Everyone knows the universe began with a massive expansion from a point of infinite density in an event known as the “big bang”. But as Mark Twain famously had it, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

In nearly a century since the big bang was first theorised, cosmology has developed considerably, and not just in one direction. There are now dozens of serious models of the big bang, all trying to figure out what actually happened.

Was the big bang the beginning of the universe? Of our universe? Of all universes? Did the universe spring out of a singularity? Do we have any evidence for the multiverse? Did inflation have a beginning? Why do many physicists talk about inflation as having occurred not just after the big bang, but before it?

Joining me today are Niayesh Afshordi and Phil Halper. Dr. Afshordi is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo, and Phil is a science communicator and YouTuber. Together, they have authored a book called Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins, a brilliant overview of the state of modern cosmology on these questions.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 – What Actually is the Big Bang?
8:36 – Myths About the Big Bang
13:47 – Christianity’s Reaction to the Big Bang
18:33 – The Big Bang Might Not Be the Beginning of the Universe
25:28 – The Observable Universe
34:04 – How Can We Study Something Beyond Observational Capacity?
44:14 – Inflation and the Multiverse
52:00 – Is Inflation Past-Eternal?
01:04:07 – How Can We Get the Beginning of Time at a Point in Time?
01:10:01 – Does Philosophy Say the Universe Can’t be Past-Eternal
01:22:15 – The Holographic Universe Theory
01:31:07 – Do the Laws of Physics Break Down at the Big Bang?
1:33:15 Can a Universe Come From Nothing?
01:44:24 – Is the Big Bang a Faith-Based Miracle?
01:55:49 – Where Will Our Discoveries Take Us?

What Happened Before the Big Bang? - The…

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