Sir Roger brings us more

[Nephew Twiddleton]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11837869

Evidence of events that happened before the Big Bang can be seen in the glow of microwave radiation that fills the Universe, scientists have asserted.

Renowned cosmologist Roger Penrose said that analysis of this cosmic microwave background showed echoes of previous Big Bang-like events.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I never said any of that shit. 

[Jasper]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

[Cain]

I like the cyclical theory of the Universe, it helps to "make sense" of the incredibly mind-bending question of "what was there before the Big Bang" but it seems to have little in the way of evidence going for it.

In particular, Penrose's findings were disputed here.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

Well, something had to exist before, right? How did that pre-bang singularity come into being and why did it suddenly expand if it was perfectly happy being a dot for an eternity before?

That said, everyone has trouble with it. People discover things that they understand but still boggle their minds.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I like the cyclical theory of the Universe, it helps to "make sense" of the incredibly mind-bending question of "what was there before the Big Bang" but it seems to have little in the way of evidence going for it.

In particular, Penrose's findings were disputed here.

It's a start though to figuring it out, as, like the counter argument states, there are other things that would have to be answered. So far I'm sticking with ekpyrotic since its a satisfactory enough explanation for my purposes.

[The Johnny]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

LRN2BIBLENOOB

[The Johnny]

or alternatevely, India, Egypt, Nietzsche and the Merry-go-round Universe (which i consider a good band name, coincidentally)

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

LRN2BIBLENOOB

God's whut done it. He sed Let thur be laht and thur wuz laht, an' he done saw thet it were good.

[Jasper]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

Well, something had to exist before, right? How did that pre-bang singularity come into being and why did it suddenly expand if it was perfectly happy being a dot for an eternity before?

That said, everyone has trouble with it. People discover things that they understand but still boggle their minds.

The problem is that asking what happened "before" there was time itself is a nonsense question.  Hawking has said as much, and I try to take what he says seriously, out of all theoretical physicists.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

Well, something had to exist before, right? How did that pre-bang singularity come into being and why did it suddenly expand if it was perfectly happy being a dot for an eternity before?

That said, everyone has trouble with it. People discover things that they understand but still boggle their minds.

The problem is that asking what happened "before" there was time itself is a nonsense question.  Hawking has said as much, and I try to take what he says seriously, out of all theoretical physicists.

Doesn't have to rely on our perception of time though, and at any rate the average human mind will resist such a thought anyway as not making sense. Time was meaningless at the moment before the Big Bang occured, but that doesn't mean that time didn't exist.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

Well, something had to exist before, right? How did that pre-bang singularity come into being and why did it suddenly expand if it was perfectly happy being a dot for an eternity before?

That said, everyone has trouble with it. People discover things that they understand but still boggle their minds.

The problem is that asking what happened "before" there was time itself is a nonsense question.  Hawking has said as much, and I try to take what he says seriously, out of all theoretical physicists.

Doesn't have to rely on our perception of time though, and at any rate the average human mind will resist such a thought anyway as not making sense. Time was meaningless at the moment before the Big Bang occured, but that doesn't mean that time didn't exist.

Sure it does.  If entropy isn't occurring, neither is time.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Student: WHY IS THERE SOMETHING INSTEAD OF NOTHING?
Teacher: There isn't!

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Dammit, now my head hurts. 

[Jasper]

I have trouble with "before the big bang".  Anyone care to educate me?

Well, something had to exist before, right? How did that pre-bang singularity come into being and why did it suddenly expand if it was perfectly happy being a dot for an eternity before?

That said, everyone has trouble with it. People discover things that they understand but still boggle their minds.

The problem is that asking what happened "before" there was time itself is a nonsense question.  Hawking has said as much, and I try to take what he says seriously, out of all theoretical physicists.

Doesn't have to rely on our perception of time though, and at any rate the average human mind will resist such a thought anyway as not making sense. Time was meaningless at the moment before the Big Bang occured, but that doesn't mean that time didn't exist.

I'm pretty sure they have evidence that time literally was not taking place.  It's not a matter of perceiving time, it's a matter of things not happening in a temporally definable sequence.