WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT
THE UNIVERSE ITSELF AND ITS
ORIGINS, OKAY?
SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE SAID THAT
THE UNIVERSE MAY HAVE COME
ABOUT NATURALISTICALLY.
BUT YET, THE MECHANISMS FOR
THIS NATURAL ORIGIN OF THE
UNIVERSE ARE VERY VAGUE, AREN'T
THEY?
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH.
YEAH, AND SO, ONE IMPORTANT
POINT TO MAKE EARLY ON
IS THE-- YEAH, THE
THEORY'S POPULARLY KNOWN AS
"THE BIG BANG."
>> DAVID: MM-HMM...
>> DR.
HOUTS: OR, ONE OF THE
MORE POPULAR ONES, NOW.
AND, IT IN ITSELF REQUIRES A
SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN.
>> DAVID: AH...
>> DR.
HOUTS: AND SO, EVEN
THOUGH IT MIGHT BE CLOAKED IN,
YOU KNOW, FANCY-SOUNDING
TERMINOLOGY, IT'S ALWAYS AN
APPEAL TO A FALSE GOD, BE IT
STARTED A SINGULARITY OR
SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSE,
THERE'S THIS MULTIVERSE
GENERATOR.
OR, DEPENDING ON WHICH PART, OF
WHICH VERSION OF THE THEORY
PEOPLE GO WITH, THEY ALWAYS
APPEAL TO THE SUPERNATURAL.
SO, I WANNA, RIGHT UP FRONT,
STATE THAT THERE IS NO
NATURALISTIC THEORY FOR THE
ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE, UH,
BECAUSE IT REQUIRES A
SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN.
OF COURSE--
>> DAVID: SO, WE'RE NOT GOING
WITH OUR KNOWN LAWS
AND PHYSICS.
WE'RE HAVING TO APPEAL
TO A SUPERNATURAL POWER.
>> DR.
HOUTS: RIGHT, RIGHT.
BECAUSE THEY'LL SAY: WELL, THE
LAWS OF PHYSICS DIDN'T, YOU
KNOW, EXIST BEFORE THE
UNIVERSE EXIS--
TIME DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE
IT EVOLVED.
BUT THAT'S AN APPEAL TO
THE SUPERNATURAL.
>> DAVID: YEAH!
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH, WELL, IT
KINDS OF REMINDS ME, YOU KNOW,
THE QUESTION WHEN, YOU KNOW,
GENESIS 1:1 SAYS, "IN THE
BEGINNING, GOD CREATED THE
HEAVENS AND THE EARTH,"
AND PEOPLE SAY: OKAY, WELL,
THEN WHO CREATED GOD?
>> DAVID: UH-HUUUUUUH.
>> DR.
HOUTS: IF GOD CREATED
THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, THEN
WHO CREATED GOD?
BUT THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT.
WHEN IT SAYS "IN THE
BEGINNING," THAT MEANS GOD
CREATED TIME, ALSO.
>> DAVID: CREATED TIME.
>> DR.
HOUTS: BECAUSE GOD
CREATED TIME, HE HAS TO BE
OUTSIDE OF TIME.
AND ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF TIME,
BY DEFINITION, CAN'T
BE CREATED.
IT CAN'T HAVE A BEGINNING, UM,
BECAUSE IT'S OUTSIDE THE
DIMENSION OF TIME.
AND SO, FIRST VERSE OF THE
BIBLE ADDRESSES THAT PROBLEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, GETTIN' PEOPLE
THAT DON'T WANNA PUT THEIR
FAITH IN THE BIBLE, THEY TRY TO
TAP DANCE AROUND THE ISSUE OR
THEY JUST MAKE THINGS UP
OR TRY TO SOUND TECHNICAL.
BUT IT ALWAYS APPEALS TO
A...SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN.
>> DAVID: AND YET, THEY CALL
IT SCIENCE.
AND THEY SAY THAT THERE'S THIS
ABUNDANCE OF EVIDENCE FOR THE
BIG BANG THEORY.
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH.
AT BEST IT'S RELIGION.
AND IT'S ALMOST TO THE POINT,
NOW, I WOULD ALMOST CALL IT,
ALSO, FAKE SCIENCE.
>> DAVID: WOW.
>> DR.
HOUTS: SOME OF THE
REASONING BEHIND THAT: YOU
KNOW, RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE TO
MAKE UP ABOUT 96 PERCENT OF THE
UNIVERSE FROM THE BIG BANG,
BASICALLY FOR WHAT THE THEORY
WOULD PREDICT TO MATCH
OUR OBSERVATIONS.
UH, WE NEED ROUGHLY 23 PERCENT
OF THE UNIVERSE TO BE WHAT THEY
CALL DARK MATTER.
>> DAVID: OKAY.
>> DR.
HOUTS: WE NEED ABOUT 73
PERCENT OF THE UNIVERSE TO BE
WHAT THEY CALL DARK ENERGY.
AND SO, WE'RE MAKING UP 96
PERCENT OF THE UNIVERSE.
AND SO, THAT'S CERTAINLY
NOT TOO SCIENTIFIC.
AND, WHEN YOU REALLY THINK
ABOUT THAT, IF I'M ALLOWED TO
MAKE UP THAT MUCH OF THE
UNIVERSE, WELL, IS THERE ANY
THEORY THAT SOMEONE COULD
POSTULATE THAT I COULDN'T FORCE
TO MATCH ANY...OBSERVATIONS I
WANTED TO?
