[Cyrien]

Originally posted by deccan:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cyrien:
Once again I am going to step in and say that we are making very big statements about EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS when we personally have observed about... less than .00001% of .000001% of .000001% (I am being generous tonight!(also assuming that it is finite and can have a percent value for it)) of everything in the Universe and then stating that we know that ALL OF THE UNIVERSE is cooling so it can't be infinite.

I don't disagree with logic of your statement, but I do disagree with the sentiment behind your statement. Certainly, all of our theories on the subject of cosmology (and much else besides) should always come attached with the caveat "so far as we can tell". But just because we cannot know for certain is no excuse for saying that we can never know and that we shouldn't speculate, build theories and try our best to extend our knowledge, imperfect as our methods are.

---

I never said we shouldn't speculate. I enjoy the speculation. The problem comes when, as I have often seen happen in other forums discussing this and other topics, people start pressing things across as facts to prove themselves when it is all just theory and speculation. IE: the number of atoms in the Universe, how old the universe is, background microwave radiation proves this or that... quite simply we don't know enough to be making any statements on these things based on what we can and can't know. All of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt when you start talking about infinite v finite universe.

Sorry if you took what I was saying the wrong way but I was simply trying to nip that in the bud, since normally as soon as people start posting cosmological data it rapidly approaches that path.

The basic problem is one you can see in every field of science. Older theories have prominence because they are the ones the scientists grew up with and their body of work is based on. If you say it might be wrong then you say that your whole body of work that you have worked on your whole life might be wrong. Most people just won't do this. You can see it historically with great resistance to new ideas and ways until overwhelming proof shows it to be truer and the old false and it can't be ignored anymore.

I wonder how much further along we could be if we as a species could simply admit to ourselves and others when something that we have worked on our whole lives might be wrong. Add up the decades of resistance you get to each new idea before it is accepted and I bet it is quite a alot.