The data to be explained here are the reports of the mapping of radiation in the entire cosmos. Two conflicting theories about the size and shape of the universe are offered to account for the resultant maps: one of these involves the hypothesis that the cosmos has ascertainable limits and a finite specifiable shape, that of a dodecahedron; the competing hypothesis makes the claim that no such shape is detectable from the radio maps at hand and therefore the known data support the conclusion that, so far as we can tell, the universe is infinite. 

While both hypotheses can be formulated in ways compatible with already established theory, the peculiarity of the dodecahedron description of the universe renders it somewhat less easy to assimilate; yet its relative simplicity and clarity also render it in some ways more attractive. But in deciding between these competing hypotheses the critical consideration will be their predictive or explanatory power. The dodecahedron theory entails very specific predictions: it predicts that among the mapping data collected there will appear matching circular patterns where the surfaces of the envisaged dodecahedron are intersected by radiation. This is falsifiable, and therefore one or the other of the competing hypotheses is likely to be disconfirmed when further analyses of the radio maps of the universe are completed.