Evidence of Big Bang Discovered!

[cbayer]

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/brookwilenskylanford/7705/evidence_of_big_bang_discovered_/

Brook Wilensky-Lanford
March 19, 2014 4:41pm

As a writer permanently skeptical of scientific reports that appear to prove or disprove an article of religious faith, I want to take this opportunity to glory in science for science’s sake.

As I hope you’ve heard, this week Harvard scientists announced they had found evidence of a particular kind of gravitational wave long associated with the moments almost immediately after the creation of the universe. That’s right, there’s a picture of the Big Bang.

I say I hope you’ve heard about this because I am surprised at how small a bang, forgive me, this story has made in the non-science press, at least not yet. Religion News Service noticed the discovery’s implications for the quickness of the origins of the universe. But I’ve seen little else about the human implications of this new snapshot of our human origins. Perhaps people are wary of overhyping, or not understanding the science. Fortunately as a religion writer I am subject to neither restriction. And when you see this video of the information being communicated to the theorist that posited its existence, you won’t be either.

In a Carl Sagan meets Ed McMahon moment, Dr. Andrei Dmitriyevich Linde is greeted by a surprise knock at his door that will change his life. Only instead of a giant check, it’s Assistant Professor Chao-Lin Ku announcing the numerical readings of the BICEP telescope at the South Pole that took the Big Bang relevant data. Dr. Linde’s eyes get big, they calmly discuss the data then bust open a bottle of wine. Just stop and watch this thing, I beg you. I’ll wait.

A little more at link

[EvilAL]

1. Video was cool

I like how he said 'IF' this is true and then went into about how he thinks he could be tricked and stuff..
Scientists like to make sure.

[cbayer]

2. I loved the video.

I have moved into a place where I can stream and this was the first one I got to. It was wonderful.

[EvilAL]

3. I thought the

lady was gonna cry, then he makes him say it 2 more times.

[cbayer]

4. Her expression was priceless.

She got it immediately, but he just looked stunned.

I didn't understand most of what they were talking about, but the emotions came through loud and clear.

[Lint Head]

5. I realize the missing plane is a human "here and now" story but this news is even more

"here and now". If the Big Bang had never happened there would be no people, missing planes or anything else.
This has so many implications to society and around the world that it deserves more than a passing mention on a cable news show.
Man kind's priorities blind us to the point that one day our very existence will be blind sided.

[cbayer]

6. I know and the comparison in news coverage is pretty stunning.

I'm about to listen to a show on NPR about this, but I've heard very little about it up until now.

Missing planes - sexy! Evidence supporting the Big Bang - not.

[mindwalker_i]

9. That is unfortunate

Inflation is important because it shows that, possibly, the natural state of "space" is to be inflationary - space expands rapidly, far faster than light. Our universe, then, is a spot where inflation stopped, allowing all the energy of inflation to coalesce as matter and more importantly, in a space that wasn't expanding so fast that we can see the results. This may be happening a lot, with other pocket universes popping into existence constantly, all moving away from us because the intervening space is expanding.

That's cool! On the one hand, it shows how insignificant we and our planet are in the face of such incredible gobs of space. On the other hand, it's amazing that we have intelligence (all jokes aside) and can understand our place within this far, far beyond huge universe.

[cbayer]

10. You obviously understand a lot more about this than I do.

But what I do understand I find very cool.

I heard a piece on the radio today that said this removes an important argument from the creationists.

And that, of course, is a very good thing.

[mindwalker_i]

11. It's got their undergarments in a gordian knot

But there's plenty of evidence against creationism and has been for a long time. Unfortunately faith is a persistent phenomena even in the face of overwhelming contradictory information. Eventually, God's place will just get pushed back a little further.

I've been reading a lot about this stuff since I got into quantum mechanics and entanglement. It caused me to wonder, deeply, at the weird aspects of how the universe works, leading to interesting ideas such as that the universe could be mathematics - not just described my math, but to BE math. The implication being that other mathematical structures might exist as a sort of multiverse.

[cbayer]

12. Agree that there is already enough evidence, but every

argument we can defeat is one more strike.

Now as to the universe being math, I am intrigued but feel totally over my head.

Much as I love most science and I adore math, I completely fell apart when it came to physics. Something about the combination of theoretical concepts with more concrete events just threw me.

Maybe I should try again.

[Gothmog]

7. That is a great video

The look on the scientist's face and the face of his wife was great

[cbayer]

8. Some have claimed that it is staged, but I just hear the deliverer

of the news interviewed and he says it was not staged at all.

[Gothmog]

13. I have watched the video a couple of times

I do not think that it was staged