Cosmology Is Different

Abstract

The study of Cosmology is arguably different from all of the other physical sciences, because while evidence is abundant, many aspects of the cosmological picture are inaccessible to any kind of probe or experiment. It is not quite like other branches of Physics. Instead; it is somewhat like Geology or Archaeology, where we are examining the historical record from ages past – of necessity – so find ourselves strongly limited in our predictive capacity, since after all we are only predicting we will find something that has already happened. Our inability to subject the cosmos to experiment, except in the local neighborhood of our planet, leaves some questions wide open – that would be swiftly proved or disproved in other fields. Much of what took place in the early universe remains impossible for us to observe, and of course the ultimate fate of the universe remains largely a mystery as well. While some have hailed the advent of an era of precision Cosmology, even many of the experts who brought us the current picture have doubts. Therefore; the possibility to understand the origin and fate of the universe remains quite a tantalizing possibility indeed.