First published: May 5, 2013
Somewhere out there, in the vast, expanding universe or multiverse filled with infinite possibilities, “I am having a great time.” This statement may seem preposterous to some, but it makes sense if your mind operates in a different paradigm. Now, before I drown you in highfaluting terms and lose you for good, let me bring you back to Earth.
One of the leading hypotheses in science today is the theory of the multiverse. We do not live in a singular universe that is slowly contracting after the Big Bang. The old idea stated that the universe must be slowing down after the Big Bang because the gravity of different types of matter would pull matter closer to one another. To paraphrase physicist Brian Greene, it is like throwing an apple into the air and expecting it to come down because of the Earth’s gravity. Our universe is contracting. However, scientists have discovered that the universe is actually expanding more rapidly than we previously imagined. It is like throwing the same apple up into the sky, and it hurls out into space instead of coming down to Earth. Scientists postulate that galaxies will eventually be pushed further apart from one another, and vast empty blackness will be created in between. Consequently, future generations will look up at the night sky and see the absence of stars—just black sky. That is, if there is still life on Earth when that happens. [1]
What power pushes galaxies apart? Scientists call it Dark Energy, which constitutes 70 percent of the entire energy in the universe. (F.Y.I., it is the same energy Thor uses to return to Earth in The Avengers. But I digress.) The continued expansion of the universe is called Eternal Inflation.
Scientists have also theorized that our Big Bang is not unique and that it is just one of the countless Big Bangs happening in the multiverse. The theory of the multiverse is supported by the principle of Eternal Inflation, Dark Energy in space, and String Theory in Quantum Physics. I call them “the Big Three.” String Theory is a headache-inducing concept, so we will skip that. Definitely, you need to learn more about the Big Three to fully understand the theory of the multiverse, but don’t worry about that now. You can research these three concepts later.
What this means to us pop-culture-educated people, who are more comfortable with fast-food types of explanations, is that somewhere out there, we have an exact duplicate. They are not spirits or doppelgangers. It is nothing that eerie. Our duplicates are made of flesh and blood, living and making the same choices that we make—or perhaps making different choices.
To put it simply, if I chose Road A, my duplicate in another universe took Road B. If I am miserable now, my duplicate is having a great time. Like what Nicole Kidman’s character in the movie Rabbit Hole said, “This is just the sad version of me.”
The idea that there is another you making opposite choices can be disturbing or reassuring. For me, it is nice to know that if I made a blunder here on Earth One, I am making great successes on Earth Two, and perhaps making no sense at all on Earth Three. After all, the multiverse offers infinite possibilities, and so there may be infinite numbers of me.
It is futile to waste my energy thinking about what my other selves are doing right now. I already have a hard time leaving this island, much less leaving my universe to check on my other selves. So, for now, I think I would like to be the “Happy Version of Rob,” and let the other me on Earth Two lead a miserable life. I never worry about the illogical me on Earth Three; I figure he is ecstatically indifferent. And I do not ever want to be near that repulsive me on Earth Twenty-four; the very idea makes me shudder. To hell with all of them, I’m going to have fun.
[1] “The Fabric of the Cosmos” by Brian Greene (Book)
References:
The Missing Artist, (TV director, Supervising Editor)
“Rabbit Hole,” written by David Lindsay-Abaire (Play and Film)
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