Those other theories/ideas mentioned by Karmartia [above] think of the universe as a pulsing thing. The universe expands to a certain point, it slows, and its gravity pulls its constituent parts back together again to one point, perhaps. Then the universe explodes again and expands.
The problems with these cyclic ideas is that the universe as it is expanding should be constantly slowing down the further it expands as its energy is dissapated and gravity gains the upper hand.
However, from observation, far from the universes’s expansion slowing down, as it should, the universes expansion is in reality accelerating; and further, it is accelerating at an exponential rate.
The second problem is, I think, that the universe, as we understand it, has already passed beyond the point where its gravity *could *pull it back together.
The picture one has in ones minds eye, now, is of an ‘eternally’ expanding universe. And these things that expand always also have a point, or origin, from which they expand. As far as I know, indications are that our universe has an origin and will expand forever, or, until the end of time.
There were and still are four fundamental forces in creation, and nothing else. Matter is just our experience of some of these forces. And these forces are themselves related to each other and become themselves four aspects of one phenomenon.
Interesting ideas you raise about how all information in the universe could be contained in 2, 3, or 4 annoymous forces. e.g. does the electromagnetic force cause Love in the universe and ice on Pluto. Does the Weak Interaction cause forks in my carrots, tuning forks to vibrate prettily in my ear and my neighbours love of heavy metal.
Can four forces, which are basically one ‘electric’ phenomenon, cause anything by themselves, or give rise to anything blindly or give birth to anything ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Everyone loves good things and hates bad things. Another fundamental force is ‘good’. It appears to shape all of creation, it underlies its design, independantly; and even our inner perception of creation; we see the goodness in people, in creation, nature, beauty in plants and animals and sunsets and sunrises, in mists and fruit and plenty. The clouds and blues of the sky do not leave us cold but cheer us; the stars and distances engage us with their vastness and attractive cool beauty.
Goodness, then, seems to be an underlying force in this universe, it has really shaped both it and us. We see creation and call it good as its Creator saw what He had made and said that it was Good.
This underlying force of good has projected goodness into a 3-dimensional reality by using four, or one, fundamental ‘electric’ forces.