vexedvixen

First let me say that I did not choose my words carefully. I am not a scientist, nor do I have any formal education that would give me the framework I need to clearly communicate my thoughts. I am simply a person who has been obsessed with all of these marvelous areas of study. As a young girl in the 70's, my favorite past time was watching Nova and Cosmos. At 18 I began a decade long subscription to Scientific American. At 20, I met Stephen Hawking after attending one of his lectures. It is a lonely feeling to be so passionate about such things and to never find other people who even find it remotely interesting. It is also difficult in that due to many circumstances, I was not able to get the education and genuine knowledge needed to fully understand these subjects and discuss them with people who do. Whew! That being said, I just found this forum today and my excitement got the best of me. I will be more careful from now on. I remember reading about Steinhardt and Turok quite some time ago and the piece that stuck with me was the Brane collisions that explained the origin of the bang/bounce idea and how it was able to account for dark energy and the acceleration of the expanding universe. I was trying to say that they would be able to come up with a calculation and thereby be able to predict when the next collision would happen. Sorry I came across like a jerk.

If that were true, then wouldn't a calculation be able to accurately predict the next collision/big bang and render the doomsday point moot? Although, I have no letters beside my name, I was under the impression that Brane theory (for simplicity sake) is an explanation of the origin of the big bang and the notion that bangs are happening all over the place at all points in time. I am curious, what is the thread that ties String Theory, Brane Theory and M-Theory together? (pardon the pun) I have found my Nirvana in these forums and cannot read enough. If I cannot be a fly on the wall at the Perimeter Institute, than I shall be one here!

I just happened upon this discussion and find it fascinating. I have had similar experiences my whole life. I recall telling my 2nd grade teacher that I could see "Atoms" as a way of explaining what I was seeing. She did not react well. I told my mother the same thing and she took me to the doctor to make sure my vision was normal. I remember getting the feeling that I should stop telling people what I was seeing, as they had no idea what I was talking about. It has persisted all of these years. In most conditions, I can "unfocus" my gaze and see the tiny orbs of light that flash and change color. It is most pronounced in natural light, however I can see them under most conditions. In the last few years, I have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis which directly affects the brain and spinal cord and optic nerve. My damage is mostly limited to the spinal cord with minimal lesions on the brain and no significant impairment of the optic nerve. I have had Migraines on a sporadic basis as well. During some migraines, I have experienced an aura preceding it. I have also had optic migraine where I experienced a Scintillating Scotoma (wild experience). With all that being said, none of those easily explained phenomena are an accurate description of what I've been seeing since childhood. I have found something that is closer to my experience. Please read the wiki article here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphene