Chairman’s Chat

The Universe and Everything

One sure-fire way of stimulating discussion within any group, small and large, is to pose the question: “where does everything come from?” Every person on planet Earth must surely have pontificated upon such a question at some time in their lives. For the religious folks, the answer is forthright; for the science-minded, the question is a particularly challenging and thought-provoking (if not a downright troublesome) one.

At the September monthly meeting, I opened the floor to an informal debate of certain not-so-basic questions in cosmology: “How large is the Universe? Is it expanding or contracting? Where are we right now within the universe? How will the universe end?”

The debate was lively and stimulating. I’m only sorry so many of you missed out on the opportunity to throw your two cents worth into the cauldron of ideas. One of the reasons I enjoy discussing cosmology is that one’s ideas cannot be proven absolutely wrong. Yes, current generally accepted evidence can be placed on the table for consideration and the initiator is then free to revise a theory or reinforce it with that new evidence. Refusal to do so will simply entrap one in a dogmatic fervour that soon fails even the most elementary of scientific tests.

We are an open-minded group of free thinkers. At times like this it is as though one is walking down a corridor of possibilities and every new idea is an open door to a new passage of exploration. 

• Maybe there hasn’t been just one big bang.
• Ours could be just an island-universe within a much grander picture.
• Where is everything RIGHT NOW? Telescopes reveal history, not current affairs at the outer-edge of the universe.
• Are we already on the outer edge?

I opened the debate with a personal view of the cosmos; I closed the debate with an altered one. This is growth. Science (and astronomy, for that matter) allows itself to be tested through open debate. When faced with a more plausible or proven alternative, embrace, mesh and mould it into you own model of the cosmos. Make it yours and make it unique. Very few will agree with your personal theory, but that’s what stimulates debate. 

Keep thinking and think big …very big!

Dave Gordon