Math Is Fun Forum
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#1 2014-02-12 06:15:18
Why is there something instead of nothing?
Anyone knows?
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#3 2014-02-12 07:07:55
- Bob
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- Registered: 2010-06-20
- Posts: 10,627
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
hi Agnishom,
Haven't you got any exams to prepare for? 
Ok I'll have a go.
It would appear to be the inevitable consequence of the power of logic. Truth table below.
As you have asked a question we know the statement "Agnishom asks a question" is TRUE.
And a question is clearly something, so we have "Agnishom asks a question" => "There is something"
"There is something" and "There is nothing" cannot both be TRUE so the correct connective between them is EOR.
The resulting truth table shows TRUE occurs only when "Agnishom asks a question" AND "There is something"
So our existence appears to be the direct result of you asking this question. Thanks!
Bob
Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you! …………….Bob
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#4 2014-02-12 07:27:21
- anonimnystefy
- Real Member
- From: Harlan's World
- Registered: 2011-05-23
- Posts: 16,049
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Hi Bob
Correlation does not imply causation.
Hi Agnishom
It is because nothing itself cannot exist.
Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.
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#5 2014-02-12 07:37:28
- Bob
- Administrator
- Registered: 2010-06-20
- Posts: 10,627
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Correlation does not imply causation.
I know. It was a joke! 
nothing itself cannot exist.
So does that mean we must stick to Anadin? Because that would be an advert and that's against the rules. 
B
Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you! …………….Bob
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#6 2014-02-12 14:37:50
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Sadly, there exists something, so I'll have to prepare for exams.
So does that mean we must stick to Anadin?
No, I do not have an headache
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
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#7 2014-02-12 16:20:31
- bobbym
- bumpkin
- From: Bumpkinland
- Registered: 2009-04-12
- Posts: 109,606
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Nothing acts faster than Anadin
Sounds like the unconscious need to confess. Disclosure!
In mathematics, you don't understand things. You just get used to them.
If it ain't broke, fix it until it is.
Always satisfy the Prime Directive of getting the right answer above all else.
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#8 2014-02-13 14:57:23
- anonimnystefy
- Real Member
- From: Harlan's World
- Registered: 2011-05-23
- Posts: 16,049
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Stefy wrote:Correlation does not imply causation.
I know. It was a joke!
nothing itself cannot exist.
So does that mean we must stick to Anadin? Because that would be an advert and that's against the rules.
B
I know it was a joke, but it still deserves a response.
Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.
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#9 2015-11-14 21:37:44
#10 2015-11-15 01:26:02
- Bob
- Administrator
- Registered: 2010-06-20
- Posts: 10,627
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
hi Nehushtan,
I believe a friend of mine may have stumbled upon the answer. I needed help carrying something heavy and he took one end. Afterwards I thanked him profusely; he said, "It's nothing."
Bob
Children are not defined by school ...........The Fonz
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself..........Galileo Galilei
Sometimes I deliberately make mistakes, just to test you! …………….Bob
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#11 2015-12-16 09:08:11
- Relentless
- Member
- Registered: 2015-12-15
- Posts: 631
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
The question isn't: why is there something? The universe has no alternative state to an existing one.
The really hard question is: Why do things exist in the precise way that they do?
To Bob - I think your friend has given a very good definition of nothing! Namely:
Nothing is that which isn't worth worrying about.
Last edited by Relentless (2015-12-18 02:09:14)
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#12 2018-10-23 06:19:19
- Alg Num Theory
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- Registered: 2017-11-24
- Posts: 693
- Website
Re: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Q: What do you take when you have a headache?
A: Take nothing – because nothing acts faster than Anadin!
Similarly, if you want to be perfect, be nobody – because nobody is perfect!
Last edited by Alg Num Theory (2018-10-23 06:20:11)
Me, or the ugly man, whatever (3,3,6)
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