How old is the universe anyway?

[Dudelyflier]

So I'm reading the news today and an article pops up and lets me know that the dudes over at NASA or some place have viewed a galaxy that is more than 13 billion years old.  I don't pretend to understand how they figured that out but I thought to myself, That's really fuckin' interesting.  The article said something to the effect that this galaxy as we see it today is how it looked about 400 million years after the Big Bang (which surprising to me has nothing to do with the Big Lebowski).  Now the thing I'm trying to wrap my head around:  A galaxy is a mind bogglingly huge thing.  You might think it a heck of a drive to toss a ringer out the window, but compared to a galaxy that's just shifting the fringe of your rug.  So if galactic time frames being what they are, how in the name of everything Dude did this thing develop to fully formed in a mere 400 million years?  According to smarter fellers than me it takes up to a billion years for a galaxy to fully form, so how did this one happen in less than half that time?  I'm not criticising the scientists or questioning the science, but how the fuck does that happen?  Its something that I find really interesting man, Really fucking interesting.

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[jgiffin]

One thing that bothers me a bit is the debate over cosmological inflation a nano-instant after the big bang. Some physicists say that, because the math is just slightly off in relation to what we know about the universe's current state, it's necessary to postulate a period of time where inflation exceeded the speed of light. Others say, no, that entirely misses the point. I'm an English major and, therefore, fundamentally ill-equipped to figure out who's right or somehow reconcile the positions. I read one expert, shake my head yes, then read another expert, and shake my head yes as he disagrees with the first guy.

You seem to have a pretty good handle on the situation - or at least that summary was damn tight given the spacial constraints. Any thoughts on the matter?

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[BikerDude]

I never offer legal or medical advise for obvious reasons.
I' m not a doctor or lawyer.
As tempting as armchair astrophysics is I'd refer this to Lawrence krauss.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EIpEzZqkd9c

[SagebrushSage]

*deleting old posts*

[BikerDude]

I never offer legal or medical advise for obvious reasons.
I' m not a doctor or lawyer.
As tempting as armchair astrophysics is I'd refer this to Lawrence krauss.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EIpEzZqkd9c

That's a good point.  I'm no astrophysics specialist either.  I just happen to enjoy musing upon these matters.  I should be more careful about opining upon matters that I do not understand well.

I wasn't criticising.
I used to jump in with both feet.
But it really is strange how fucking amateurs like you and I find no irony in spouting off like we were Steven fucking Hawking. Eventually you have that "wow I can't believe how full of shit I am" moment. Unless of course you are a hardcore Christian. They seem to plow ahead oblivious in the face of withering evidence of their own bullshit.