Things I used to forget before I had a place to write them down...etc.

From Et cetera

The Infinite Universe Theory follows the basic principle that the universe as a whole never did begin and never will end. Its history is a boundless perpetuity of an incalculable amount of actions, reactions and unhindered events. The same principle applies to the physical nature of the universe; it is infinitely vast in space leaving no room for boundaries of any kind. When it comes to the physical existence of the universe, space is without limits.

[edit] Fallibility in Relativist Theory

The concept of boundaries at the end of the universe is fallible beyond reason and is indicative of an idea produced by someone whose view of the truth is a relative one as opposed to focusing on absolute truth. If there are boundaries, that means people can get out of them. This doesn't hold well with the idea of infinity, of course, but it's unsurprising that someone would be drawn to that way of thinking when we are only ever exposed to objects, spaces and lives that all have limitations.

I once read a novel that applied a different example in support of a boundless universe whereby the author described the universe as "a sphere with an infinite radius." This, of course, is unfortunately entirely unfathomable by everyone in our three-dimensional world just as we are unable to comprehend a four-dimensional square. Unfortunately, accordance with the Infinite Universe Theory requires that comprehension be stretched a little beyond your typical innate sense of dialectics. Reading the two succinct basic principles of this theory is entirely believable at first glance, but there are certain conditions affixed to these principles that need to be taken into consideration, and many of them will often turn people away from this variation on the theoretical archetype.

[edit] Conditional Understanding

In order to wrap your head around the concept of infinity in any context (especially an all-encompassing one), there are certain conditions of belief that need to be taken as true in order to produce the final result. This is true amongst all existentially-focused theories and religions.

[edit] Concept

Physically, the universe is infinitely large and is an immeasurable embodiment of boundless freedom.

[edit] Conditions

• In accordance with theory, one must accept that every historical event of the past, present and feasible occurrences in the future have, are and will be happening for an infinite amount of time. (i.e. somewhere in the universe, another person exactly like you is reading this exact content at the exact same time, except the weather is different, or your hair color is different, etc.) This remains to be possibly the most incomprehensible point of the Infinite Universe Theory, but it is necessary to maintain the integrity of my idea.
• Also, this universe, even in the peak of its infinitude, is a three-dimensional universe, nothing more and nothing less. This is to say that every three-dimensional manifestation can be physically associated with anything else in the three-dimensional universe. (i.e. persons who are exactly like you from another part of the universe [where the weather is different, for example] could conceivably talk to you and associate with you if they simply had a means of getting to where you are; everything exists in the same dimension) The only barrier between such occurrences is the great distance between said entities (such as those exemplified above).

When applied to time and not just space, this theory has similar obstacles to get your head around before being able to swallow it whole. The first is the very popular belief that if something doesn't have a beginning, it doesn't exist at all. We are raised to believe that everything has to have a beginning and thus, must have an end. This is mostly because most physical objects that we are exposed to tend to have both a start and a finish. From the tip of graphite on the bottom to the pink rubber eraserhead at the top, a pencil exists. We can see that and we can prove that because we acknowledge its existence with all five of our senses, each one responding with a good stern "affirmative." Yes, this pencil exists. But we're not talking about pencils here, we're talking about the universe. We can't see the beginning of the universe, we can't see the end. If you weren't around when something began, then any assumptions you make about its size or age are purely theoretical. There are lots of theories as to how it all began, but nobody was there (a point that many would argue makes the entire debate moot), so you don't know. People know how old you are because when you were born, others were around.

[edit] The Bottom Line

So basically, the point is, if you were born and nobody else was around (yes, not even your mother; work with me on this, okay?) then nobody knows for sure how old you are several years down the road when you waltz your way into an orphanage. The universe presents a bit of a different equation however because, unlike people, we don't exactly know a whole lot about how mommy universes give birth to baby universes. Has anyone ever seen a universe be born? No, I didn't think so. Throw your scientific mumbo-jumbo at it all you want, but I don't think there's any reasonable argument out there to suggest that the universe (which, don't forget, consists of EVERYTHING) has always existed and always will exist. It's not the universe that has a beginning and end. It's everything else in the universe. Stars are born and stars die, people are born and people die. Even pencils have a beginning and end when a pack of HB's get thrown carelessly on the campfire by accident some summer evening.

Basically, the universe is not a physical object. It is, in fact, the complete opposite. It's space in which to store other physical objects. So we can't begin to apply the properties of every physical entity that we know of to the universe. Just because everything you know of has a beginning and an end is no reason to believe that the universe is the same way. Also, don't begin to think that we'll ever begin to find something remotely comparable to the universe to study and hypothesize about either. Its properties, or lack thereof, make it entirely unique and people speak about "how the universe began" as though there is such a thing, but really, empty space is not something that exists, it's something that doesn't exist. So, if you still believe that something that has no beginning and no end simply cannot exist, I'd say that works out rather well then, hm?