From: Nicholas Johns (nialjo@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Jan 25 2002 - 12:58:33 MST
[Blunderov]
This is very bad news. I cannot grasp that the universe might be finite. I
have tried to think of it as:the Universe is a set, U, with itself, u, as
the sole member. This was not a big help. I cannot withstand the idea that
there <em>must<em> be something on the other side of that boundary. In my
experience of the world that's what boundaries do - they have one other
side.
By the data you have cited, the conclusion that "outside" the universe there
is "nothing" seems unavoidable, but the fact we <i>know<i> that there
<em>is<em> something,(existence, whatever it's actual nature)seems to
preclude the possibility of there being "nothing".
[Nic]
How's about imagining that the universe is the (3 dimensional) space
covering the surface of a 4D sphere (not counting time)?
That way it doesn't have an edge - in our observable space - and yet can
still expand as fast or as slow as it likes. As an added bonus, you get to
make up a 4th spacial dimension, and decide whether or not the sphere even
needs to be defined on more that just its surface.
I love that shape.
Probably not true though as I just made it up.
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