Re: Penrose's new ideas on the big bang

In article <dr0q9v$deq$1@xxxxxxxxx>, helbig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply) writes:

> I recently saw Roger Penrose on the BBC television programme "Hard
> Talk".

> From what I could gather from the interview, his answer to the question
> of where the special state of the big bang came from is the following:
> it arises out of the end state of a "previous" universe.

> Apparently, this is a relative new idea from Penrose (it isn't mentioned
> in his magnum opus, which is just a couple of years old). My question
> is, can someone point me to a technical paper on this, if one exists?

> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4631138.stm

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/progs/06/hardtalk/penrose18jan.ram

Following up my own post here, let me add the important fact that he
mentioned that this idea is something which could be tested with LISA
(the gravitational-wave interferometer in space).

Penrose has also suggested an experiment which could test his
interpretation of quantum mechanics. (If an experiment can prefer his
interpretation, I suppose it is no longer "just" an interpretation.) At
one point he was working with Anton Zeilinger. The point is, while he
certainly swims against the mainstream (if I can be allowed to mix
metaphors for a moment), it's not just idle speculation but something
which can be tested---not just potentially, but within the next few
years.


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