Find Out About the Future of Science

Science magazine writer Charles Seife has written a new book, Alpha and Omega: The Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe. According to Publishers Weekly, Charles claims, "Scientists...now know how the universe will end and are on the brink of understanding its beginning. Their findings will be among the greatest triumphs of science, even towering above the deciphering of the human genome." A brave statement! Charles is happy to answer your questions about ongoing research that is busily revealing the basic nature of life, the universe, and everything in a serious (as opposed to humorous) sense, so ask away. One question per post, please. We'll post the answers as soon as we get them beck.

Well obviously

[Timesprout]

the Universe will end with a cliff hanger to set things up for Universe II

Question:

[cybercuzco]

Since we now know how the universe will end, would it be possible to set up some sort of restaurant there?

Re:Errr..

[gantrep]

Thank you for that pointless comment. You have taken usefull energy and turned it into a slashdot comment, thereby bringing the universe closer to heat death.

We all know the real answer

[Brad1138]

God made the universe and will end it of course. Didn't you know all science is wrong unless it agrees with the Bible!

Re:Publishing hype

[valkraider]

It's at lease as good as "Scientists now know the earth is the center of the Universe" and "Scientists now know the earth is flat, and held up by 4 huge Elephants standing on tortoises." Kind of like the Theodoric of York: Medieval Barber from Saturday Night Live:

"Why, just a few years ago we would have thought your child's condition to be caused by demonic possesion. But thanks to modern medical science we now know that it is caused by a toad or small dwarf living in the boy's stomach."

Down Beck Down

[GillBates0]

We'll post the answers as soon as we...Get them Beck.

Whoa there, no need to get nasty. We'll post them questions as soon as we thinks them up. What kind of name is Beck for a dog anyway.

Willing to bet this is wrong!

[Mothra the III]

I will pay out 10 to 1 odds upon end of the universe that it ends in a different fashion they they propose. Please send me any amount of money and if I am wrong I will immediately pay out all winners upon destruction of everything.

Re:I've been doing some thinking about this lately

[gantrep]

God is a damn big hypothesis

No, She's a holy big hypothesis, thank you very much.

We need a futures market for futures.

[dpbsmith]

As we all know, market forces are omniscient and omnivident. The market suffereth long, and is kind; the market envieth not; the market vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

So, what we need is an online futures market in which cosmologists could put their money where their mouth is.

You say the universe will collapse in a big splat in 20 billion years? Fine, bet on it. 20 billion years if the universe hasn't collapsed, you'd better pay off. 20 billion years' worth of interest should make you think carefully before mouthing off!

You say there's a parallel universe nearby? OK, plunk down your money. If there is one, you win. (And your counterpart in the parallel universe, of course, loses. What point is there in parallel universes unless we can transfer money between them?)

An asteroid might slam into the Earth a year from now, destroying all human life, but if you manage to pick the exact day it happens, you could be rich!

Witness the end of science...

[Anonymous Coward]

When all those Islamic towel-heads destroy the "great Satan" that is Western culture, the fruits of prosperity will cease and the world will fall into civil decay and revert back to barbarianism.

You see, that colored race which roams the desert looking for ways to destroy us does not realize that we are the only source of progress in philosophy, science, and art. Without America and its good, wholesome Christian values, this world would have nothing. There will be no one left to drive the human race towards perfection.

Once we've been destroyed by these short-sighted individuals, humanity will slowly fall into its doom. Afterall, the arabic peoples won't stop until everyone else is destroyed, then, like animals (I don't even think they're people), they will destroy themselves.

How can a violent race like that ever spawn social progress? They're quite literally like monkeys, running around like crazy, flinging feces at each other. Without Truth (the Word of God), they've gone quite insane with the devil whispering in their ears. Unlike monkeys flinging feces at each other, they fling bombs at each other (and us).

Personally, I'm glad that a good Christian man (women really can't be Good, because they cannot be like God as they lack the proper equipment), like George Walker Bush, has the guts to stand up and say "we won't let these inferior people destroy America". Now we're taking steps to exterminate them and take their resources for the advancement of America. Good show, Bush!

Re:Sign of Impending Doom?

[Liquorman]

Perhaps. However, scientists have proven that this thread will end like all others, with off-topic rants against M$, SCO and the RIAA.

Re:Why does the rate of expansion change?

[hesiod]

> If the rate was slowing, yes. As it appears the rate is accelerating, we need something else.

The rest of the Universe realized how dangerous Earth is, and are slowly backing away.

So, uh, what caused the big bang?

[tjstork]

Like, what made the big bang happen?

God?

Oh, who made God?

SuperGod?

Who made SuperGod?

SuperDuperGod?

Who made SuperDuperGod?

Meanwhile, 500 billion light years away, another universe is big banging its way in our own universe but past the edge of our own big bang. Aliens from that universe will never see us and we will never see them, even though we are arranged in a convenient diagnonal, if viewed 20 trillion light years from above.

So, scientists know how the universe will end?

[LeoDV]

Well... how?

Re:How ultimate is the end of the universe?

[cybercuzco]

SYSTEM ERROR: Your universe has crashed, please push the reset button to resume operation. Note that all unsaved data will be lost.