Hi again Ken & Ali,
On Thu, 14 Feb 2002 Kengrimes123@aol.com wrote:
Thanks for that. We were rather shamefully going for the following 'quick fix.' What do you think:
The problem is that a spherical or hyperbolic, small universe would be just as exciting as a flat, small universe. The former might be more difficult to imagine, and there's more chance that Cornish et al would make errors or miss the real signal or take longer to find the result for a spherical or hyperbolic small universe than for a small, flat universe, but to me that's a secondary issue. (Using the circles principle in the most general way, the infinities of possibilities are not a problem for detection, however paradoxical that might seem!)
Nevertheless, if what you really want to say is that a flat, small universe is in some ways "nicer" or "simpler" than a spherical or hyperbolic, small universe, then that is valid (and certainly defendable), but should probably be worded a bit more carefully.
It would not really be that much more "hidden" from the measurement point of view, it would be more hidden simply because it's more complicated.
I think the following is correct, clear and probably close to what you want to say:
Replace:
'So the universe may indeed be finite and bounded, and yet too vast to yield to us the secret of its shape. Alternatively, the universe may possess spherical or hyperbolic curvature, and so hide its secret shape among limitless possibilities. Such thoughts are met with quiet stoicism by the new wave of cosmologists: "The universe is however it is," Roukema acknowledges, "Not how I would like it to be."
by
% 'So the universe may indeed be finite, bounded and flat, % and yet too vast to yield % to us the secret of its shape. Alternatively, the universe may be % small but possess % spherical or hyperbolic curvature, and so hide its secret shape among % limitless possibilities difficult for ordinary mortals to imagine % and challenging for professional % cosmologists to extract from the MAP data. Such thoughts ...
And then the 2nd paragraph is fine unchanged:
But there remains the tantalising third possibility - that the universe is relatively small, and possesses flat curvature. In that case, within a few months of reading this article, we might well know whether Homer's donut is truly the shape of things to come.'
Cheers Boud