July 30th, 2006
Super misnoma
The Big Bang, or, as pessemists would have it, The Big Suck.
To those of you that have emailed me to say that the universe was actually created over a seven-day period, by some sort of deity, I have this to say…
Seven days? Even I could do that. How about ‘Instantly’, now that would be impressive. I mean, there is a coffee mug on my desk that is practically it’s own universe (complete with lifeforms) and that has only been there for four days.
Love that. Very Douglas Adams. I could almost hear the narrator from the BBC series.
Thanks, I don’t think I could get a better compliment.
And just for coincidence, I handed in my notice to my day job today. I left my boss with a card (mis-)quoting Douglas Adams. It simply says;
So long, and thanks for all the cake.
The bigbang sounds alot like some of my attempts at making fire works.
for the record, not all christians take the genesis account of creation that literally. and i’ve read that the hebrew word translated ‘day’ can also be translated ‘era’, so even if we take it literally it might have been seven eras of a few million years rather than seven 24-hour days.
sorry if any of those who emailed you were offensive. (i apologise as i’m a christian too). =)
First of all, no need to apologise for being a Christian… I have no problem with people believing in what is an essentially peaceful set of values.
But you are right, and that’s a very interesting point that the Hebrew word is flexible in translation to mean a period of time. Of course, even as a scientist, I have to admit that I wasn’t there at the start of the universe…
And those emails I do get tend to be quite angry… but the fact that they have contacted me, and I get to enter a conversation with me makes it worthwhile. I’m quite flippant, preferring to make statements for comic effect sometimes.
haha, i’m not apologising for being a christian…not at all.
i was apologising for the fact that some christians tend to be verbally abusive and offensive. after all, we’re supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ – so it’s like if my sibling offended someone, and i were saying sorry on their behalf, as a member of the family.
by the way, to my mind, it seems that the fact of the big bang actually proves the existence of God, in a way. because if the universe had a beginning, there has to be something (or someone) who caused it to begin…
the alternative would be the buddhist or hindhu worldview, in which the universe is eternal and it going through an endless cycle of death and rebirth. i can’t see how that can square with science though – for the rapidly expanding universe to collapse back into a singularity, so many physical laws would have to be broken. =)
Actually, that is the exact thing that science says. The singularity does change the laws of physics. Infact, a new(ish) theory suggests that the laws and constants we hold to be true here may not be so constant over the expanse of the universe.
There are several good books which discuss the beginning of everything in fairly simple terms. I’ve read one or two of these books and I recommend reading them. I think that if you read them with an open mind, you’ll find that they do not clash in anyway with your faith (depending on which precise church you belong to).
i’ve read that the hebrew word translated ‘day’ can also be translated ‘era’, so even if we take it literally it might have been seven eras of a few million years rather than seven 24-hour days.
I’m glad to see you point this out, too many chose to ignore these kind of facts. Despite not being of any faith myself, I prefer a well rounded an open arguement, with clear facts, rather then half truths and lies.
.-= Ben´s last blog ..In motion =-.