The Infinite Universe
Thu, 02/12/2009 - 10:06am | 
stephanie
I always found the concept of an infinite universe mind-boggling. How could it possibly go on forever without any borders? If you travel in a straight line in outer space, would you go on and on forever, or would you end up looping back to where you started from?
What if the universe was finite? What if you got to the end and there was an invisible wall that stopped you from going past it? What would be on the other side? Nothing? And would that nothing go on forever? Or would there be another universe on the other side? If so, would that universe also end, and would it then have another universe behind it, and so on and so on...
How did this all come to be? It makes no sense whatsoever. Pondering it all will either give you a sense of awe, irony, or bewilderment.
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If you don't like having a
If you don't like having a definite answer, this is certainly not the question to ponder.
On a logical basis, even if there is a physical end to the universe, there's something else around that border. Even 'nothing' is a 'something' in this case.
But, if you throw logic out the window, this becomes an interesting psychological test. We may choose our belief in finite vs. infinite based on which gives us more comfort: having borders or every chance in the world.