Is there a reason the Big Bang would be secret?

In summary, science is a collaborative enterprise and the concept of "private science" is mostly seen in science fiction. Most fundamental research is freely shared within academic circles and even with the public through open access publishing. The idea of keeping scientific discoveries secret is rare and usually only happens when a researcher is not ready to share their findings. In general, time travel is considered impossible and the lack of public information on the creation of the universe is due to our current limitations in understanding it.
  • #1
BadgerBadger92
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Is there a reason the Big Bang would be a private science (like time travel would be). Is the creation of a universe dangerous? Would there be any reason to this?
 
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I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding about how science works. Pop culture tends to regard scientists as interchangeable with Tolkien-esque wizards, mysterious figures locked away in remote towers, isolated from humanity as they struggle to understand arcane forces. But that's not how scientists operate in reality. Science is a strongly collaborative enterprise - we advance by discussing ideas and arguing amongst ourselves. Loners don't get the cross-pollination of ideas, and they don't tend to advance so fast. So the idea of "private science" is a science fiction concept.

Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that there are (for example) intelligence agencies that know stuff about cryptography that's ahead of public knowledge. But these are in specific areas where they have built on public knowledge for specific tactical goals. I can't imagine fundamental research being done that way. And how would you keep it secret? It's a rare scientific discovery when there aren't other people almost there (see Alfred Russel Wallace, Henri Poincare, and David Hilbert, for example).

If there isn't public information on the creation of the universe, it's because we haven't figured it out yet. And time travel is likely impossible.
 
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  • #3
Is this for a science fiction story? In general, fundamental research is freely shared within academic circles. When it’s not, it’s because the researcher isn’t ready or is fearful of sharing too soon and losing control of his/her discovery.

A case in point is the discovery of the structure of DNA where Watson and Crick were fearful of Linus Pauling getting a whiff of their research and beating them to the punch. You can read more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molec...se_Nucleic_Acid#Collaborators_and_controversy
 
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  • #4
jedishrfu said:
In general, fundamental research is freely shared within academic circles.
Not only within academic circles. Today, much of research is freely available to anyone through open access publishing or preprints on servers like arXiv. Just as a random example, these are the Higgs boson discovery papers from ATLAS and CMS:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2012.08.020
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2012.08.021
Both can be freely downloaded and examined by anyone with internet access. Of course, you will likely need a certain amount of pre-knowledge to understand them, but that is another matter.
 
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Related to Is there a reason the Big Bang would be secret?

1. Is the Big Bang a secret kept by scientists?

No, the Big Bang theory is a widely accepted scientific explanation for the origin of the universe. It is not a secret kept by scientists, but rather a well-supported theory based on evidence and observations.

2. Why would the Big Bang be kept a secret?

There is no reason for scientists to keep the Big Bang a secret. In fact, scientists are constantly sharing their research and findings with the scientific community in order to further our understanding of the universe.

3. Are there any conspiracies surrounding the Big Bang?

No, there are no legitimate conspiracies surrounding the Big Bang. Some people may reject the theory due to personal beliefs or lack of understanding, but there is no evidence to suggest that scientists are intentionally hiding the truth about the Big Bang.

4. Is there any evidence to support the secrecy of the Big Bang?

No, there is no evidence to support the idea that the Big Bang is being kept a secret. In fact, there is a vast amount of evidence from various fields of science, such as cosmology, astronomy, and physics, that support the theory of the Big Bang.

5. Could there be alternative theories that are being kept secret?

Scientists are always open to new ideas and alternate theories, as long as they are supported by evidence and can be tested. The Big Bang theory has been extensively studied and tested, and at this time, it remains the most well-supported explanation for the origin of the universe.

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