December 18, 2012
Ten Questions for an End of the World
Dinner Party
- If the Universe disappears because time is going to end, where will it disappear to? Will it be to the place that it came from before time began, 13.6 billion years ago?
- Will it all disappear at once, or will it disappear into one of its many dimensions, finally proving string theory? If it disappears into a black hole hidden inside another black hole, to await the next Big Bang, does that qualify as ending?
- If God exists, will he or she cease to exist? What would that say about divine immanence?
- If God continues to exist, what kind of apology might be appropriate to those who expected better?
- If there are multiple universes, and only this universe ends, will it create a vacuum that is available for colonization by other universes?
- If it’s only time that's going to end, will matter be frozen into its last timeless moments forever? Can matter exist without time? Can consciousness exist without time?
- If time ceases to exist, but we first do whatever it takes to create a timeless moment, will some part of us be suspended in that timeless moment forever?
- If time ceases to exist, movement must also cease to exist, including the movement of particles inside an atom. Since atoms are 99.999999999% empty space, and without time the particles of an atom can no longer move, will they all glom together, doing nothing? They could not explode, since an explosion requires time.
- Since hell involves fire, and fire requires time, hell will presumably also cease to exist. Will everyone trapped in hell be instantly freed? Could heaven exist without time? Will everyone who was in hell be suddenly united with everyone in heaven? Will Dante be there to record their conversations, in a timeless kind of way?
- What’s to prepare for, if we are not going to be around to experience it?
