should be, many different versions of the theory have been proposed. Many of these contain parameters or initial conditions which themselves require fine-tuning in much the way that the early density does without inflation. For these reasons work is still being done on alternative solutions to the flatness problem. These have included non-standard interpretations of the effect of dark energy and gravity, particle production in an oscillating universe, and use of a Bayesian statistical approach to argue that the problem is non-existent. The latter argument, suggested for example by Evrard and Coles, maintains that the idea that Ω being close to 1 is 'unlikely' is based on assumptions about the likely distribution of the parameter which are not necessarily justified. Despite this ongoing work, inflation remains by far the dominant explanation for the flatness problem. The question arises, however, whether it is still the dominant explanation because it is the best explanation, or because the community is unaware of progress on this problem. In particular, in addition to the idea that Ω is not a suitable parameter in this context, other arguments against the flatness problem have been presented: if the universe collapses in the future, then the flatness problem "exists", but only for a relatively short time, so a typical observer would not expect to measure Ω appreciably different from 1; in the case of a universe which expands forever with a positive cosmological constant, fine-tuning is needed not to achieve a (nearly) flat universe, but also to avoid it. Einstein–Cartan theory The flatness problem is naturally solved by the Einstein–Cartan–Sciama–Kibble theory of gravity, without an exotic form of matter required in inflationary theory. This theory extends general relativity by removing a constraint of the symmetry of the affine connection and regarding its antisymmetric part, the torsion tensor, as a dynamical variable. It has no free parameters. Including torsion gives the correct conservation law for the total (orbital plus intrinsic) angular momentum of matter in the presence of gravity. The minimal coupling between torsion and Dirac spinors obeying the nonlinear Dirac equation generates a spin-spin interaction which is significant in fermionic matter at extremely high densities. Such an interaction averts the unphysical big bang singularity, replacing it with a bounce at a finite minimum scale factor, before which the Universe was contracting. The rapid expansion immediately after the big bounce explains why the present Universe at largest scales appears