Physicists are now setting their sights on proving that there are universes besides our universe. They plan to use the Large Hadron Collider to search for evidence of these other universes, by smashing tiny particles together at high speeds, resulting in violent collisions.
This is no surprise; physicists use the Large Hadron Collider for everything. They would make their coffee with it if they could. Why smashing these particles, which in real life take pains to avoid each other, into each other enlarges scientific knowledge is not something that the layman can easily understand. To use an analogy that we can relate to, imagine putting a football stadium in the collider and bumping Giants and Eagles fans together at high speed. What would we learn? A few new swear words, possibly. So it is with science. Civilization has always progressed by bashing things together, starting with rocks and heads.
In the case of looking for other universes this is by far the best way, because the only other way to get to the next universe is to fly out to the edge of ours, which lies about six hundred thousand quiptillion miles away and then cut through the fabric of space and time with a pair of space and time fabric shears. Then we would behold the wonder of another universe, although there is no guarantee it would be wondrous—we could easily discover we lived next door to some multiversal slum. But take heart--the discovery of other universes implies that there are an infinite number of them, so all we have to do is rip through that universe, possibly tearing down the slummiest parts to build an expressway, and we're through to the next one.
Infinite universes also mean that there are infinite mes out there, doing just slightly different things than the real me is doing here. In one universe, I am getting sick of writing this already, looking outside and thinking if I hopped in the car right now, I could catch the afternoon half-day boat and get in some fishing...
Well, apparently I don't live in that universe, but this less satisfying one. Not that there aren't worse, or at least different ones other mes could inhabit. In some universes I am gay. In some, a Republican. In at least one, a closeted gay Republican who gets seasick. That would take some getting used to.
All of you would have infinite weird variations on your current selves, too, and have to deal with different iterations of the rich, powerful and famous. In one universe, Al Gore was elected president, so we would never have pictures of him with a beard to make fun of. In another, the Kardashian sisters are flat-chested party poodles who live in a bungalow in Compton. In another, Donald Sterling would have keep his mouth shut about black people. In yet another, he would be a black person.
History would change, too. We could have lost the Revolutionary War and still be ground underneath the heel of British tyranny, and thus live in a universe where the Tea Party actually made sense.
These physicists go further and speculate that the discovery of the multiverse will actually put the concept of free will to rest once and for all. I am not enough of a physics student to follow this proof. I will probably continue to believe my brain makes active choices regarding my favorite deeds and emotions (procrastination and apathy) and that all of my poor decisions are not a result of defective brain chemistry but an unquenchable, deeply held aversion to work.
My fishing rods are already in the car.
This is no surprise; physicists use the Large Hadron Collider for everything. They would make their coffee with it if they could. Why smashing these particles, which in real life take pains to avoid each other, into each other enlarges scientific knowledge is not something that the layman can easily understand. To use an analogy that we can relate to, imagine putting a football stadium in the collider and bumping Giants and Eagles fans together at high speed. What would we learn? A few new swear words, possibly. So it is with science. Civilization has always progressed by bashing things together, starting with rocks and heads.
In the case of looking for other universes this is by far the best way, because the only other way to get to the next universe is to fly out to the edge of ours, which lies about six hundred thousand quiptillion miles away and then cut through the fabric of space and time with a pair of space and time fabric shears. Then we would behold the wonder of another universe, although there is no guarantee it would be wondrous—we could easily discover we lived next door to some multiversal slum. But take heart--the discovery of other universes implies that there are an infinite number of them, so all we have to do is rip through that universe, possibly tearing down the slummiest parts to build an expressway, and we're through to the next one.
Infinite universes also mean that there are infinite mes out there, doing just slightly different things than the real me is doing here. In one universe, I am getting sick of writing this already, looking outside and thinking if I hopped in the car right now, I could catch the afternoon half-day boat and get in some fishing...
Well, apparently I don't live in that universe, but this less satisfying one. Not that there aren't worse, or at least different ones other mes could inhabit. In some universes I am gay. In some, a Republican. In at least one, a closeted gay Republican who gets seasick. That would take some getting used to.
All of you would have infinite weird variations on your current selves, too, and have to deal with different iterations of the rich, powerful and famous. In one universe, Al Gore was elected president, so we would never have pictures of him with a beard to make fun of. In another, the Kardashian sisters are flat-chested party poodles who live in a bungalow in Compton. In another, Donald Sterling would have keep his mouth shut about black people. In yet another, he would be a black person.
History would change, too. We could have lost the Revolutionary War and still be ground underneath the heel of British tyranny, and thus live in a universe where the Tea Party actually made sense.
These physicists go further and speculate that the discovery of the multiverse will actually put the concept of free will to rest once and for all. I am not enough of a physics student to follow this proof. I will probably continue to believe my brain makes active choices regarding my favorite deeds and emotions (procrastination and apathy) and that all of my poor decisions are not a result of defective brain chemistry but an unquenchable, deeply held aversion to work.
My fishing rods are already in the car.
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