I have spent the last 35 years of my life (since I was 14) in the pursuit of "what lies beyond-the-beyond." I was never convinced of all the Creation Theories that sprang from various religions & myths. Neither am I convinced of the Big-Bang Theory ('coz it can never answer the fundamental query - Where did the first Atom come from - surely not from nothingness!
Big bang is a misnomer because we associate bangs with matter turning into energy. But we know that mass & energy are convertible. The big bang is the opposite of a nuke explosion. Its incredibly concentrated energy turning into matter and creating space & time along with it. The question of course is how did that energy get so unimaginably concentrated in the first place. What was its cause.
We can already make minuscule amounts of matter from energy, so that's no mystery.
Harder things to fathom are dark matter & dark energy. Mysterious stuff whose existence is yet to be proven but must exist in theory or we've taken a wrong turn, a big one if it turns out that way.
Dark energy pushes galaxies away at an accelerating pace. There will be fewer things to see in the future than there are at present. Unless we and any other intelligent life forms figure out a way of FTL communications, distances will be too vast and with it time to ever have a real time communication with others in the universe.
Even today, I know that we know very, very little of the known & unknown universes/galaxies that lie in the deep & dark skies.......we do not know how Wide or Massive is this entire Cosmos........ Is there a center? Where is the farthest point? I have often taken kids & adults out at night to watch the skies & point out to them the planets & the nearest stars - and then slowly using the concept of "speed of light" & relativity, I try to make them understand the vastness of the "known" universe. Of the distance between the Earth > Moon > Jupiter > Pluto > Alpha Centauri > Milky Way > white holes > black holes - and even as we stare & speak, that so many of the stars have died & so many are being born.
If you have an android device with gps there is this app called Google Sky maps. Just point the device up at any corner of the sky and the screen will tell you the name of the stars. Always wanted something like this, only trouble is have to get out of the city to see any stars, too much light pollution.
Its only a matter of time when you put on goggles and have graphics describing what you see in front, a civilian HUD of sorts.
Just last night I was discussing with my daughter (11 years young) as she asked me "How really HOT is the Sun & will it last forever?" as I answered her, I also told her that I am not sure whether our Earth will last as long (because of the terrible heat/summer that has now just started & global warming & how cities are getting hotter - because of the ills of our modern civilisation -cementing and tarring of our cities where the raw soil is closetted; vanishing green-cover; proliferation of AC's & other things that are thinning the ozone layer; over-population; diminishing food supplies; climatic aberrations; failing crops; of wars & poverty ........... She got worried - but then I assured (lied) to her that do not worry - the Earth will still be around for another 3-500 years. She & I then rested at peace - because we may not witness this Cataclysm in our lifetime.
That's quite a laundry list you have there. Notice how contemporary it is. During the cold war everybody freaked out about WW3 and how it would end everything. Twenty years from now i bet that list will be different but the theme with the existential element will remain. This means so many things we worry might never come to pass. Why worry in that case or better still not be taken in by such predictions.
3-500 years ? Our sun isn't due to go red dwarf for another 5 billion years that's when its game over for this rock. That's a lot of time to figure out how to leave the planet and go on to colonising other planets and there are so many out there.
From Isaac Asimov; Carl Sagan, Einstein; Fritzof Capra (Tao of Physics) to Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to Neurosciences and Ecology/Global warming; Edison; Stephen Hawking; Particle & Nuclear Physics ...... down to Philosophy; Ethics; Morals; Logic and Existentialism. I have devoured and pursued these fields with interest. Why ?
To discover the questions of my mind and my own existence - and to seek for answers of the present - only then can I venture to discover about the future or postulate in some definite way.
I think its easier to understand the universe than the mind.
Once you throw in a sentient dimension then all bets are off
Its all grey, it can be whatever you want and rationality matters less.
Its about force, your vision dominates provided you've got the guns & resources to back it up.
I would characterise the bulk of human existence as a series of resource & land grabs. This will not change.
