Multiple Universe Theory

Leadamp

What is your opinion of the multiple universe theory. Personally I don't believe in it but it is a very interesting idea.

Hi Leadamp,

I've moved your thread from Philosophy to Popular Science. Alternatively, you could post a thread in Physics & Chemistry. Both of these forums — Popular Science and Physics & Chemistry — are more suited to your question than the Philosophy forum. If you would like to repost your question in the Philosophy forum, framing it in a philosophical context, then please feel free to do so. Thanks.

SuprSi

Leadamp wrote: »

What is your opinion of the multiple universe theory. Personally I don't believe in it but it is a very interesting idea.

It's a fascinating theory. Considering the size of our own known universe, and how it boggles my mind to think of just how big it is, strap the words infinite and multiple to it and my brain just blue screens! Stuff like this always fascinates me and I love watching shows on Discovery or the BBC about it.

Leadamp

gvn wrote: »

Hi Leadamp,

I've moved your thread from Philosophy to Popular Science. Alternatively, you could post a thread in Physics & Chemistry. Both of these forums — Popular Science and Physics & Chemistry — are more suited to your question than the Philosophy forum. If you would like to repost your question in the Philosophy forum, framing it in a philosophical context, then please feel free to do so. Thanks.

That's no bother. I didn't really know where to post it and figured it could be viewed as scientific or philosophical.

Leroy42

But in a universe which has infinite possibilites why would you need multiple universes?

SuprSi

Leroy42 wrote: »

But in a universe which has infinite possibilites why would you need multiple universes?

It may have infinite possibilities, but only one of those can actually take place. In a multiverse, each of the possibilities can take place at the exact same time, with each subsequent decision or action spawning another infinite set of possibilities, each in its own universe. At least this is how I understand it! I'm sure there's a better way of explaining it but I'll leave that to those who understand it better than me.

Leadamp

SuprSi wrote: »

It may have infinite possibilities, but only one of those can actually take place. In a multiverse, each of the possibilities can take place at the exact same time, with each subsequent decision or action spawning another infinite set of possibilities, each in its own universe. At least this is how I understand it! I'm sure there's a better way of explaining it but I'll leave that to those who understand it better than me.

That is how I understand it aswell

Marcome21

Leadamp wrote: »

What is your opinion of the multiple universe theory. Personally I don't believe in it but it is a very interesting idea.

Believe in it? There is no belief in science. Sure its a possibility, just not proven yet.

Maximus Alexander

If true it means free will is an illusion. Which would be sad. I don't want to be just a machine man!

Snake Pliisken

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

If true it means free will is an illusion. Which would be sad. I don't want to be just a machine man!

Just because you don't pick the music doesn't mean you can't enjoy the dance.

im invisible

i dont agree with it, its a stupid idea

djpbarry

im invisible wrote: »

i dont agree with it, its a stupid idea

Because?

im invisible

well, i know infinity is big, but come on...

a pretty much infinite amount of universes popping into existance every [very short time scale here] seconds?


there may be a multiverse, we may exist in one of many universes, but there will never* be any interaction between them, each is its own and dosn't spawn multiple others every nanosecond

Capt'n Midnight

im invisible wrote: »

well, i know infinity is big, but come on...

a pretty much infinite amount of universes popping into existance every [very short time scale here] seconds?

why seconds , why not at every point of Heisenberg uncertainty ?

Anything less and you are suggesting it's all down to the anthropic principle or divine intervention.

And you'd have to consider new universes every time a virtual particle might be created yet.

im invisible

well i was going to say, at every Planck Time, (and planck length, i suppose) so no. i dont agree with it

(i meant it more as 'every milli- micro- nano- [smaller-than-that-]second..)

im invisible

also, not entirely sure what you mean about the anthropic principle, but just did a quick google, and i'd agree with pretty much everything here

Arse Biscuits!

Well, personally I believe in it. But even if there aren't multiple universes or parallel universes, consider this: If the Universe is infinitely large, which some theories claim it is, then statistically it is impossible for their not to be a region of the infinite universe that is exactly similar to our known universe. Now I know that's not another universe, but if you repeat this allowing for variations then essentially you end up with regions of the universe similar yet slightly different. For example another Earth, but one in which the twin towers never fell. There is a physicist that calculated how far he would have to travel into the universe to find an exact copy of him self, and he calculated it to be approx. 100^100^100 billion light-years. His name is John Barrows, it's hypothetical but a very interesting read.

I'm a believer in string theory and collision theory. I kinda see life in a schrodingers cat type way. When you're not looking at something it exists in all possible forms but takes one set form when it is observed. Like an unscratched scratch card, every possible combination of figures is under the surface until it is scratched. So what you get, the next happens somewhere else etc.

