Chapter 01 · Before the Universe
Before the Universe
What lies outside our space and time?
Ten families of theories, each with multiple variants. Some claim a vast inflating ocean, some a previous cycling universe, some literal nothing, some all mathematical structures at once. Each family answers the question differently; the variants within a family disagree on the mechanism. Click a family to explore its variants.
Families (10)
- Strongly supportedEternal InflationOur universe is one bubble in an endlessly inflating ocean that has been spawning universes forever.3 variants · Variants bridge to Ch. 21 vote
- FrontierBlack Hole GenesisOur universe was born from the collapse of a black hole in a higher-dimensional parent universe.4 variants · Variants bridge to Ch. 6 — Black Holes1 vote
- SpeculativeMathematical & StructuralReality is fundamentally mathematical or timeless. "Before" is not a meaningful question.3 variants
- SpeculativeQuantum Tunneling OriginOur universe emerged from a quantum process that does not require a pre-existing spacetime.5 variants · All variants bridge to Ch. 21 vote
- SpeculativeQuantum Vacuum MechanismOur universe nucleated as a bubble of true vacuum inside a metastable parent vacuum.1 variant · Mechanism also used in Eternal Inflation
- SpeculativeCyclic & Bouncing CosmologiesOur universe is one phase in an infinite sequence, what came before was a previous cycle.7 variants · Variants bridge to Ch. 21 vote
- SpeculativeCosmological SelectionUniverses reproduce through black holes, with physical laws evolving across generations by a process analogous to natural selection.1 variant · Bridges to Ch. 6 — Black Holes
- SpeculativeBraneworld & the BulkOur 3D universe is a membrane floating in a higher-dimensional bulk that always existed.2 variants
- SpeculativeAlternatives to InflationTheories that solve the horizon and flatness problems without a period of cosmic inflation.2 variants
- SpeculativeTime-Symmetric CosmologiesThe Big Bang is not a beginning but a midpoint, with time flowing in two directions from it.2 variants