Talking About Singularities

We discuss some aspects of recent research as well as more general issues about motivation, useful methods and open problems in the field of cosmological singularities. In particular, we review some of the approaches to the general area and include discussions of the method of asymptotic splittings, singularity and completeness theorems and the use of the Bel-Robinson energy to prove completeness theorems and classify cosmological singularities. ‘Knowledge should be shared’, yes, of course it should, but it is extremely doubtful whether an organic chemist would put missionary zeal into an attempt to interest the pure mathematician in his latest researches, or vice versa. To be realistic, the sharing of knowledge throughout the whole field of science is a pious hope, not a passion, and it is only passion that could overcome the inescapable difficulties of communication. J. L. Synge.