God did not create the universe, says Hawking

[bing!]

Click for Blasphemy™ (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/lf_nm_life/us_britain_hawking) :biggrin:

I'm enjoying a bag of chips whilst reading a constant stream of amusing comments (from both sides). :)

[WarioVsMooChicken]

Did anyone not expect Hawking to have that belief?

Also, regardless if someone agrees or disagrees with him, it's insane to see some of these comments that call him an "idiot". I swear, Yahoo and Youtube comments always make me hate the world.

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I think we as humans are 1000s of years away (if we don't blow ourselves up first) from being able to truly have an accurate picture of the beginning of the universe from a scientific perspective.

There are so many things from an astronomical and physics perspective that we just don't have a clue about.

Are we in a Universe? Is it really a Multiverse? If so do each of these Multiverses have different laws of physics? Is our Universe really a hologram?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLVjFrtq6Q

Who knows?

[dnbman]

I think we as humans are 1000s of years away (if we don't blow ourselves up first) from being able to truly have an accurate picture of the beginning of the universe from a scientific perspective.

There are so many things from an astronomical and physics perspective that we just don't have a clue about.

Are we in a Universe? Is it really a Multiverse? If so do each of these Multiverses have different laws of physics? Is our Universe really a hologram?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLVjFrtq6Q

Who knows?

I don't know if it's that far away. Consider how much we've learned over the last 150 years. We literally have the equation that describes the beginning of the universe. All we need to do is observe the Higgs particle to know that the equation works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6uKZWnJLCM

I think the question is how satisfactorily will it be answered. Some people will never be satisfied. There's only so much evidence will can put together, given that the event happened 13+ billion years ago.

[bing!]

While a dismally small percentage of the human race is working to shed light on the circumstances of the onset of our universe, the vast majority revels alongside a singular notion as the core, self-proving explanation. The exponential growth of our species' scientific grasp is at the same time both staggering and exhilarating, and the sheer number of possibilities begs one to wonder if there's an end to progress. What if humans breach the potential barrier between the speculative mutliverses, what if we manage to harness the seemingly limitless energy potential of fundamental particles, (what if the hadron collider opts to go haywire :biggrin:)... If only there were a simple means of ridding the world of ignorance and the need for instant philosophical gratification so we can blow our dimension to pieces in peace (whoa, homonym fun).

Am I hoping for another Stalin-esque figure to pave the way for the mentioned harmonious path towards destruction... maybe.

Our inquisitive nature is a curse in its own right.

bing! = a theatre for agnosticism and explicit atheism to wage battle for prestige

I wish I were dumber than I already am.

:)

[dnbman]

bing! = a theatre for agnosticism and explicit atheism to wage battle for prestige

I wish I were dumber than I already am.

:)

I'll put it to you this way: once you reach a certain point, it's all but formally acknowledging to yourself what you already know to be true.

And you certainly don't put that much pressure on yourself to determine if you should believe in Zeus.

[teej]

In a similar topic, has anyone watched Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman? They went over this kind of stuff and weren't able to prove one way or the other.

[Toocool]

Didn't expect Hawkings to think anything less. He may be a genius, but he's still pretty stupid to think that there isn't a God.

That is my personal opinion, and I am not trying to promote any kind of argument. That is simply my opinion.

[ziggy]

In a similar topic, has anyone watched Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman? They went over this kind of stuff and weren't able to prove one way or the other.

Through the Wormhole has been very good, but I'm biased because I'm a junkie for all of the Science Channel / Discovery Channel stuff.

[bing!]

I'll put it to you this way: once you reach a certain point, it's all but formally acknowledging to yourself what you already know to be true.

And you certainly don't put that much pressure on yourself to determine if you should believe in Zeus.

:)

Neither am I applying any pressure on myself over any of the trendy deities. The side that's trying to fully deny the possibility of any form of deity is in constant struggle with the more humble one, the one goin': "whoa there, horsie!".

I ain't sure if I can allow my arrogance to flourish and formally acknowledge what I already know. That, by no means, is to say that I'm leaving my 'belief' window ajar just in case... hell no ( :) ). For all intents and purposes, I'm an unbeliever coping with the fragments of what might be misconstrued as rudiments of religious belief.

In simpler terms, I'm an agnostic who wants to be as cool as atheists are. :cool:

[dnbman]

:)

Neither am I applying any pressure on myself over any of the trendy deities. The side that's trying to fully deny the possibility of any form of deity is in constant struggle with the more humble one, the one goin': "whoa there, horsie!".

I know what you mean, especially the people who popularly promote atheism. The reason why I don't think anything is wrong with them though is the fact that religion is being so heavily promoted and has a dramatic effect on world politics.

As far as being agnostic, it makes complete sense to me. However, there are any number of claims that agnostics would plainly deny. Why not go ahead and deny the possibility of an anthropomorphic god that intercedes in human affairs? (And, yeah, I know there may be a "life force," but if that's all it is, why not just call it a basic force rather than deify it?)


I ain't sure if I can allow my arrogance to flourish and formally acknowledge what I already know.

Again, it's not arrogant to say that Zeus doesn't exist.


That, by no means, is to say that I'm leaving my 'belief' window ajar just in case... hell no ( :) ). For all intents and purposes, I'm an unbeliever coping with the fragments of what might be misconstrued as rudiments of religious belief.

I definitely understand that, especially when culture is so saturated with belief.


In simpler terms, I'm an agnostic who wants to be as cool as atheists are. :cool:

These issues certain be tainted by coolness or trendiness, though, sadly, they often are. I'm actually pretty guarded about my beliefs because of this.

[CatNation]

I'm an atheist but I could see how Hawking could hate "God" for his disabilities. Bitterness as he approaches death? He used to be a man of faith IIRC

[dnbman]

I'm an atheist but I could see how Hawking could hate "God" for his disabilities. Bitterness as he approaches death? He used to be a man of faith IIRC

I'm not sure that's true. Many scientists have spoken metaphorically about God, but then state they do not believe when asked directly about faith. Hawking seems one of them.

I don't think his lack of faith has much to do with anger or his disorder.