IN OTHER WORDS, I HAVE MY
OBSERVATIONS...
>> DAVID: YEAH?
>> DR.
HOUTS: ...THEN I CAN
MAKE UP 90 PERCENT OF
THE UNIVERSE.
AND THEN, I HAVE THIS THEORY:
WELL, IF I DO THAT, I MEAN,
THERE'S LITERALLY NO...
>> DAVID: YOU CAN FUDGE THE
THEORY HOWEVER YOU WANT.
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH, THERE'S
ABSOLUTELY NO THEORY THAT I
COULDN'T PRETEND IS SUPPORTED
BY MY OBSERVATIONS.
IT'S LIKE, WITHOUT GETTIN' TOO
FANCY, YOU KNOW, NO ALGEBRA
ALLOWED, BUT IF I SAY, "IF X +
Y IS 100, WHAT DOES X EQUAL?"--
WELL, JUST GIVE ME A NUMBER.
>> DAVID: [STAMMERS]
FIVE.
>> DR.
HOUTS: FIVE.
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
[DAVID LAUGHS]
'CAUSE Y IS 95, YOU KNOW, X IS
5, Y IS 95.
YOU'RE RIGHT.
THE ANSWER'S 100.
>> DAVID: YOU CAN SOLVE IT NO
MATTER WHAT I SAY.
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH.
YOU SAID IT WAS 20, I SAY:
YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
X IS 20, Y IS 80.
THE ANSWER'S 100.
NOW, SAY, I GET DOWN THE ROAD,
I GET A LITTLE SMARTER.
I SAY: YOU KNOW, I REALLY WISH
THE ANSWER WAS 200 INSTEAD
OF 100.
>> DAVID: UH-HUH...
>> DR.
HOUTS: OKAY?
WELL, GUESS WHAT?
YOUR TWO ANSWERS WERE FINE.
'CAUSE, NOW, IF X IS 5, I JUST
MAKE Y 195.
IF X WAS 20, I JUST MAKE Y 180.
SO, ONCE I'M ALLOWED TO PUT
THAT MUCH FUDGE FACTOR IN, IT
CEASES TO BE SCIENCE.
I MEAN, EVEN THOUGH IT'S
PRESENTED AS BEING SCIENTIFIC.
AND THAT'S JUST THE TIP
OF THE ICEBERG.
YOU ALSO HAVE THINGS LIKE
INFLATION.
YOU HAVE ALL THIS...BASICALLY,
FUDGE FACTORS IS THE BEST WAY
TO DESCRIBE IT, THAT IT HAD TO
BE ADDED TO TRY TO PRETEND THAT
THE BIG BANG IS A SCIENTIFIC
THEORY OR A REAL THEORY.
>> DAVID: ISN'T THAT
FASCINATING...
NOW, YOU MENTION INFLATION.
BREAK THAT DOWN FOR--
OKAY, SO, LET'S START WITH THE
VERY BEGINNING.
MANY PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT
SPACE AND TIME BEGAN TO EXPAND,
THAT THE UNIVERSE WAS CREATED
AS IT WENT, 14 BILLION--
>> DR.
HOUTS: SO, THEN, SPACE
HAD TO EXPAND EXTREMELY
RAPIDLY.
AND THEN, THAT EXPANSION
HAD TO STOP.
WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT WOULD
HAVE DONE THAT.
YEAH, WE CAN JUST...
BUT TO MAKE THE THEORY WORK,
THAT'S WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN TO
TRY TO MATCH SOME OF THE OTHER
DATA THAT WE SEE TODAY.
AND SO...SO, THE THEORY IS KIND
OF, I GUESS YOU'D SAY, JUST
RIFE WITH THOSE KINDS
OF ASSUMPTIONS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE NOTICED
THIS.
I WANNA MAKE IT CLEAR, ALSO.
IT'S NOT THAT CHRISTIANS ARE
ALONE IN NOTICING THESE FACTS.
I'LL READ A QUOTE FROM A
FORMER NASA ADMINISTRATOR
MIKE GRIFFIN.
REALLY SMART GUY, GREAT GUY.
>> DAVID: YEAH.
>> DR.
HOUTS: BUT, HE'S
JUSTIFYING,
WHY DO WE EXPLORE SPACE?
AND HE SAYS: "WHAT IS THE
VALUE OF DISCOVERING THAT
LITERALLY 95 PERCENT
OF THE UNIVERSE CONSISTS
OF DARK ENERGY OR DARK MATTER,
TERMS FOR THINGS THAT WE
AS YET KNOW NOTHING ABOUT?
BUT THEY MAKE UP 95 PERCENT OF
OUR UNIVERSE."
>> DAVID: SO, WHAT HE'S SAYING
IS THAT DARK ENERGY AND DARK
MATTER...ARE JUST TERMS FOR
SAYING, "WE DON'T KNOW"?
>> DR.
HOUTS: YEAH.
OR THEY HAVE TO HAVE SPECIFIC
PROPERTIES.
>> DAVID: OKAY...
>> DR.
HOUTS: BUT, AGAIN, THOSE
PROPERTIES AND THE PERCENTAGES
ARE DEFINED TO TRY TO MAKE THE
OBSERVATIONS MATCH WHAT THE
THEORY WOULD PREDICT.
