I really don't like the continually expanding universe model. It implies that the big bang was a one off. I don't think one offs happen.

I like this concept of a perpetual motion universe. I can get on with the idea of big bang, followed by expansion until gravity overwhelms, followed by big crunch, until singularity, then big bang etc. The problem here is the rate of expansion should be slowing down, but as I understand it the opposite is happening.

I'm sure we've discussed this already in this thread, but I like the donut universe model, one in which expansion and contraction are simultaneous, and one in which the big bang is a constant event at the centre of the universe.



I have no idea how much scientific credibility such a model has, but it's balanced and perpetual. I really have a problem with a "beginning" to our universe, because the concept of a "beginning" is inherently tied to our human concept of time. I prefer to think of the big bang as the centre, rather than the beginning. It's merely the beginning of our time.