the beginning of it all

Early theories of the big bang conceived of the universe starting as a singularity. However quantum mechanics suggests that, because of Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle, it could not ever be a single point. It seems that quantum gravity or a supersymmetric theory is neccessary to understand this event; unfortunately we do not yet have an adequate theory.

Since the inflation scenario requires only an inconceivably small "seed" to trigger the manufacture of reality, some theorists have speculated that that seed could have itself been a quantum fluctuation - making the universe, as Alan Guth put it, "the ultimate free lunch".

Some interpretations of string theory suggest that there were things happening 'before' the beginning - perhaps it wasn't a spontaneous occurence but a gradual one. However, this is almost purely speculative.

Singularity: point of infinite mass and density.

- Fx