The origins of the universe have long been a subject of curiosity and intrigue among scientists and philosophers. Many theories have been proposed, yet none have been proven with certainty. We can only ponder on the possibilities of what could have existed before the Big Bang.
One theory — and perhaps the most “out there” — suggests that our universe is nothing more than a grand simulation, a holographic projection created by an advanced civilisation.
Another theory suggests our universe is but a single bubble in a cosmic landscape, with countless other universes existing alongside it.
Scientists propose that the universe began as a mere flicker, a quantum fluctuation in a state of pure energy or “nothingness”. And that is just the beginning — the concept of time may not have even existed before the Big Bang, thus rendering the question of “before” meaningless.
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Regardless of the theories, one thing is certain, the nature of what happened before the Big Bang remains one of the most fundamental questions in cosmology and physics. But as scientists continue to work tirelessly to uncover the mysteries of our universe, one alternative theory reigns supreme.
Before the Big Bang
Nobel prize-winning physicist Sir Roger Penrose, a brilliant mind in the realm of mathematical physics, has proposed a theory of eternal cycles, where the universe goes through an infinite loop of creation and destruction. He calls this theory the “Conformal Cyclic Cosmology” (CCC).
Penrose theorises that before the Big Bang, the universe was in a highly curved state, a cosmic implosion if you will, where all matter in the universe collapsed into a singularity. But this singularity did not mark the end, it was merely a door to a new beginning, a new cycle.
The singularity would “bounce” and expand, giving birth to a new Big Bang and a new cycle of expansion. In this scenario, the Big Bang is not the alpha and omega, but a single point in an eternal cycle of cosmic rebirths.
While Penrose’s theory is not yet widely accepted and has not been proven by observational or experimental evidence, it remains an active area of research and a hot topic of debate among cosmologists and physicists.
It is a creative and thought-provoking concept that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of the universe and reminds us that there’s still so much left to discover. “The Big Bang was not the beginning. There was something before the Big Bang and that something is what we will have in our future,” Sir Roger told The Telegraph.
“We have a universe that expands and expands, and all mass decays away, and in this crazy theory of mine, that remote future becomes the Big Bang of another aeon.”

Penrose critics
Sir Roger Penrose’s theory of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology has caused quite a stir in the scientific community. And there have been some serious criticisms raised by some notable physicists over the years.
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These criticisms include:
- The theory proposes that the universe goes through an infinite sequence of cycles, each one beginning with a Big Bang and ending with a Big Crunch, but it doesn’t provide any concrete mechanism for how the universe would go through this process.
- The theory posits that the universe goes through this cycle without any loss of information, which would imply that the universe is unitary and deterministic, but some scientists argue that this is not compatible with our current understanding of quantum mechanics.
- Another issue with the theory is that it doesn’t explain the initial conditions for the first Big Bang. The theory assumes that our universe is just one of an infinite cycle, but it doesn’t explain where these cycles come from or what caused the first Big Bang.
- Lastly, the theory also doesn’t explain the current accelerating expansion of the universe that the observations have shown. Penrose’s theory is considered to be a speculative idea and it needs further research and observations to be validated.

The mystery of what existed before the Big Bang has captivated scientists and philosophers for centuries. Theories range from the wild and fantastical, like our universe being a mere simulation, to the concept of multiple dimensions coexisting with our own.
But with brilliant minds like Sir Roger Penrose leading the way, we are closer than ever to unlocking the secrets of our cosmic origins.