That does it. I was wondering whether to post a section from the RPG book Murphy’s World. That post made it clear that I must. Sadly I don’t own a copy and must post from memory
Seriously, think of The Neverending Story. ‘A hole would be something. But this was nothing.’
Empty space is a something. Beyond the universe is nothing. There is no something containing the universe. Beyond the edge is nothing. No time. No space. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
The whole thing is quite Zen, as other posters have said. Find a Zen teacher and say "I wish to know nothing.". You'll get a very positive response.
To state that there is a complete absence of matter or dimension (in whatever form) outside the four dimensional curved time space of our universe may not be completely accurate. While our ability to observe phenomenon is indeed constrained by the limits of our local continuum, this in no way precludes the potential manifestation of substance or form external to our known universe.
There are many theories detailing the existence of parallel or multiple universes. Similar to an agglomeration of several large abutting (but not directly communicating) bubbles, multiple universes may well be in simultaneous existence. It has long been thought that black holes may represent conduits to these otherwise inaccessible realms.
We are unable to assign any definition to whatever may (or may not) exist outside the boundaries of local time space precisely because we cannot observe whatever putative properties such a region might possess. It is not nothingness, it is merely unobservable.
If you cannot observe something, it can be effectively said not to exist. Speculation about what may or may not lie “beyond” the observable universe is pointless, since you can never make any observations to confirm it. By definition the universe is everything that exists, so there isn’t anything else.
Flatland - note that this is not non-fiction, but rather a short novel which sorta illustrates this idea on the layperson’s level. A fun and interesting read (though quite misogynistic, 19th century and all). It’s available in its entirety online.
Another book I’d recommend is Hawking’s A Brief History of Time - more about black holes, but still very well written for the layman in understanding the nature of the universe.
and BTW, I am a complete layman, but enthusiast about this stuff. Still, I can’t quite wrap my brain around most of it. Physics at the very large and very small ends just gets so darn counter-intuitive.
Weirder still, if something is expanding into nothing, then this means that everything is expanding into nothing. If everything is expanding into nothing, then why is it expanding at all?
The very process or ability of expansion is within the set of something.
If this is incorrect, then motion itself is nothing.
If motion itself is nothing, then why do we bother to percieve it or intentionally engage in it?
If the process and/or ability of expansion is something, and over the course of infinity, all somethings become nothing, then it follows that motion itself would eventually become nothing, at which point we would cease to perceive even the memory of motion, change etc…
There are two conclusions from this line of thinking:
1.) We are delusionally opting to act as if motion were occurring even though it is not!
2.) There is no such thing as nothing… nothing itself is the delusion.
I believe you’re referring to Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. An excellent book. I strongly recommend it, though it addresses only the mathematical concept of nothing, not the philosophic concept of nothing.