Martin Rees On The Multiverse, Scientific Research & Reality

There's an interesting piece by Martin Rees about the nature of the Uni/Multiverse, as well as some of the underlying mechanics. Also, a good bit on the nature of scientific research. You can get the text or the Real version. Good stuff.

Comments

In my section of the Multiverse

[Anonymous Coward]

Real doesn't suck so much.

Real audio

[fredrikj]

You can get the text or the Real version. Good stuff.

Great, except that the odds of getting meaningful sound out of the noise in .ram files are worse than those of finding alien signals in the SETI@Home project.

(OT, it's great to have karma to burn)

Re:Real audio

[product byproduct]

[Morpheus] What's Real? Real is an audio codec designed to blind you from the truth.
[Neo] What truth?
[Morpheus] The text version is better.

Theory of Doughnut shaped universe

[someguy456]

Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing, Homer. I may have to steal it.

More universes than atoms

[killthiskid]

At first it was thought that there might be just one unique solution to the equations, just one possible three-dimensional universe with one possible 'vacuum state' and one set of laws. But it seems now, according to the experts, that there could be a huge number. In fact Lenny Susskind claims that there could be more possible types of universe than there are atoms in our universe--a quite colossal variety. The system of universes could be even more intricate and complex than the biosphere of our planet. This really is a mind-blowing concept, especially when we bear in mind that each of those universes could themselves be infinite.

Note the bolded part of this quote... there could be a multiverse where most slashdotters have sex on a regular basis.! The best news geeks have ever heard!

Re:More universes than atoms

[feepness]

Note the bolded part of this quote... there could be a multiverse where most slashdotters have sex on a regular basis.! The best news geeks have ever heard!

Yes, but equally frightening is that _this_ could be the universe where slashdotters have the most sex!

Please....

[GeneralEmergency]

...let this be that one 'verse where I get modded up all the time.

Re:Don't encourage idiots...

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'll bet that over 50% of the comments for this article will be pseudo-intellectuals espousing their retarded theories, misinformation, and other general stupidity... "
Guess which side of that 50% fence your comment is on! bwhahahahaaaa!

Sounds familiar

[M.C. Hampster]

At first sight you might get worried about an infinity of things in themselves infinite, but to deal with this you have to draw on a body of mathematics called transfinite number theory, that goes back to Cantor in the 19th century. Just as many kinds of pure mathematics have already been taken over by physicists, this rather arcane subject of transfinite numbers is now becoming relevant, because we've got to think of infinities of infinity. Indeed, there's perhaps even a higher hierarchy of infinities: in addition to our universe being infinite, and there being an infinite number of possible laws of nature, we may want to incorporate the so-called many worlds theory of quantum mechanics.

Why does this sound so familiar? ... Oh, I know, it sounds like the arguments I used to have with my brother:

Me: You're an idiot
Brother: Well, you're an idiot times infinity.
Me: Oh yeah? Well, you are an idiot times infinity times infinity!

And so on and so forth.