• Question: How do you know the universe didn't just start 5 seconds ago?

    Asked by Eloucus to Matthew, Neil, Paula, Pete, Philippa on 12 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Pete Symons

      Pete Symons answered on 12 Mar 2015:

      Hi Eloucus,

      Very thought provoking!

      With the evidence that I have I pretty sure I could make a pretty strong argument that the universe started at least 5 seconds ago, I have quite a few emails, photos, documents which have dates on them.

      I suppose you could argue that the Universe would have created them with those dates on like some infinite parallel universe theory, but I would argue ‘prove to me that it only started 5 seconds ago’ and you could stack up the arguments and see what one was the best!

    • Photo: Neil Taylor

      Neil Taylor answered on 15 Mar 2015:

      Hi Eloucus!

      Wow, this question is a thinker! I suppose this question falls into the same category as questions like “How do we know reality is real?”, “How do we know anything?”.

      I actually watched a really interesting youtube video on this topic once by a guy called Vsauce – who has a lot of videos explaining questions on maths, science and philosophy.

      It was an interesting video overall, but one of the main points I took away from it is that there’s no way to prove that the universe didn’t start 5 seconds ago, with all your memories pre-loaded in your mind.

      However, the belief that things happened based on the evidence that you see around you is way more common than the alternative – and is probably the most convenient one to life your life with!

      Hope this helps!

    • Photo: Philippa Jefferis

      Philippa Jefferis answered on 15 Mar 2015:

      Oh no! Now you’ve got me questioning my reality…however, I think there is evidence to prove otherwise. Evidence is a crucial part of science, as it helps to prove theories and gives us a better understanding of our world.

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