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#257 – Brian Keating: Cosmology, Astrophysics, Aliens & Losing the Nobel Prize
Lex Fridman Podcast
The Big Bang Theory
Many alternatives to the Big Bang theory have been explored, including the singularity, quantum cosmology, and models featuring cycles. Inflation is considered the dominant paradigm of cosmogenesis and is seen as the spark that ignited the hot Big Bang. However, it does not address the initial conditions of the universe. Understanding the initial conditions is crucial for determining the quantitative physical properties of the universe before the inflationary epoch. Just as knowing the initial conditions of a pendulum is necessary to predict its behavior, understanding the initial conditions of the universe is essential for comprehending its evolution. The inflationary epoch provides explanations for post-inflationary universe evolution, but it does not explain how inflation itself occurred. Some alternative theories include the conformal cyclic cosmology and the quasi steady-state universe, which was eventually disproven by evidence of the expanding universe. Therefore, while the Big Bang theory explains the evolution of the universe after the initial moment, it does not provide answers about the first moment of time.
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