The God Particle

Posted by Trixie on July 02, 1998 at 19:50:36:

In Reply to: Abiogenesis posted by rpcman on July 02, 1998 at 14:12:21:

I don't believe in a creator-being for many reasons. However, I must admit that my mind still yearns to understand "how it all began". I once thought that physics (at least as much of it as my layman brain can comprehend) would give me the answer. My favorite comedian physicist, Leon Lederman, wrote a book called The God Particle in which he proposed that we can, through computer simulations, actually reproduce the Big Bang (for lack of better terminology) up until a microsecond before the KAPPOWWIE (can't you tell I'm a layman???) I want to know WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS that contained all the matter of the universe in a point smaller than an atom (if I remember his theory correctly, it's been a while since I read it). Once we get past that point of origin (or re-origin, but I think that theory has been discarded, the Big Shrink theory, circular with the Big Bang) then evolution makes perfect sense to me. But I sure do want to know about that point... which Leon so aptly named The God Particle.

Unfortunately, I am not a scientist, and have never seriously studied it in school (I frequently kick myself for ignoring my high school science teacher who sensed a predisposition towards the field and encouraged me to pursue it). All I know about science centers mainly around physics, through layman books written for dummies like myself. I usually have to read the book twice to get the main gist, since the math totally eludes me. So, I am not experienced enough to appreciate the nuances of this debate, but I sure wait with bated breath for a believer's response.

rpcman, I've been waiting for you to pick up Robert's gauntlet ;)

and, let me take a moment to rave about your site. How in the world do you have the time to devote to it? Usually, whenever I find a link to a page that is so well done, I cry out "BOOKMARK BOOKMARK" I find out at the bottom of the page that it's yours. Well done, man.

BTW, I think that quantum physics alone should be enough to convince anyone that there IS no creator obsessed with order and reason. I love the fact that Einstein couldn't quite reconcile himself to the theory, saying "God doesn't play dice with the universe"...