21. “Relating to the big bang theory…. Where did the exploding star come from?”
At first glance, 21 may look like the thickest of the whole bunch, and his question seems to reinforce that impression. But he has at least put a tiny bit of original thought into it.
We can deduce from his query that, at some point in the past, he’s tried to wrap his brain around the idea of the universe expanding from a single point. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough of it to go all the way around, and the attempt failed.
21’s concept of the cosmos is so limited, that the entire large-scale structure of the universe, its hundreds of billions of galaxies, arranged in clusters, superclusters and filaments, billions of light-years across, are equated to the contents of his own solar system, one star. It’s the astronomical equivalent of spending your whole life in one small town, and never imagining what the rest of the world outside it might be like. Which, let’s face it, is probably also true of 21.
But let’s not be too harsh on him. For a start, no human is really able to comprehend those scales. Scientists only do it by turning them into numbers and learning how to manipulate them correctly. The theories (and the answer to 21’s question) fall out of the numbers.
More importantly, just the fact that he tried puts him above 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 18, who are all parroting creationist catchphrases, and show no evidence of any mental effort of their own. For that alone, he should be applauded.