And again totally agree with Bill.

For Bill S there is another simpler one of these PI.

What does PI mean.

Well at some level its a number but its not really because you can never write that number out as I said it's been calculate to 2.5 trillion places.

So is it a concept .. well yes but as per above we also need it as a number and so to get real world answers using it we have to truncate to the precision we require.

Originally Posted By: Bill S

What difference does it make whether anything came before the Big Bang?


It's self evident something came before the big bang the only real question is the universe oscillatory or did we come from outside this universe which science may possibly never be able to answer. Concept of infinite universe does not change the problem.

Originally Posted By: Bill S

What difference does it make how old the Universe is?


If it's cyclical again it's total age is probably impossible to calculate. Concept of infinity does not change the problem.


Originally Posted By: Bill S

What difference does it make if neutrinos travel a little faster than photons?


Really nothing to do with infinity, the real question with this is where it were true is it a QM effect and GR/SR still intact or do we have our first violation.

Originally Posted By: Bill S

How much of science in general, and cosmology in particular can we dispense with, simply by asserting that it makes no difference?


I have answered each of your questions above if you feel infinity definition would change my answers expalin it to me.

Originally Posted By: Bill S

Then, perhaps, we have to ask: In whose frame of reference does it make no difference?


There is no zero frame (Absolue space frame) so there are only local reference frames and hence the universe being infinite or not makes no difference to an observer. Infact if you start trying to put in an absolute reference frame you go thru the exercise I did with finiter and our spinning bucket and I can proove to you your world and forces become inconsistant.

In QM we have the same thing via Bell's Inequality no two observers see the same thing of Quantum Information. What QM is explicitly telling you is the Zero reference frame is outside of 3D space.

It is the secret to why QM and GR/SR don't clash they both actually say the same thing the Zero frame is not in our 3D space think how profound that is.

Nothing changes whether the universe is infinite or finite it's like PI it still calculates things with a circle no matter how you view it.

Last edited by Orac; 10/29/11 01:54 AM.
I believe in "Evil, Bad, Ungodly fantasy science and maths", so I am undoubtedly wrong to you.