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What is the multiverse, and what is its significance? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction The “multiverse” is a term for the totality of physical reality, extending beyond the observable universe to a larger realm that encompasses other regions. It is curious that the term “multiverse” was not actually invented by modern physicists, astronomers Continue reading What is the multiverse, and what is its significance? What is the inflationary theory of cosmology? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction The “big bang” is a name given to the origin event of our universe, which scientists now date at roughly 13.8 billion years ago, according to the latest data released by the Planck project [Cho2013]. The big bang cosmology originally grew Continue reading What is the inflationary theory of cosmology? Is the universe fine-tuned for intelligent life? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction Is the universe fine-tuned for intelligent life? Many researchers in a variety of disciplines, ranging from astrobiology to cosmology and physics, have wondered why the laws of physics, the masses of fundamental particles and other facts of nature appear to be Continue reading Is the universe fine-tuned for intelligent life? Where are the extraterrestrial civilizations? (Fermi’s paradox) Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction In 1950, while having lunch with colleagues Edward Teller and Herbert York, who were chatting about a recent cartoon in the New Yorker depicting aliens, physicist Enrico Fermi suddenly blurted out, “Where is everybody?,” a question now known as Fermi’s paradox. Continue reading Where are the extraterrestrial civilizations? (Fermi’s paradox) How are distances to the stars and galaxies calculated? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction Many of us, while still in grade school, learned about the staggering distances to planets, stars and galaxies. The sun is approximately 150 million km or 93 million miles away, a distance that is known as the “astronomical unit” Continue reading How are distances to the stars and galaxies calculated? How solid is the evidence for the big bang? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction The “big bang” is a name given to the origin event of our universe, which scientists now date at roughly 13.8 billion years ago, according to the latest data released by the Planck project [Cho2013]. The term was actually Continue reading How solid is the evidence for the big bang? What is the anthropic principle of cosmology? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Definition of the anthropic principle The term “anthropic principle” was first introduced into the scientific literature in 1974 by Brandon Carter [Carter1974, pg. 291]. In discussing the “large number” coincidences then evident in physics and cosmology, Carter used the term to refer Continue reading What is the anthropic principle of cosmology? Is scientific progress real? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Denials of scientific progress from the right and the left The fact that scientific research has made immense progress over the past years, decades and centuries is taken for granted among professional scientists and most of the lay public as well. But there are others, Continue reading Is scientific progress real? How has the idea of progress shaped modern society? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 The idea of progress in Judeo-Christian thought Robert Nisbet defines the “idea of progress” as the notion that mankind has advanced in the past, from barbarism and ignorance, is now advancing, and will continue to advance through the foreseeable future Continue reading How has the idea of progress shaped modern society? Is modern science socially constructed and forever tentative? Updated 7 August 2023 (c) 2023 Introduction Writers from the discipline known variously as “postmodern science studies” or “sociology of scientific knowledge” are often cited in discussions of science, philosophy and religion. Some of these writers, notably Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, have had significant impact on Continue reading Is modern science socially constructed and forever tentative? |
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