If the background radiation was a prediction of Big Bang theory, then I might have been convinced by this experimental evidence, but in fact the background radiation was discovered by accident. Only afterwards did the proponents of Big Bang theory retrofit it as a prediction of their model.
Not true; Alpher & Gamow predicted the radiation, although they were off by a few kelvins.
there is no particular reason to assume that if the stars are moving away from each other right now, then they must always have done so. They could be expanding and contracting in a sort of sine wave, or something more complicated.
True, but this lacks parsimony, & the mechanism by which the “sine wave” (or whatever) could be produced is unknown. The universe is expanding now, implying some force behind the expansion. Gravity is attractive only. Celestial objects almost all have net electric charge as close to 0 as makes no odds, so they do not repel each other. The strong nuclear force is always attractive too. You see what I mean? What could possibly cause the outward oscillation, if not extreme density? It’s not like when stars come close to each other they suddenly feel a repulsion.
I don’t see how you can make sense of this without the Big Bang, except by positing unknown physical forces or something.
Very interesting post though. You seem curious; I’d recommend Jonathan Allday’s book “Quarks, Leptons & the Big Bang” on this subject. It’s reasonably technical, given that it’s not a textbook.
Thanks! I had only heard about the accidental discovery by two Bell employees of an excess measurement which they could not explain, but now that you mention that it was in fact predicted, it’s totally reasonable that the Bell employees simply did not know about the scientific prediction at the moment of their measurement. I should have read Wikipedia.
The probability of predicting something as strange as the background radiation given that the theory on which the prediction is based is fundamentally flawed seems rather low. Accordingly, I should update my belief in the Big Bang substantially. But actually updating on evidence is hard, so I don’t feel convinced yet, even though I know I should. For this reason, I will read the book you recommended, in the hope that its contents will manage to shift my unofficial beliefs too. Thanks again!
Not true; Alpher & Gamow predicted the radiation, although they were off by a few kelvins.
True, but this lacks parsimony, & the mechanism by which the “sine wave” (or whatever) could be produced is unknown. The universe is expanding now, implying some force behind the expansion. Gravity is attractive only. Celestial objects almost all have net electric charge as close to 0 as makes no odds, so they do not repel each other. The strong nuclear force is always attractive too. You see what I mean? What could possibly cause the outward oscillation, if not extreme density? It’s not like when stars come close to each other they suddenly feel a repulsion.
I don’t see how you can make sense of this without the Big Bang, except by positing unknown physical forces or something.
Very interesting post though. You seem curious; I’d recommend Jonathan Allday’s book “Quarks, Leptons & the Big Bang” on this subject. It’s reasonably technical, given that it’s not a textbook.
Thanks! I had only heard about the accidental discovery by two Bell employees of an excess measurement which they could not explain, but now that you mention that it was in fact predicted, it’s totally reasonable that the Bell employees simply did not know about the scientific prediction at the moment of their measurement. I should have read Wikipedia.
The probability of predicting something as strange as the background radiation given that the theory on which the prediction is based is fundamentally flawed seems rather low. Accordingly, I should update my belief in the Big Bang substantially. But actually updating on evidence is hard, so I don’t feel convinced yet, even though I know I should. For this reason, I will read the book you recommended, in the hope that its contents will manage to shift my unofficial beliefs too. Thanks again!