The multiverse is the universe of universes. Its existence is postulated but not proven. Quantum physicists and philosophers are its most passionate advocates as well as its detractors. I’m a very passionate advocate: it would be nice to know there’s a universe where my neighbours don’t dump rubbish in the recycle bin, leave the lid open and breed gnats.
Robert Lawrence-Kuhn points out that in order to discuss the multiverse, we have to be clear in our definitions. If the universe is everything there is “then there can only be one universe.” Lawrence-Kuhn notes several characteristics that help support the existence of multiple universes.
- Certain regions of space may be forever beyond our line of sight, forever unknowable and unreachable as the universe expands paradoxically faster than the speed of light.
- There might be parallel universes each with their own big bang. Some of them may have bigger bangs. Maybe there’s a universe which began with a big suck. The aftermaths of these big bangs (or big sucks) may have led to universes with different laws of physics.
- Stanford-based physicist Andrei Linde postulates chaotic inflation theory, where new universes are endlessly generated. Some might end in a big crunch, gravity might behave differently in another and in yet another I get out of bed before noon.
Kurzgesagt has a neat short video, “The Egg“, which hints that we’re all destined to become Gods ourselves. Maybe we already are.
If you were expecting more enlightenment from this article and feel cheated, don’t go all sour on me. Obviously this is not all there is to know, so I’m off to explore a multiverse or two and will update this when I get baaaaaaaaack.