Moviefan2k4 wrote:
Theories like this always say the universe came from nothing, but what they really mean is "nothing we can currently explain". Deep down, they know that chaos never produces order, so they keep stalling for time. I still love the quote from Aristotle: "nothing is what rocks dream about".
They have conclusively proved a little while ago that in a true vacuum quantum particles constantly come into and wink out of existence. Something from nothing has been proven within the laws of physics and has helped lead to this most recent finding.
By the way, chaos produces order quite a bit in nature. That is why the LAWS of physics we have discovered are scientific LAWS, and not scientific tendencies.
One thing many religions got right: From nothing we come, to nothing we return. Even if they seem to think that after nothing comes something; which is why I don't understand how you can have such a problem with the concept when it comes from the scientific community.
And to everyone out there that wants to understand how things actually work, has a pile of spare cash, and a has too much time on their hands:
I would highly recommend taking a Modern Physics course, but you should probably take Physics I & II, Calculus I & II, and maybe Differential Calculus first. A Radiation Science class might also be helpful. I would also recommend Quantum Physics, Electricity and Magnetism (definitely need Differential Calculus for that one), and/or maybe some physics courses on the properties of matter, properties of waves, properties of light, modern optics, heat transfer and fluid flow, chemistry and physical chemistry, and an intro to general engineering.
Or you could just go for an advanced physics degree if you throw in all the basic required classes in the arts, social sciences, english, psych, philosophy, economics, foreign language, etc.
Everything is physics.
Physicists of all flavors are in high demand at the moment, especially in the medical field. If you can churn straight through to a MS or PhD in Medical Physics and get board certified, you can pretty much name your salary. I am a non-certified Medical Physicist (so I don't make nearly as much) and I work for the federal government (being a STEM position means I make far less than my non-certified counterparts in the civilian world), but I'll still be sitting pretty once the student loans are paid off, which I might be able to do 3 years early.
Physicists are also highly sought after in many of the advanced engineering companies and university research departments. Semiconductor and superconductor engineering is a very lucrative business, and companies need huge teams of physicists to stay competitive (as do universities that make loads of cash off of their patenting of research). Not to mention all of the GPS companies trying to jump ahead of each other (although for that you would probably want to be highly specialized in the General and Special Theories of Relativity).
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"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently" -Nietzsche