There's a very interesting series of documentaries called "Through the Wormhole" narrated by Morgan Freeman, if you're interested in parallel universes there's some fascinating questions posed in them.

The above is just my take, I personally believe in the multiverse until it is disproved

Arse Biscuits!

im invisible wrote: »

well, i know infinity is big, but come on...

a pretty much infinite amount of universes popping into existance every [very short time scale here] seconds?


there may be a multiverse, we may exist in one of many universes, but there will never* be any interaction between them, each is its own and dosn't spawn multiple others every nanosecond

Not true according to some theories. If you consider the Ekpyrotic universe theory, the collision of two branes (two parallel universes) accounts for the big bang and the shape of our universe. It accounts for the introduction of matter and energy into our universe, and in fact, is a cyclic process which occurs every couple of trillion years as the universes constantly attract and repel each other as equilibrium is reached. So not every nano second in this universe, but if there are infinite branes, again in other universes this is occuring as we speak.

im invisible

yeah, i'd agree thats a possibility all-right, hence the * after 'never' :cool: (always read the small print)*

i wouldnt believe that there are different versions of our area of the universe out there in the same universe, i'd believe the universe is finite but unbounded, rather than infinite, although thats probably because i just cant get my head around the idea of true infiniteness


*sometimes there is no small print

Arse Biscuits!

im invisible wrote: »

yeah, i'd agree thats a possibility all-right, hence the * after 'never' :cool: (always read the small print)*

i wouldnt believe that there are different versions of our area of the universe out there in the same universe, i'd believe the universe is finite but unbounded, rather than infinite, although thats probably because i just cant get my head around the idea of true infiniteness


*sometimes there is no small print

Yeah haha I have the same problem, I have trouble even believing in the concept of infinity tbh, there's something unsettling about it...

lewisanson

We are never meant to know or find out so why bother and seek out about the true nature of being we are merely spirits having a human experience.

im invisible

Or are we just humans having a spiritual experience?

noodler

I watch Fringe.

djpbarry

lewisanson wrote: »

We are never meant to know or find out so why bother and seek out about the true nature of being we are merely spirits having a human experience.

Yeah, why bother with all this science nonsense - it's not like it betters the human experience or anything.

Roger_007

Multiple Universe Theory is a contradiction in terms. You cannot have more than 1 universe as by definition universe means everything there is or the totality of existance. Multiverse is equally meaningless as it means multiples of everything there is.

lewisanson

Good question who knows as long we are having an experience or is this just not just an illusion in some big sims like game ??? Pleasuring some elite user

Capt'n Midnight

lewisanson wrote: »

Good question who knows as long we are having an experience or is this just not just an illusion in some big sims like game ??? Pleasuring some elite user

Cogito ergo sum

I think therefore I exist.

Even if we were a dream



Just a reminder

This is a science forum not a wishful thinking forum. Proposing falsifiable theories is where it's at.

If we are a dream that vanishes upon wakening then we have no way of proving it. Could we have any way of confirming or denying that we are part of a dream ?

It's fine to wonder about what is outside the observable universe, because we can apply our understanding of physics to it, and it's creation, we can imagine ways it could possibly be detected if there was any interaction, we can even imagine how we could create one

Dreams and sims are hand waving ,imho

Capt'n Midnight

interesting
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/19/higs_data_says_universe_unstable_will_end_when_alternate_reality_bubble_erupts/

im invisible

that CERN will be the death of us all, if its not creating black holes, its knocking the Higgs field off kilter

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

Justin1982

Leadamp wrote: »

What is your opinion of the multiple universe theory. Personally I don't believe in it but it is a very interesting idea.

Where are you getting this multiple universe theory from? Multiple universes come out naturally from a number of theories. One from quantum mechanics which is nigh impossible to just shrug off. One comes from String Theory which also cant be shrugged off but stands on less of an experimentally proven platform and another comes from Inflation Theory which again cannot be shrugged off easily but the underlying theory still has a lot of questions to be answered.

It is hard for the human mind to imagine a universe just like ours but seperate to ours. But this is more to do with the limits of the human brain (or some humans brains) and the prejudices that we build up with our human experience of the classical universe we see from planet earth (which is probably lucky for us).


If you want to build multiple universes then its easy to do it mathematically and work with them mathematically and consistently. Once you start looking at them theoretically it becomes a lot more real.

The one thing I can tell you for definite is that you can throw the word "belief" in the bin. Its basically meaningless. You can throw theories of multiple universes in the bin so easily though. But to apprciate the theories then you need to read maths and lots of it!

IRWolfie-

Leadamp wrote: »

What is your opinion of the multiple universe theory. Personally I don't believe in it but it is a very interesting idea.

It's an interesting collection of hypotheses, but little more than that while they lack evidence.