Hi, Dick.

Thanks for your response. Here's what I think of it: :)

"If the Universe is defined to be everything then the question is without meaning as there is nothing outside the universe by definition."

Okay. I'll phrase my question differently so it can't be dodged: Our observable universe: this dimension, everything created by the Big Bang. Did it require someone to push the big red button labled "Big Bang", as Alex likes to say, or can the entire process be self-starting and self-sustaining?

"The fact that you ask this question implies that you are implicitly assuming some mental model of the universe is valid (in this case, I guess that would be Alex’s model, as, if it were your model, you would know the answer). You have to decide the answer to this question yourself! "

I work with what I've got. The "I don't know" answer is certainly the most honest and most accurate, and we should all use it. The only problem is I often sense a defeatest attitude from you: "We can't ever truly accept any models of reality, so why try?" If this isn't the case, I apologize, but it's what I sense. And while it is true that reality does and will always ellude us, getting closer is worth it. So my question was not pertaining to a true model of reality so much as the most accurate and mathematically valid one, as far as can currently be told.

• More on rational thought! - doctordick - September 10, 2001 - 16:39 UTC
  • The problem is, I don't see an alternative - stormcrow - September 10, 2001 - 18:09 UTC
    • Thanks for not being offended! - doctordick - September 10, 2001 - 19:14 UTC
      • By the way... - stormcrow - September 11, 2001 - 00:01 UTC
        • http://sites.netscape.net/doctordicks - pmartin - September 11, 2001 - 00:06 UTC