I look out on the sea of shaved heads and maroon robes. The monks sit on thin mats cross-legged in the plain classroom. The air shimmers with monsoon heat. One young monk puts up his hand. “Is the big bang real?” He asks. I pause before answering. The fact that the universe evolved an early, hot and dense phase is supported by a web of observational evidence. On the other hand, the origin is projected to be smaller than a sub-atomic particle, a state of infinite temperature and density that can’t be understood in any physical theory. “I don’t know,” is my honest answer.
Who Decides what is Real?
What the Buddhist monk said to the theoretical physicist
Issue 83, 3rd December 2019
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Stanzn Jamspal 4 December 2019
Thank you Professor Chris
Very interesting and insightful. I am a student of philosophy. And I have too have a complaint that scientists, most of the time if not always, shy away from philosophical questions particularly questions regarding the origin of the universe, the space, the time, etc.
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