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I kinda agree about researching the end of the Universe, but the birth of the Universe and black holes a pretty relevant to modern day science. We don't have a
by tiborsaas 2y ago
I kinda agree about researching the end of the Universe, but the birth of the Universe and black holes a pretty relevant to modern day science. We don't have a theory of quantum gravity, we have a singularity at the big-bang, etc.
Finding a theory of everything could unlock many new practical improvements. Falsifiability not only happens when you can disprove something with a physical experiment. You can't trigger another big-bang, but with a better model, you can falsify the currently accepted theory because it makes a prediction.
Thinking about the end of the universe is not that pointless though. It's tending towards philosophy, which could make people think what's our role in the world, can we at some point exist again, I think the list is long.
- mr_mitm 2y ago> I kinda agree about researching the end of the Universe, It's a fallacy to believe that people are specifically researching the end of the Universe. We research models. The standard model for example is parameterized by six numbers. You measure those six numbers, put them in the model, and the model will tell you how old the universe is and what will happen in the far future. If it turns out that different probes yield incompatible sets of values for those six numbers, for example probes from the early universe vs more current probes (e.g. the cosmic microwave background vs super novae data), then the model must be wrong. Then we might look for another model, perhaps one with seven parameters, where the additional parameter characterizes the evolution of dark energy, which assumed to be constant until now, and see if that fits better. And what do you know, that model might yield a different result for the age of the universe and its fate. It's a consequence of fundamental research, not a primary goal in itself.