The Big Bang theory is childish and impossible, critics claim

Is the Big Bang a childish theory? The debate that questions the origin of the universe

The most frequently repeated criticism of the Big Bang theory is that extrapolating the current state of the universe back to an initial point requires assuming unverifiable conditions. In particular, it is pointed out that dark matter and dark energy are ad hoc additions to save the model. Although the observational evidence from redshift and the cosmic microwave background radiation (at 4ºK) is solid, some consider it insufficient to justify a singularity.

The initial criticism: an explosion without fuel
The analogy of an explosion compressing matter indefinitely is considered ridiculous by those who deny that all the matter in the universe could have been contained in a single point. They argue that matter comes from something, does not arise from nothing, and that the amount is always the same, which contradicts the idea of an absolute beginning.

The role of religion and science
A recurring point is that the father of the theory, Georges Lemaître, was a Catholic priest. This is used to suggest that the Big Bang is a dogma disguised as science. However, defenders point out that Lemaître worked as a physicist based on empirical observations, not on the Bible. The debate becomes tense when faith in science is equated with religious faith.

Uncomfortable alternatives: Halton Arp and the peculiar galaxies
In 1966, Halton Arp published his Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, in which he documented galactic shapes that he interpreted as evidence of ejections from active nuclei, not of mergers. His non-standard cosmology proposes an intrinsic redshift, denying that quasars lie at the far reaches of the universe. Although he was censored, his arguments continue to circulate as an alternative to the standard model.

The limit of the model versus the limit of the universe
One of the most lucid clarifications is that the Big Bang is not a physical boundary, but the limit of validity of the Lambda-CDM model. If the universe is infinite, it was also infinite at the Big Bang. The confusion between map and territory is constant, and many critics fail to distinguish between a scientific theory and a definitive explanation.

The question that remains open is whether today's science has the tools to answer what existed before the Big Bang, or whether, as some suspect, it is a mystery that physics will never be able to solve.

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