What was before the BB?

[goldglow]

Thanks.

[StringJunky]

Thanks.

Note that the operative word is 'incomplete' and not 'wrong' when talking about theories that have been superseded.

Edited April 18, 2017 by StringJunky

[goldglow]

Note that the operative word is 'incomplete' and not 'wrong' when talking about theories that have been superseded.

Could we say, then, that each theory is a piece of the same scientific jigsaw that will, we hope, fit together and lead to a complete picture,or are the theories mutually incompatible and each one is the start of a new, separate jigsaw. Or is each new theory like the next rung of a scientific ladder that is essential for the next step to be taken?

[Strange]

Could we say, then, that each theory is a piece of the same scientific jigsaw that will, we hope, fit together and lead to a complete picture,or are the theories mutually incompatible and each one is the start of a new, separate jigsaw. Or is each new theory like the next rung of a scientific ladder that is essential for the next step to be taken?

 

 

Most theories fit together in a sort of self-supporting structure.

 

For example, when we get the occasionally person claiming that "relativity is wrong" they don't realise that they don't just have to account for a few counterintuitive things like length contraction or time dilation, but they have to replace our current understanding of electromagnetism, the whole of quantum field theory, and much more.

 

On the other hand, there are some theories that do not fit together (even if they don't directly contradict one another). For example, no one currently knows how to combine quantum theory and gravity to understand the earliest part of the universe or what really happens around black holes.

 

And then every theory has a limited range of application. So Newton describes gravity as a simple force between two masses. General relativity describes it completely differently. They both give the same results in most cases, but there are areas where Newtonian gravity no longer works and you have to use GR instead.

[goldglow]

Fascinating! I imagine, then , that every theory is necessary to point the way forward in what may be a long journey to reaching a Universal certainty, if there is one we can reach. The giant has to stand on someone's shoulders too.

Edited April 19, 2017 by goldglow