God Created the Universe!

[John Prytz]

Right! Now that I have your attention; now that you’re recovering from your heart attacks over the thread title, let me make clear that I do not believe that ‘GOD’ created the Universe, rather that ‘god’ created the universe – ‘god’ in this context meaning the Arthur C. Clarke context that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (or the supernatural). In other words, a ‘sufficiently advanced technology’ created our Universe. Translated, an extraterrestrial(s) did the hard yakka.

There are two possible scenarios by which this might be possible. Scenario One: This is a variation on physicist’s Lee Smolin’s idea that Black Holes can create other baby universes. Any universe that has the sort of physics that can produce Black Holes will be the sorts of universe that will be most efficient at ‘reproduction’ of new universes – a natural selection process. Darwinian selection applied to the cosmos as a whole. Now, imagine a really advanced extraterrestrial civilization that had the ability to manipulate Black Holes and thus create universes. What if our Universe was such a universe? Would we not somehow come to believe that that extraterrestrial civilization was ‘godlike’?

Scenario Two: Somewhere out there, there is this extraterrestrial Ph.D. student who is doing a doctoral thesis titled “Planet Earth and Associated Universe: A Computer Generated Simulation”. Translated, our existence is, we are nothing but, our Universe is, a computer generated simulation! Why should that idea be so strange? I mean, here on Planet Earth, there exist thousands upon thousands of computer generated software simulations packages. There are those created for training purposes – for astronauts, for pilots, or for medical doctors. There are those simulations used in scientific work, such as astronomy and cosmology – given these sets of conditions, will these (computer generated simulations) explain what we currently observe? Then of course there are simulations for fun – video games. Now, the question is, if thousands upon thousands of these simulations exist, what are the odds that we exist in a one-off really real Universe and are not part and parcel of being one of any of a thousand-plus simulated universes created by some other being(s) – extraterrestrial computer geeks perhaps? If that is the case, would we not call such a creator a ‘god’? Now if that is the case, let’s hope that he/she/it doesn’t hit the delete key! Of course if they did hit the delete key, or if your software program terminated, it might shift gears and continue on as a ‘Heaven’ software package, or a ‘Hell’ software package or a ‘spirit world’ package! One other point to note, computer simulations do not have to reflect accurately the laws of physics (as many a cartoon and video game demonstrates). So, just about anything goes, including miracles!

I hope you agree that its fun speculating and crossing over into “The Twilight Zone”! At least I hope it’s just “The Twilight Zone”!

[davo]

possibilities are endless, but the vast majority of them are wrong, just plain speculation based on the inability to clearly show it is not the case.

For instance, I know this invisible pink unicorn .. and it created EVERYTHING. It is made up of time.

Prove I am wrong.

Speculation can be fun, and in fact there is a play of mathematics that makes the second scenario you bring up 'highly likely', but it does not make them true.

The difference with believers, is that they believe a scenario is true, despite the fact it is highly unlikely.

EDIT: here is the technical paper on The Simulation Argument, quite an interesting, and fanciful, read

[Loki]

Seeing that the available evidence for any of these scenarios is precicely zero, I find it easiest to simply say they did not happen and to not entertain fantasy until some skerick of evidence arises.

There is a useful medium where many of these ideas have been explored. It's called science fiction.

[davo]

Nothing wrong with imagination

I find it fun, then again I like science fiction

[Atrax Robustus]

From your OP I can only assume that you reject the concept that we inhabit a universe contained within a jewel hanging from a cat's collar?

Why?

[Lord Blackadder]

Shit! I thought we were all in The Matrix.

Remember: there is no spoon!

[kencooke]

So instead of turtles all the way down, we have universes all the way down. What's the difference?

In other words If our universe was created in a lab by an intelligent extrauniversetrial, how did her universe come into existence?

[Dane]

Originally Posted by kencooke

So instead of turtles all the way down, we have universes all the way down. What's the difference?

In other words If our universe was created in a lab by an intelligent extrauniversetrial, how did her universe come into existence?

Maybe it's like this?



They created out universe, but someone else created their universe. Another someone created someone else's universe and we created another someone's universe.