I recently saw something like this on another message board. It describes a well known question in a different way than it is usually presented, and is perhaps a slightly different perspective on an old question.

The question was simply, to try to describe the various ways that the nature of the universe could be described, to see what distinctions could be made which haven't been made before. Admittedly, the variations described on the message board where it was posted (I won't name it, because I use my real name on that board), weren't very imaginative, but perhaps some of the free thinkers here can come up with something different.

To start with, several descriptions that might apply to the universe were made, and then variations were added. Most, as I said above, weren't too different from the original ideas.

So, one description of the universe is, that it has uniform physical forces which govern its attributes everywhere. However, a conscious entity--a deity if you like--controls it, and can preempt the functioning of the physical forces if it chooses to. That entity is omnipotent, and no other influences can counteract the forces of physics.

Another description is, that the physical forces are everywhere uniform, and their uniformity is maintained by a pervasive influence which is not conscious, and which never changes. That is, the controlling force is there, but it always follows set principles in its influence.

A third description is that the forces of physics are uniform, but are not maintained in their uniformity by anything--that is, they just started out at some time in the past and continue as they are due to inertia.

Still another description is, that the physical forces of the universe are uniform and are maintained by some pervasive influence, but that other influences, which do not follow the laws of physics, exist, and affect what happens in the universe, and are not uniform. In other words, there is not simply one additional influence that doesn't follow the laws of physics, but there are many, even though there is something that holds everything together.

Another conceivable possibility is, that the laws of physics are not always uniform, and can vary from time to time and place to place, and that there are always influences brought about by that variability.

All of these take into account that there can be virtual variations over very small areas, as quantum mechanics describes.

Maybe somebody can come up with some unique take on this way of describing various models of the universe.

Reminds me of a post from long ago:

What are the THERMODYNAMICS OF HELL?...

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell.

Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having an affair with her, then number 2 above cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is endothermic and will not freeze over.

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

The reason why all the answers to the question were not imaginative is because people were taking the objective view, not the subjective view. While the physical laws of the universe are important, it is even more important to figure out subjectively how to live one's life within this universe.

So here is my subjective, albeit still abstract, description of the universe:

The universe is an infinite matrix of possibilities of awareness, filtered through finite personal perception to create the feeling of a progression (called life) that often progresses unnoticed but occasionally reveals glimpses of the full mysterious infinitude.