the simple and factual answer is there could well be multiple universes.

so far nothing in science or maths has ruled them out or proved them to be needed.

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In the universe there is theoretically an infinite amount of space with an infinite number of variables, theoretically there would be an infinite number of possible events, so in theory you are probably correct. However the chances of you ever finding conclusive evidence to support your theory, are correspondingly infinitesimally small.

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Originally posted by Shakka In the universe there is theoretically an infinite amount of space with an infinite number of variables, theoretically there would be an infinite number of possible events, so in theory you are probably correct. However the chances of you ever finding conclusive evidence to support your theory, are correspondingly infinitesimally small.

string theory could prove it. but we would have to be able to prove string theory first. hmmm

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I don't have any constructive arguments to add to the conversation, because I too believe our ability to ever conclusively proove that prallel universes exist is very small (the so-called multiverse). But I'm never going to say that they can't exist.

However, I will put forth an excellent program from Nova (on PBS). I'm a nerd and actually bought the series, but you can watch it for free here.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html

It's an excellent look at modern string theory, or Grand Unified Theory, if you will. Gotta love quality public programming.

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Originally posted by NeoPhono I don't have any constructive arguments to add to the conversation, because I too believe our ability to ever conclusively proove that prallel universes exist is very small (the so-called multiverse). But I'm never going to say that they can't exist. However, I will put forth an excellent program from Nova (on PBS). I'm a nerd and actually bought the series, but you can watch it for free here. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html It's an excellent look at modern string theory, or Grand Unified Theory, if you will. Gotta love quality public programming.

Can't say I read and listen to cosmology too thoroughly, though the info. fascinates the hell out of me. But a quick question- isin't the String Theory kinda on shaky grounds at present (i.e. little evidence supports it)?

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There was actually an interesting article in Scientific American a while back that dealt with parallel universes and such. I think it was summer of '03, but I'm not certain as it was a magazine I picked up while I was sitting in the waiting room.

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Originally posted by MisterOpus1 Can't say I read and listen to cosmology too thoroughly, though the info. fascinates the hell out of me. But a quick question- isin't the String Theory kinda on shaky grounds at present (i.e. little evidence supports it)?

I'm by no means an expert in theoretical physics, but if I have a grasp of current trends, I wouldn't say that string theory is on shaky grounds, only that there is, as you said, little evidence to support it because it is so hard to test. The "strings" in string theory are ridiculously small on the order of 10^-35 meters in length (in the so called "Planck realm"). That being said, the hopes of being able to see these things are very slim. You may say, "how about how strings act on a macro level then, can't you show the existance of string theroy that way?" The problem is, string theory is used to describe on a micro level the things we see on a more tangible level, so you just have a loop of saying that things act the way they do because of string theory, even though you set about establishing string theory to explain how the macro environment works on a microscopic level. The only real progress I know of to prove the existance of string theory is in supersymmetry and particle accelerators. If you can show the pairing of a boson and fermion, which is at the heart of supersymmetry, a "subset" of string theory, you can begin to show the existance of strings themselves. The problem is no one has conclusively begun to show this pairing. Okay, hope that helps.

St_Andrew, you may find MWE - Many Worlds Interpretation interesting, read this article on QTI - Quantum Theory of Immortality

http://www.higgo.com/quantum/qti.htm

absolutely mind boggling ;o

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Originally posted by NeoPhono However, I will put forth an excellent program from Nova (on PBS). I'm a nerd and actually bought the series, but you can watch it for free here. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html It's an excellent look at modern string theory, or Grand Unified Theory, if you will. Gotta love quality public programming.

EXCELLENT SHOW!
i too have had that bookmarked for months now

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Originally posted by tathi St_Andrew, you may find MWE - Many Worlds Interpretation interesting, read this article on QTI - Quantum Theory of Immortality http://www.higgo.com/quantum/qti.htm absolutely mind boggling ;o

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will comment on all this when i have had time to watch/read it... seems really interesting! thanks a lot guys