Home > Nihilo Nihil Fit - More Fun With Thermodynamics

Nihilo Nihil Fit - More Fun With Thermodynamics

by Open-Publishing - Monday 23 April 2007

Religions-Beliefs Sciences

By KA

The theist’s song:

“I got plenty of nothing
And nothing is plenty for me.” Frank Sinatra, I Got Plenty O’ Nothin’

The atheist’s song:

“Nothing from nothing leaves nothing
You gotta have something to be with me
Nothing from nothing leaves nothing
You gotta have something to be with me.”

- Billy Preston, Nothing From Nothing

Here’s another flashcard - use it to your heart’s content.

I’ve run into this nonsense on the ‘Net more often than I care to - it’s simply semantical wordplay, and really, fairly ridiculous.

We constantly hear this crap about the ‘Uncaused Cause’. Or ‘How did the universe pop into being?’

Sophistry is the word that comes to mind.

The Internet abounds with amateur armchair philosophers (I count myself amongst them) - as if the ability to regurgitate some stream-of-consciousness is validation in and of itself, like for instance, this clown.

I call him a clown, because he blathers on about the ‘Uncaused Cause’, with all the tired canards of stereotypes, and a witless ignorance of science.

I watched this debate unfold, and just shook my head. It’s just too easy to debunk this.

So let’s debone the red herring, and fry it up for tonight’s dinner, shall we?

The First Law of Thermodynamics (aka the Conservation of Energy) stipulates that energy can’t be destroyed - that it only changes. So, unless there’s some scientific evidence to state otherwise, we will need to presuppose that energy is infinite in nature.

There - Herr Herring is now descaled. Now to fillet it:

As of May of last year (hat tip to Stardust for this one), apparently there was a contracting universe prior to this one.

According to some proposals, the Big Bang is a repeating cycle. Universes might expand, then shrink back to a point, then expand again. Thus the “bang” would be really more like a bounce.

So, infinite regress is back in the fold. Energy is infinite: the universe, not. Critical philosophers, rejoice!

There you go - science adheres to the complete opposite of exnihilation. Logic demands no less, and neither should we.

Newsflash: it’s the religious who claim something from nothing.

And nothing’s plenty for them.

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