Physics of the early Universe is at the boundary of astronomy and philosophy since we do not currently
have a complete theory that unifies all the fundamental forces of Nature at the moment of Creation. In
addition, there is no possibility of linking observation or experimentation of early Universe physics to our
theories (i.e. its not possible to `build' another Universe). Our theories are rejected or accepted based on
simplicity and aesthetic grounds, plus there power of prediction to later times, rather than an appeal to
empirical results. This is a very difference way of doing science from previous centuries of research.
Our physics can explain most of the evolution of the Universe after the Planck time (approximately 10-43
seconds after the Big Bang).
However, events before this time are undefined in our current science and, in particular, we have no solid
understanding of the origin of the Universe (i.e. what started or `caused' the Big Bang). At best, we can
describe our efforts to date as probing around the `edges' of our understanding in order to define what we
don't understand, much like a blind person would explore the edge of a deep hole, learning its diameter
without knowing its depth.
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