A 30 Philosophers touchstone: Chapter 1, “Origin Story.” The universe began as an infinitely dense, unimaginably hot, and minuscule point known as a singularity. In a breathtaking instant, this singularity expanded and cooled, giving rise to the fabric of space, time, and matter, with all the laws of physics taking shape in that moment. The singularity didn’t exist in time as we understand it, because time itself was created in the following moments. This moment marks not just the birth of the universe but the beginning of time and space itself, setting the stage for the extraordinary event known as the Big Bang.

While the singularity arises naturally from the equations of general relativity when extrapolated back in time, it represents a point where these laws of physics as we currently understand them break down. This theoretical state represented the ultimate limit of physical density and temperature, beyond our understanding of the laws of physics.