The Possibilities of the Universe and Life
Light travels at a speed of 299,792.458 kilometres per second. This number has been scientifically determined using stellar aberration, electromagnetic constants, cavity resonators, lasers, and radio interferometers. We are so certain that light travels exactly 299,792.458 kilometres every second. But why? Why does light travel at this speed and not 400,000 km/s, or 200,000 km/s?
The short answer is “we don’t know”. Science lets us make statements that represent our observed reality. Asking why the world operates according to certain regularities leads us to the possible limits to where science can take us and the unanswered questions about the universe. But surely there are possibilities — answers that can attempt to explain why the universe works the way it does. Here is my attempt to explain astrophysics, philosophy, psychology, computer-science, and mathematics, along with their important roles in understanding the universe. These three possibilities are the most distinctive in my mind to explain our reality, but keep in mind that we might not ever know the truth.
1. The Universe is Reality
In 1929, Edwin Hubble published a velocity-distance relation that used the Relativistic Doppler Effect to determine the universe is expanding. If the universe is increasing in size, it must have been very small at one point in time. This lead science towards “The Big Bang Theory” — the universe inflated into existence from a single point either smaller than a single atom, or from two universes colliding together to form a new one. Regardless, this produced an immense amount of energy, producing stars which produced solar nebulae which created our solar system, the Earth, and life as we know it.
The Big Bang Theory was one of the most important scientific theories that answered the question “how and when did the universe begin?”. But answering this one question led to many more questions, which can not and may not ever be answered. Some of the most common scientific and philosophical questions to ponder and their possible answers I laid out below.
How can something (the universe) be created from nothing?
If you calculate the total matter of the universe, it is positive. If you calculate the total energy of the universe, it is negative (due to gravity). When you add the two together you get zero. It, therefore, takes no energy to create a universe. If you add all of the positive charges in the universe with all of the negative charges in the universe, you also get zero. If you then add all of the spins of all the galaxies in the universe, you get zero.
“The universe has zero spin, zero charge, and zero matter energy content. In other words, the universe is for free.”
Who created the universe?
An explosion from a single point with infinite mass initiated the universe. We aren’t special, but merely a part of the universe that has no meaning but cosmic history. This answer can also be provided with religion.
Why are we here?
We are scientifically connected to the universe. Our bodies are composed of materials that were once stars. We aren’t in the universe, we are part of the universe.
What happens after life?
- Religion can answer this question for us — reincarnation, heaven, hell, spirit worlds, and other beliefs.
- Nothing. The same way you didn’t exist before you were born is the same way you won’t exist when you die.
Is there life beyond Earth?
If life on Earth could originate from chemistry and evolve into complex organized organisms then why can’t the same process occur on another planet?
All of these questions have no definitive or proven answer; as we continue to explore, we find more questions to ask. Exploring the possibilities further reinforces our beliefs about the universe.
2. The Universe is a simulation
It’s not as crazy as it sounds. The universe behaves mathematically and is broken up into pieces such as subatomic particles similar to a pixelated video game.
“Even things that we think of as continuous — time, energy, space, volume — all have a finite limit to their size. If that’s the case, then our universe is both computable and finite. Those properties allow the universe to be simulated.”
-Richard John Terrile, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also claims it is an extraordinarily unlikely circumstance if we are not living in a simulation.
Twenty years ago simple arcade games existed, while today we have computer generated graphics that are very realistic. If this exponential rate of technological improvement continues, at some point in the future video games will be indistinguishable from reality.
We already have the power to create a world inside a computer, fast-forward into the future our power to do so will only increase. We could create a world with characters who have free will, a world with its own laws of physics, biology, and chemistry. Characters in this world could simulate another world, and that world could simulate another, and so on. From the perspective of statistics, the chances that we are living in one of the simulated worlds is very high.
The simulation theory explains some components of the universe, but also poses the same questions from earlier. Although these questions have possible answers, we can never find out the truth surrounding our reality. Comprehending the nature of the simulation would be equivalent to a blind person understanding what a rainbow looks like — it simply isn’t possible.
Who created the (simulated) universe?
Possibly another human to simulate ancestors or possible events and their outcomes.
Why are we in the simulation?
The purpose is not definitive. Maybe a kid was bored and created the universe purely for personal entertainment.
What happens when we die (after the simulation)?
It depends on how the simulation was programmed. The programmer could have decided that nothing will happen after our lives, or they could have decided something else. We simply won’t find out until it’s too late.
3. It’s Just You
Wherever you are reading this article, think about objects that you are familiar with but aren’t currently observing. Object permanence is the knowledge that you know something exists without directly observing it. But how can you be certain that these objects actually exist when you aren’t observing them? Is there any way to prove that anyone you talk to on a daily basis actually exists? Their existence can only be proven in your own subjective reality, but cannot be proven in an objective reality. This concept is known as metaphysical solipsism — the idea that nothing exists externally to one’s mind.
If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound? If we define sound as the compressions and rarefactions in the air resulting from the tree impacting the ground the answer is in the affirmative. However, sound has a human component involved. Philosophers argue that sound, colour, taste, smell, and touch are all qualities that exist only in our minds.
“We have no basis for our common-sense assumption that these qualities reflect or represent reality as it really is. So, if we interpret the word ‘sound’ to mean a human experience rather than a physical phenomenon, then when there is nobody around there is a sense in which the falling tree makes no sound at all.”
The idea of metaphysical solipsism is one that some find depressing, but it is still a real possibility.
Uncertainty
Philosophy, computer-science, astrophysics and mathematics can only take us humans so far in our understanding of the complex universe we live in. Maybe there is a limit to what humans can comprehend as we explore more of the unanswered phenomenon of the universe.
Education, exercise, movies, parties, vacations, food, and sleep — living life. While all of this stuff keeps us busy, we can’t help but pause and wonder about life, the universe, and our role in it. But at the end of the day, your life is special and subjectively unique to you. Love, work, entertainment, religion, happiness — whatever your purpose may be, live it.
