The Universe: Beginnings, Ending and Our Miserable Future

Beginnings and endings are not only tied together in literature, but in the real world as well. Our Universe is a good example. While storing energy in empty space was probably responsible, early on, due to inflation, for the existence of the large spatial volume in which we live, the current inflationary phase in which we live will make the universe ultimately unlivable, as arguments about energy, information, and quantum mechanics show. I shall also describe how, before the demise of life, future astronomers will come to completely incorrect conclusions about the universe in which they live.