2006-09-16: What's Outside the Universe?

[gautam]

Whatever exists has to have a boundary. It has to have a beginning and an end. We believe that the universe exists. But I see a strong reason for everything in the universe existing except the universe itself. The universe is just a reason for everything else to exist. It doesnt matter if it shrinks to a point it still remains boundaryless and infinite . How can we say with any authority that the present universe is not as small or big as a point. We can only find out our own truth, not 'the truth'. The truth contains us, our minds. The moment we seperate ourselves from' the truth' to search it, what we find , is bound to be illusory though it may seem to us a proven truth.

[Mr. Nobody]

I suppose I missed the chat, as always.
To me there is only one answer: Nothing is outside the universe, like nothing is outside the 2 dimensional surface of a 3 dimensional body if you live in 2 dimensions.
We live in 3 spacial dimensions and the universe exists in 4 spacial dimensions. The age of the universe is infinity as anything else would assign a purpose with beginning and end. A purpose to existence I don't see. The age of this expanding epoch of the universe can be measured and is estimated as approx. 13.7 billion years.

[Lloyd Gillespie]

Very good, Mr. Nobody. I always enjoy your well thought posts. I would just further define infinity as the un-beyond, to make matters easier. As to the purpose of existence, I would have to accept Victor Franlel's ideas. The meaning or purpose to life, is to have meaning. You seem to express much meaning, I can see no more noble a position in life than self-honesty of true meaning, even if we know its eternally radiating away. To know the meaning to things is a form of bliss...

regards,

I suppose I missed the chat, as always.
To me there is only one answer: Nothing is outside the universe, like nothing is outside the 2 dimensional surface of a 3 dimensional body if you live in 2 dimensions.
We live in 3 spacial dimensions and the universe exists in 4 spacial dimensions. The age of the universe is infinity as anything else would assign a purpose with beginning and end. A purpose to existence I don't see. The age of this expanding epoch of the universe can be measured and is estimated as approx. 13.7 billion years.

[zeroca]

When you are sitting at home and are asked, what is outside the wall, which hasn’t window, you answer: “neighbor’s garden”. You don’t see it but you know it and can directly check it by coming out and seeing it. When you are asked what is inside the electrical cable, which is covered by isolation, you can answer “metal” and you know it and can directly check it.
When you are asked is there current in this cable, you don’t need to check it directly. If you see both ends of it unconnected, then you are sure that there’s not current in it, or if the cable is the part of network, you can check it by lighting the bulb or turning of some el. device;
So briefly you can prove credibility of any event by checking it direct or indirect way. But we are deprived to check by any mean what is beyond the any furthest spatial points we can imagine, so we should guess, and it comes to two alternative answers: either something, or nothing and I don’t care much about either of them: they both are here at hand…

Regards,
zeroca.

[mkirkpatrick]

When you are sitting at home and are asked, what is outside the wall, which hasn’t window, you answer: “neighbor’s garden”. You don’t see it but you know it and can directly check it by coming out and seeing it. When you are asked what is inside the electrical cable, which is covered by isolation, you can answer “metal” and you know it and can directly check it.
When you are asked is there current in this cable, you don’t need to check it directly. If you see both ends of it unconnected, then you are sure that there’s not current in it, or if the cable is the part of network, you can check it by lighting the bulb or turning of some el. device;
So briefly you can prove credibility of any event by checking it direct or indirect way. But we are deprived to check by any mean what is beyond the any furthest spatial points we can imagine, so we should guess, and it comes to two alternative answers: either something, or nothing and I don’t care much about either of them: they both are here at hand…

Regards,
zeroca.

Merab,you have made an interesting point here,some-thing or no-thing,what about
prehaps the all-thing?

regards michael.