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Introduction

ABSTRACT: This introductory talk at the Cosmic Questions conference (presented by Joel Primack) summarized some earlier pictures of the universe and some pictures based on modern physics and cosmology.

Today cosmologists are telling each other at every conference that this is the golden age - or at least a golden age - of cosmology. It is a tremendously successful period because we are seeing the death of so many theories! Back in 1984 George Blumenthal, Sandra Faber, Martin Rees, and I published a paperG. R. Blumenthal, S. M. Faber, J. R. Primack, & M. J. Rees, Nature, 311, 517-525 (1984).in which we described the theory of “cold dark matter” and worked out two versions of it in some detail. A couple of years later Jon Holtzman, a student with Sandra Faber and me, worked out 96 different variants of the cold dark matter scenario.J. A. Holtzman, Astrophysical Journal Supplement, 71, 1-24 (1989). Now, I am proud to say, all but one of them are pretty convincingly ruled out. But the one that is left (which is closely related to one of the two in our original paper) may actually be right.See for example Joel R. Primack, "Cold Dark Matter Cosmology: Status and Open Questions", in COSMO-2000, Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Particle Physics and the Early Universe,... That is fantastic progress! 

Now as we are trying to put together a picture of the whole universe, its origin, evolution, structure, and future - that is what cosmology is all about - the question arises whether this has any broader implications. Does it matter to people as people, and not just as cosmologists (or other kinds of scientists)? I think it does, but that is for you to decide. I hope this Cosmic Questions volume helps.

What I am going to do in the rest of this paper is to try to explain cosmology, not in a technical way, but rather through stories and pictures, especially pictures. That is the way most people throughout history have experienced cosmology. Not as a series of scientific theories that are put forward as hopeful explanations to be tested against data - which is what we do as professional cosmologists - but rather as an understanding that one can grasp and visualize: a picture.

The joke about cosmology used to be that it was the only field of science in which the ratio of theory to data was infinite. But now the situation is reversed, and the ratio has gone to almost zero. Today data is flowing in so fast from new instruments that the question is whether a single one of the current theories can survive. If one theory survives the present onslaught of data, it will be revolutionary.

The advent of a new cosmology can radically change the culture of its time. In particular, the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries helped end the Middle Ages and bring about the European Enlightenment. But it also split scientific knowledge from human meaning, which was at the time largely determined by religion. How will a new picture of the universe at the turn of the 21st century affect global culture? That is one of the questions explored in this Cosmic Questions volume.

Contributed by: Joel Primack and Nancy Abrams

Topic Sets Available

AAAS Report on Stem-Cells

AstroTheology: Religious Reflections on Extraterrestrial Life Forms

Agency: Human, Robotic and Divine
Becoming Human: Brain, Mind, Emergence
Big Bang Cosmology and Theology (GHC)
Cosmic Questions Interviews

Cosmos and Creator
Creativity, Spirituality and Computing Technologies
CTNS Content Home
Darwin: A Friend to Religion?
Demystifying Information Technology
Divine Action (GHC)
Dreams and Dreaming: Neuroscientific and Religious Visions'
E. Coli at the No Free Lunchroom
Engaging Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence: An Adventure in Astro-Ethics
Evangelical Atheism: a response to Richard Dawkins
Ecology and Christian Theology
Evolution: What Should We Teach Our Children in Our Schools?
Evolution and Providence
Evolution and Creation Survey
Evolution and Theology (GHC)
Evolution, Creation, and Semiotics

The Expelled Controversy
Faith and Reason: An Introduction
Faith in the Future: Religion, Aging, and Healthcare in the 21st Century

Francisco Ayala on Evolution

From Christian Passions to Scientific Emotions
Genetic Engineering and Food

Genetics and Ethics
Genetic Technologies - the Radical Revision of Human Existence and the Natural World

Genomics, Nanotechnology and Robotics
Getting Mind out of Meat
God and Creation: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Big Bang Cosmology
God, Humanity and the Cosmos: A Textbook in Science and Religion
God the Spirit - and Natural Science
Historical Examples of the Science and Religion Debate (GHC)
History of Creationism
Intelligent Design Coming Clean

Issues for the Millennium: Cloning and Genetic Technologies
Jean Vanier of L'Arche
Nano-Technology and Nano-ethics
Natural Science and Christian Theology - A Select Bibliography
Neuroscience and the Soul
Outlines of the Science and Religion Debate (GHC)

Perspectives on Evolution

Physics and Theology
Quantum Mechanics and Theology (GHC)
Questions that Shape Our Future
Reductionism (GHC)
Reintroducing Teleology Into Science
Science and Suffering

Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action (CTNS/Vatican Series)

Space Exploration and Positive Stewardship

Stem-Cell Debate: Ethical Questions
Stem-Cell Ethics: A Theological Brief

Stem-Cell Questions
Theistic Evolution: A Christian Alternative to Atheism, Creationism, and Intelligent Design...
Theology and Science: Current Issues and Future Directions
Unscientific America: How science illiteracy threatens our future
Will ET End Religion?

Current Stats: topics: >2600, links: >300,000, video: 200 hours.