Looking for Life in the Multiverse

Scientific American ^ | 01/01/2010 | Alejandro Jenkins and Gilad Perez

[tet68]

I suppose the good news is it can still happen.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The main problem is getting to these other “universes”.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Albert Einstein once reportedly said “God does not play dice with the universe.”

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I find it rather curious to see the histories of parallel Earths. The only problem would be running into these “toxic” universes.

[UCANSEE2]

All of this is dependent on the Universe being finite.

Have we gotten any proof it is finite?

We have looked very, very deep into the skies, and at the very limit of our perception, we see MORE. Every time the limit of our perception is extended, we still find the same thing.

[UCANSEE2]

“God does not play dice with the universe.”

No, but many people believe he gambles a lot with Earth.

[Telepathic Intruder]

It’s possibile that there are infinite universes, each with different physical constants, such as proton mass. We happen to be in this one just because we can be. In the vast majority of the others (if they exist), life is probably impossible because no stable, evolving, self-replicating, complex structures can form.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I agree with that. But what about "Schrödinger's cat" theory?

[HiTech RedNeck]

The mainstream size estimates haven’t grown for many years. These aren’t based upon how far the best telescope can see, but upon other things.

[spodefly]

The coolest thing about the Multiverse Theory is it means in some universe somewhere there is a me that didn’t end this sentence with an ellipsis ...

[HiTech RedNeck]

The definitive information about the cat's future life or lack thereof is not visible to us as trapped within the confines of this space-time continuum, but that does not mean there is no being that does have it.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Admittedly it can get pretty silly. And is there a multiverse of multiverses?

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

I think it would be interesting to see what my “duplicate”or “duplicates” is doing in a parallel worlds.

[HiTech RedNeck]

This is about as far as a secular mindset can get. Enough universes and you have a mulligan on everything. But you never transcend the blasted system.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

There is nothing wrong to dream.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Gotta wake up sometime

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Authors and television programs have made millions of dollars speculating on this subject.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Exactly

[Telepathic Intruder]

Well that’s slightly different, a split-universe theory. For every random quantum fluctuation, the universe splits and all possibilities are ultimately played out. However, I hate the thought of a universe where certain things that could have happended, actually did. But maybe that’s offset by the possibility of another universe where I won the mega-lottery. By the way, these ideas of multiverses and split universes are just hypothetical at best, but interesting to think about.