Why is there anything at all? (Introduction)

by Mark , Monday, June 09, 2008, 07:39 (6010 days ago) @ David Turell

David: It is simpler to suppose that the universe just appeared, out of nothing, because nothing is an unstable state; it only takes a small change and you have something. - I just don't follow this at all. You can only speak of stability in relation to a property which can be varied continuously. A pin balanced on its end is unstable because an infinitesimal change of angle from the vertical will lead to an increase in that angle. You are here trying to make something-ness a property which can be continuously varied. A "small" amount of "something-ness" is nonsense. There either is something or there isn't. - It is rather like you saying that a light switch is unstable because a small change in its on-ness means that it is off.