What if the forum was a D&D campaign?

[SuburbanFarmer]

I've never seen D&D, is there a drunken ranger? Like Doc Holliday with a longbow?

Gnome illusionist. They get up to some tricksy shit.

[heydaralon]

the big bang theory.

You have a beef against space-time singularities?

What do you prefer, Steady State? Cyclic Oscillation? Eternal Inflation?

If any of those have the same writers or actors as BBT, I am against them.


I thought cyclic Oscillation had to do with weather and climate, not origins of the universe, but I don't know jackshit about physics.

[Smitty-48]

Oscillation is an endless series of universe inducing bangs followed by crunches, each touched off by the collision of membranes or "Branes", in a higher dimensional volume called the "Bulk".

[heydaralon]

Oscillation is an endless series of universe inducing bangs followed by crunches, each touched off by the collision of membranes or "Branes", in a higher dimensional volume called the "Bulk".

hmm I could see that. Since just about all of human behavior follows that model, perhaps the universe does as well. Think about it: every pre christian civilization viewed human society in this way. They thought civilization reached a zenith, then reverted back to barbarism. Man would build large projects, that would undone by other men, economies boom and the bust, societies are open and full of liberty and then become tyrannies. On and on this cycle repeats itself endlessly. We don't believe that anymore, but I think ancient thinkers nailed it.

[Smitty-48]

Brane cosmology hinges on a variable speed of light, at the bang, light is moving at a certain speed, but it slows down over cosmic time, when it reaches a low speed in the crunch, that sets off the Branes in the Bulk again, initiating another bang.

When the Branes collide in the higher dimensional Bulk, the energy released is four dimensional space-time, but from our point of view, looking back towards it, it appears as a singularity.

[heydaralon]

Brane cosmology hinges on a variable speed of light, at the bang, light is moving at a certain speed, but it slows down over cosmic time, when it reaches a low speed in the crunch, that sets off the Branes in the Bulk again, initiating another bang.

When the Branes collide in the higher dimensional Bulk, the energy released is four dimensional space-time, but from our point of view, looking back towards it, it appears as a singularity.

Your guess is as good as mine whether that is true or not. It certainly sounds fucking awesome though! Almost poetic.

I have no good ideas how our universe started, and I doubt anyone will ever know. I never heard of that theory before you brought it up.

[Smitty-48]

Well one way or the other, higher dimensionality makes more sense than all the energy-matter in space-time occupying the same point at the same moment, it appears as a point, but it's simply a release point, the energy-matter bursting through a dimensional rift and exploding outwards as four dimensional space-time. The variable speed of light is the clock, when it slows down, that causes the Branes to collide again, in the crunch.

Crunch-bang-crunch; oscillation.

[heydaralon]

Well one way or the other, higher dimensionality makes more sense than all the energy-matter in space-time occupying the same point at the same moment, it appears as a point, but it's simply a release point, the energy-matter bursting through a dimensional rift and exploding outwards as four dimensional space-time. The variable speed of light is the clock, when it slows down, that causes the Branes to collide again, in the crunch.

Crunch-bang-crunch; oscillation.

How long till the next one?

[Smitty-48]

Well one way or the other, higher dimensionality makes more sense than all the energy-matter in space-time occupying the same point at the same moment, it appears as a point, but it's simply a release point, the energy-matter bursting through a dimensional rift and exploding outwards as four dimensional space-time. The variable speed of light is the clock, when it slows down, that causes the Branes to collide again, in the crunch.

Crunch-bang-crunch; oscillation.

How long till the next one?

I can't remember exactly, billions of years though, I wouldn't hold your breath.

[heydaralon]

Well one way or the other, higher dimensionality makes more sense than all the energy-matter in space-time occupying the same point at the same moment, it appears as a point, but it's simply a release point, the energy-matter bursting through a dimensional rift and exploding outwards as four dimensional space-time. The variable speed of light is the clock, when it slows down, that causes the Branes to collide again, in the crunch.

Crunch-bang-crunch; oscillation.

How long till the next one?

I can't remember exactly, billions of years though, I wouldn't hold your breath.

So, essentially our entire universe gets destroyed and then slowly reassembled, but into something completely unrecognizable to us over and over again? I may be understanding this wrong.