Michio Kaku's Parallel Worlds (more of which in a mo), William Gay's new novel Twilight, and Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy.
Prof Kaku, a physicist and leading adherent of string theory proposes that there's more to the universe than meets the eye, as I too have noticed. However, string theory also allows for not one universe, i.e. this dusty ol' place of ours but loads of universes and some in which we might even also exist. Now, in purely practical terms I like the idea of also existing elsewhere because at the very least I can read more books and at the very most this multi-verse provides a top excuse to not turn up for things that will be boring.
"Oh, sorry to have missed your party last night but I was elsewhere." Fantastic, and it's not even a lie.
Hmmm, there's a catch though, some of these universes are not like ours. Some are tiny, so tiny they make tiny look the sort that might cause trouble in bars, and some look downright uncomfortable. Indeed, this Calebi-Yau universe appears no fun at all. It's either a tiny place, i.e. the sort that might get caught in your bum when you sit down, or it's huge and the equivalent of existing on a black run at one of those expensive ski resorts.
Now, there's a troubled thought.
9 comments:
It's all a matter of perspective, after all our universe could also be the size of a dust ball compared to some other universe... funny thing you should point to a black run on Titlis. An ex-girlfriend tried to teach me how to ski there.
D,
I googled 'black run' and that was the most interesting article I could find. Re the universe and perspective? Hey, who am I to argue with a professor of physics and besides I quite like this whole multi-verse thing. Makes it sound really exciting, as if the place wasn't exciting enough.
Just looking at the phrase 'string theory' makes my head hurt. Then I thought I would give it a try and clicked through, only to find sentences like this:
...the manifold has a Ricci-flat metric, yet not as an element of the integral cohomology group, so that the manifold does not have a global nowhere vanishing holomorphic(n,0)-form
How many who's in a what? how many what's in a who? I take my hat off to you, reading the string theory for fun...
Jeeze Annie,
'the manifold has a Ricci-flat metric...' Where have you been? I though everyone knew that!
Today I am reading Mad Magazine. There is nothing in it about String theory, but there is a picture of Alfred E Newman, dressed up as Spider-man with a web coming out of his butt.
K,
In some alternative universes Alfred E Neuman is reading DAM magazine in which there is a picture of you in a spiderman outfit with web coming out of your butt. Hey, only possible in a multi-verse. Aren't you pleased? See what riches string theory can bring to a person. Physics, dontcha just love it?
It's not the other really tiny universes that can fit in people's bums that worry me. It's if our universe, where we live here, is sooooo small that.....
Hmm G,
Maybe we are but stuff that is stuck up some interstellar bum, and maybe that's why the sky is dark but hey, this universe of ours seems not a bad place for all that. Lucky for us therefore that smell doesn't carry in a vacuum.
I've been on the cover of a magazine, so that would be interesting. Though my point was that what you're reading seems a little heavy for me.
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