Ever since I first heard about it, Multiverse theory has always been a concept my mind grapples with. The idea that there isn’t just one universe to be seen, but a bunch of them. Tens, hundreds, thousands, possibly even millions of different universes with billions of galaxies residing inside them could exist alongside ours, and we’d never even know because of how far away from us they are. But deep down, we all know that there’s always going to be the thought of that being true, because it’s something we all ponder. As we, the Humans of this universe, grow and adapt to our ways of living and this world called Earth, we slowly start to question the possibility of something bigger than us. Something more than what we can perceive. Something far away.
The universe seems nearly endless in length and stature, no matter how far we look into the black abyss of stars and planetoids, there’s always a further point that we can’t currently reach. So what if, there was a point somewhere out there, a point so far and so vast that it splits off from our known universe and enters into another. Another universe so similar yet so different to ours. Another universe where anything can happen and one where those that dwell within ask the same exact questions we do?
For this project, I want to talk about the idea of Multiverse Theory and if it could actually exist in this world. Many people have struggled with the question of multiple universes existing at once, both in pop culture and in more educational senses, but I want to see if there’s lingering threads that connect the ideals of Multiverse Theory together and how it can present itself in media, albeit through methods of Time Travel, examples of the Butterfly Effect, or Universe Hopping.
Annotated Bibliography
Abbruzzese, John. “On Using the Multiverse to Avoid the Paradoxes of Time Travel.” Analysis, vol. 61, no. 1, 2001, pp. 36–38. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3329154. Accessed 1 Dec. 2020.
This article talks about using Multiverse Theory to better counteract the paradoxes of Time Travel. In it, Abbruzzese talks about how most media featuring concepts of Time Travel make it apparent that using Time Travel frivolously can have dire consequences that immediately affect the person who caused the rift, unless of course there was another Universe outside of the one where they existed in which the direct result of the Time Traveller’s actions took full effect.
Bernard Carr, George Ellis, Universe or multiverse?, Astronomy & Geophysics, Volume 49, Issue 2, April 2008, Pages 2.29–2.33, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4004.2008.49229.x
Bernard Carr and George Ellis bring up a fascinating point with this article. The point of our Earth, and even further our Universe, being perfectly built to somehow house the properties to help an entire planet of living creatures to thrive. The development of life is shown to be a rare occurrence in our universe alone, so what if it wasn’t rare in another universe? What if all of the planets in another Universe were capable of housing life? What if there was a Universe with no life whatsoever? What makes ours so special?
Effingham, N. “An Unwelcome Consequence of the Multiverse Thesis.” Synthese, vol. 184, no. 3, 2012, pp. 375–386. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41411199. Accessed 1 Dec. 2020.
In Effingham’s Article, Multiverse Theory is further explained in relation to Time Travel media with the help of the Grandfather Paradox. The Grandfather Paradox is a dilemma in which a Time Traveller can go back and kill their own Grandfather before their Father would be born, but in doing so they’d never actually have gone back to kill their Grandfather because they wouldn’t have existed. With the idea that Multiverse Theory makes it so objects and concepts can’t travel through time because of a different Universe branching off from the original, Effingham studies that concept as a Consequence of Time Travel and not as Universe Hopping
Ward, Cassidy. “Science behind the Fiction: What the Reality Behind Multiverses and Alternate Realities?” Syfy, Amazon Prime, www.syfy.com/syfywire/science-behind-the-fiction-alternate-reality-multiverse-string-theory
In this Syfy Article, Ward talks about the presence of Multiverse Theory within a plethora of various novels, shows, and media examples. On of which, an Amazon Live Action series titled The Man in The High Castle details an Alternate Universe in which the Axis powers win WWII. The series itself is more than enough to serve as an example, but it goes even further by having a reference to our world thanks to an in-World novel titled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy where history plays out the way it does here and the Allied Powers win.
Alexander, Donovan. “Just Like Your Favorite Comic, We May Be Part of a Bigger Multiverse.” Interesting Engineering, interestingengineering.com/just-like-your-favorite-comic-we-may-be-part-of-a-bigger-multiverse
In this wonderful article posted to Interesting Engineering, Alexander not only explains the basis of Multiverse Theory and what it is, but he brings up the points I want to try and make with this entire research project. What if? The Universe is amongst one of the biggest and strangest things we as Humans have ever experienced. So who’s to say that another Universe that’s close by would be the exact same? As he says in the later paragraphs of his “In one universe, you could have a different job, blue hair, be born in a different country, and so on. Trippy right?” (Alexander, 20).
Discover more articles that have larger scientific base, in such that makes the multiverse theory solid, and then what the possibilities can be found with such worlds. As well as expand on the causes as to why people could be worried about it. As well as expand on the smaller things so that the general public can understand, since many people really don’t read into these topics.