What is dust?—Physical foundations of the averaging problem in cosmology

The problems of coarse-graining and averaging of inhomogeneous, and their backreaction on average cosmic evolution, are reviewed from physical viewpoint. A particular focus is placed on comparing different notions of spatial homogeneity, and on the interpretation of observational results. Among physical questions we consider are: the nature of an average Copernican principle, role ofMach’s principle, the issue of quasilocal gravitational energy and the different of spacetime, spatial and null cone averages. The observational interpretation of timescape scenario is compared to other approaches to cosmological averaging, and questions are discussed.