Mankind 'shortening the universe's life'

Ya know you can't even look up at the sky at night without doing something to destroy the universe. The power that humanity commands is just astonishing!! (This of course assumes that there are no other intelligent life forms out there doing the same). What this means is that we don't know as much as we think we know about physics.

"The intriguing question is this," Prof Krauss told the Telegraph. "If we attempt to apply quantum mechanics to the universe as a whole, and if our present state is unstable, then what sets the clock that governs decay? Once we determine our current state by observations, have we reset the clock? If so, as incredible as it may seem, our detection of dark energy may have reduced the life expectancy of our universe."

Prof Krauss says that the measurement of the light from supernovae in 1998, which provided evidence of dark energy, may have reset the decay of the void to zero - back to a point when the likelihood of its surviving was falling rapidly. "In short, we may have snatched away the possibility of long-term survival for our universe and made it more likely it will decay," says Prof Krauss. Not all agree, since his interpretation hinges on one of the issues at the heart of quantum theory - do you need people to do the observing?

	Has observing the universe hastened its end?	New Scientist	Thu Nov 22	17
	Mankind 'shortening the universe's life'	Telegraph	Sun Nov 25	6