# Would this post about physics and religion be too broad for one thread, or better off as separate threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 9, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738 "2026-11-09T17:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/1 "2026-11-09T17:23:50Z")
I’m thinking about starting a thread on the relationship between black holes and dark matter (something I figure is best suited for Great Debates). The thing is, I don’t want to limit it to just that particular topic. I also want to discuss what level of math one would have to study to look into the details of such questions, that is reading and understanding the relevant scholarly publications and doing the calculations oneself (something I figure is best suited for Factual Questions). I also want to discuss whether or not having done that study in any way “scratches the itch” for the human need for religion (something I figure would go best in IMHO). I think that even as broad as such a topic might be, it could still do well in Great Debates. Moderators, what say you all? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/2 "2026-11-09T17:26:05Z")
If you want it conversational and free ranging use either #In My Humble Opinion or #Great Debates with #hijacks-tolerated tag. Do me a favor and also five it the #science-math tag while you’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/3 "2026-11-09T20:41:31Z")
Well, we haven’t _technically_ rolled out Hijacks Tolerated to Great Debates, but I don’t see any reason we _couldn’t_. In general though @FlikTheBlue - the better you write the OP, the more we moderators are going to understand your intent. If you start this as a GD as this thread is laid out, I’d appreciate you laying out (in said OP) what you consider germane and what you consider off topic. But as you admit, this is a pretty wide ranging discussion (The physics issues, the math issues, and then the religious issues/interpretations) - and GD is expected to be narrow. If you do this clearly (back to our many ATMB threads on the subject) what you want to discuss and avoid, we moderators normally enforce that perspective. It’s the _post_-OP considerations that get more pushback from us and the posters. Of course, I too think that a wide ranging discussion would be better suited to #In My Humble Opinion, but sounds like you want a more structured discussion than that forum allows. I don’t handle IMHO so I’ll defer to a forum mod, but I bet if you _carefully_ wrote out your OP you’d be able to get a wide ranging discussion without too many worries. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/4 "2026-11-09T20:51:42Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I also want to discuss what level of math one would have to study to look into the details of such questions, Super Differential Calculus for sure. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/5 "2026-11-10T04:30:31Z")
I think it would be fine in IMHO. You might get some brief digressions. If a large side discussion opened up about the differences between Buddhist and Christian reactions to new ideas in physics (just as a f’rinstance) that dude discussion could be moved to its own thread. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2026, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/7 "2026-11-11T10:44:09Z")
Not a mod, just an interested poster, but I’d suggest starting it out _from the get-go_ as two linked threads, one in FQ for the science and one in GD for the philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-this-post-about-physics-and-religion-be-too-broad-for-one-thread-or-better-off-as-separate-threads/1034738/8 "2026-11-11T16:41:48Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > that dude discussion could be moved to its own thread. I’m sure you meant “side discussion” and got autocorrected, but I love the term “dude discussion”.