What if the universe is so vast (infinite) that Big Crunch - Big Bang cycles could occur regionally rather than universally? We're talking really big freakin' regions here...
This would kind of divorce the existence of space and time from matter, since one could conceivably (with a good ship and some time on your hands) hang in space outside a regional crunch and watch the resulting bang. (Some models, of course, hold space and time non-existent before the bang. Would seem unlikely if they were "local" phenomena.) It'd be something of a union of steady state and cyclical models.
Actually, I take it back, I don't like it. It lacks elegance and turns creation into a spectator sport. Hope it's not accurate (though I'll still want royalties if it is).
Space/Science » in reply to Maybe a silly question, but...
What if...