On: Physicists Debate Hawking’s Idea That the Universe Had No Beginning

[canada_dry]

> Just as a shuttlecock has a diameter of zero at its bottom most point

As a lay person this - right from the starting block - is what messes me up. I.e. something that exists cannot logically have a zero diameter part. Anything zero does not exist.

Most related theories have similar kinds of initial premise that you must just accept.

[klank → canada_dry]

> something that exists cannot logically have a zero diameter part

Do elementary particles exist?

[ars → klank]

Elementary particles have size delineated by the forces that act on them.

The concept of a "physical size" has no meaning, since particles don't act upon each other that way.

But the forces do not have a zero size, and that's important.

[pbhjpbhj → klank]

No, only observations of them do ;o)

[cblades → canada_dry]

It's a metaphor. It's not meant to be taken literally.

[zarmin → cblades]

taken where?