War, Science, and Philosophy in a Fractured World.
The “Horrendous Space Kablooie” Theory, Art and Science Meet
I needed a break from war and politics, so for fun I have been studying the “Horrendous Space Kablooie” theory. The what? This is a science post, bear with me. I discovered that the name “Horrendous Space Kablooie” (often shortened to HSK) has actually gained some currency in the scientific world, at least informally. What is the HSK theory? Readers of Calvin and Hobbes of course already know, the “Horrendous Space Kablooie” is Calvin’s improved name for the Big Bang, the theory about the early moments of the universe.
Oddly enough the Big Bang theory was given its name by Fred Hoyle, and he meant it as a pejorative. The good Dr Hoyle was a proponent of the Steady State theory, he thought that the Big Bang theory meant the universe had a beginning, an idea the was uncomfortable with for philosophical reasons. And while the name caught on, it really wasn’t very accurate. “Horrendous Space Kablooie” actually captures its essence in a more nuanced fashion, for the Big Bang wasn’t an explosion in any normal sense of the word.
So what’s the Big Theory? Well, it’s easiest to understand if we approach how scientists arrived there. First, we have the universe, billions of galaxies as far as we can see in every direction. Does that mean space is infinite? No, that’s a common misconception, the universe is very large but it’s not infinitely large. There is some maximum distance apart that two objects can be in the same universe, some 93 billion light years is the best current guess. So that means the universe has an edge? No. If one travelled in a straight line long enough one would eventually come back to the vicinity of where one started. The best way to visualize this is to think of the universe as the surface of a sphere, if one heads in a straight line one eventually returns to where one started. from: https://united-cats.com/2009/01/26/the-horrendous-space-kablooie-theory-art-and-science-meet/
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