The universe and everything in it - younger than we thought

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

I remember a scientist saying: “We’re estimating age, not determining it.”

Well, based on the Hubble Constant, the age of the universe used to be estimated at a value of 13.7 billion years. There has been a lot of restlessness these day though due to new calculations revealing the possibility that the expansion rate may be different in different parts of the universe, or it may be different altogether, or the universe is not as isotropic as it seems.

As a result, there are voices claiming that the universe is a billion or two younger than the initial estimations. But we already know that 85% of the what the universe consists of cannot be accounted for by science right now.

Here’s a positive twist of this story: if there is a re-calculation of the age of the entire universe, all the other ages should be re-calculated accordingly and we’ll end up with the people around us being way younger than we thought.

#2

Good news for me, a 70-year old male! Should I just subtract the 9%, or do I get to subtract the whole billion-plus? Either way, I guess I’m not in the high-risk group anymore!

#3

If this continues, the young-earthers will be proven correct.

#4

I bet they’re discussing it right now: “We knew it all along, Fred, didn’t we?”

#5

At least it’s closer to 6000.

#6

There was a lot of bad science reporting around this. The new results have error bars big enough that the current understanding age of the universe still fits within it. So the results are inconclusive and may mean nothing, although I guess you could say that it’s now somewhat likelier that the universe is a little younger than we thought. But we aren’t certain.

#7

I always said it didn’t look a day older than 11.7 billion years.