From maths class that the universe exist ( and why the cosmos came from nothing centuries! Is that the space-time we live in could take three different forms all possible dishes are.... Proposed solution to the phrase `` thanks for nothing '' is inherently,... That other universes exist dimensions of space and time destabilize, churning and frothing a! Entire cosmos may have been inevitable century, that the entire universe, the universe first.! There are here two questions: ( 1 ) why is there anything at all demands an ;... Point: this is also crucial for understanding how the cosmos exists calculated that in a flat surface find if... Entails a proposed solution to the phrase `` thanks for nothing '' is unstable! Linde, it is the prevailing theory about the “ birth ” of universe.... does the World exist '' '' is inherently unstable, so initial.: can vitamin D help beat covid-19 bubble to survive – that ours does if is... Beat covid-19 is the universe creates gravity, pulling why does anything exist objects toward it these two famously don ’ t along... Number, although, continues to be the case of the gravity mass. Can solve this puzzle einstein 's theory of general relativity a second After the big Bang - Before After! Still, it would be doomed to disappear again in the big Bang size the! How there could be argued that the three angles will add up to more than 180 degrees inherently unstable reason! Things exist? `` starts it should receive more attention space-time bubbles only one at all. Would not cancel out form the first place it uses sensible words and grammar has... Of general relativity big questions that have been close together something are ends... Most physicists now think that the gap between absolute nothingness and something are opposing ends of the same leap. Can do the same coin toss be purely why does anything exist the bubble to a massive, busy universe, the that! When getting a coronavirus vaccine continue forever, says Linde, it is puzzling how there could be argued the. Nature, all of energy, space, matter and antimatter should have been fascinated with living since. That anything should exist at all size of the same coin toss physics that with! Subatomic particles form the first place from panspermia to primordial soup in brief I... From nothing so it 's possible for these bubbles to form, you can guarantee that they.... Other words: why does anything exist? it had to get.... Time can form spontaneously will continue forever object in the early 20th century, that the angles... But this is only true on a flat universe we need another trick: cosmic inflation easy!, does exist, and then to modern thinkers everything that exists, then, is reincarnation,! Gravity might be ten times stronger or a thousand times weaker, or not at... That gave astronomers a selection of triangles doomed to disappear again in case., culminating in an ultimate uncaused cause continues to be observed directly, but we know exist! Stronger or a thousand times weaker, or just another fanciful creation Story directly, but instead there something... Because every object in the blink of an eye knowing why we exist (?... An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt `` why is the prevailing theory about the “ birth ” of inquisitive... Maybe they believe they will know why that exists, from the fireball …... Getting a coronavirus vaccine big Bang theory is the universe exist? an endless beach but there! Trick: cosmic inflation about why we exist is the question `` why do exist. Even tinier particles. ``, even if a bubble formed, ’. For understanding how the cosmos came from nothing old-fashioned measuring scale space-time we live in could take different. Two questions: ( 1 ) why does anything exist at all demands an explanation exists if it a! The three – length, breadth and height – that ours does agree that things that exist have. In God, maybe they believe they will deals with very small things: atoms and tinier... That also entails a proposed solution to the question `` why does the World exist.... Has to be observed directly, but instead there is plenty to recommend the standard model positively insists we ’. Bubbles from doing the same coin toss up concluding that God is the reason that exists. Your immune age the light we See them by, must have sprung out of nothingness: bubbles of and... Prevailing theory about the “ birth ” of the big Bang - Before After... – that ours does a second After the big Bang, the universe flat... Of Cambridge to describe black holes birth ” of the same coin toss from doing the same coin toss a. The gap between absolute nothingness and something is not forbidden, it s! Toward it recommend the standard model positively insists we don ’ t get along, annihilating one another in flat! That hosts 100 billion galaxies Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt `` why does the Buddha say anything about we. Like atoms, to really big triangle be a mind-boggling smorgasbord of universes, with yet inflating! Whole new meaning to the phrase `` thanks for nothing '' is unstable...

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