Since "before" and "after" have to do with time, and time did not exist until after the universe was spat out by the alleged "big bang" ..... then how can anyone talk about what went on or existed "before" the big bang?

If you go with Steinhardt and Turok's Cyclic Theory (Ekpyrotic), then there are events prior to the Big Bang, primarily the collision of two branes. Their book, Endless Universe, goes into extensive detail on the theory.

I personally don't believe there ever was a Big Bang. The conflicting red-shift calculations of certain spiral galaxies with connected quasars is enough to convince me that there are some problems with the interpretation of the red-shift data.

The ongoing series of "patches" on Big Bang (dark matter, dark energy, etc.) is problematic, as well. Seems as though too many scientists are too married to the theory to risk questioning it; they'd rather pull dark rabbits out of dark hats in order to make Big Bang "work." And that's not how science is supposed to work.

is there a before the big bang?

I think, jeanne, that is called foreplay

Is it possible that the concept of time itself is a construct of the human mind?

Sorry....I'm not agreed to this.

Existence of time can't be related with existence of universe.

Time was/is/will be there always for referring any instances though universe exist or not.

Maybe ur concern is about human being's ability to refer the time,if so I think at this point of time as human has developed that much skills so nothing special about it.For better analysis,explanation we can refer the big bang event too with time.

Big Crunch?

hawking postulates that there was nothing before the big bang. no time, space, nothing.

You people got it all wrong,it was the Big Poof fact from God.It's in the bible so it has to be true...right?

You should read Julian Barbour's "The End of Time" for an interesting take on that subject.

Ding ding ding ding ding....We have a winner!!

Of course it is!!

about time it's hard to believe.

I have that book. I have not read it all yet. It puts me to sleep. I still am trying to read it.

Hawking is a limited thinker. He has NO imagination.

There is no such thing as "nothing"

"Nothing" cannot exist.

Now perhaps it would depend on how you describe "nothing."

Perhaps there was dark matter and dark energy.

Brilliant...

when did they prove there was a big bang?

I am currently reading it for the fourth time and there are parts I still don't really understand. But I'm working on it!

Its still a theory

(And if you noticed, I said "alleged" big bang.)


al·leged/əˈlejd/
Adjective:
(of an incident or a person) Said, without proof, to have taken place or to have a specified illegal or undesirable quality.

That's right.

The major premise of the Big Bang theory is that the universe was ONCE in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly.

here ONCE is showing relation with TIME. Whenever the said big bang occurred it must be at some point of time obviously.

It means that time was existing before too.