The existence of parallel universes may seem like something cooked up by science fiction writers, with little relevance to modern theoretical physics. But the idea that we live in a “multiverse” made up of an infinite number of parallel universes has long been considered a scientific possibility – although it is still a matter of vigorous debate among physicists. The race is now on to find a way to test the theory, including searching the sky for signs of collisions with other universes.
It is important to keep in mind that the multiverse view is not actually a theory, it is rather a consequence of our current understanding of theoretical physics. This distinction is crucial. We have not waved our hands and said: “Let there be a multiverse”. Instead the idea that the universe is perhaps one of infinitely many is derived from current theories like quantum mechanics and string theory.
The universes predicted by string theory and inflation live in the same physical space (unlike the many universes of quantum mechanics which live in a mathematical space), they can overlap or collide. Indeed, they inevitably must collide, leaving possible signatures in the cosmic sky which we can try to search for.
Whether we will ever be able to prove their existence is hard to predict. But given the massive implications of such a finding it should definitely be worth the search.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:37PM
The English language changes all the time, and you sound butthurt, bruh.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @08:51PM
You know whats funny though bruh, no one has actually confronted the point I made that Mathematics is a mass noun and needs no pluralization. Maybe if someone proved me wrong on the actual facts of the matter I wouldn't be so butthurt. (Ohh and no just because it is in a dictionary doesn't prove me wrong, after all there are lots of stupid nonsensical words in dictionaries. )
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @09:02PM
Mathematics already has an 's' on the end and I always assumed the term was short for "Fields of Mathematic[al] Study"
You can live in whatever delusional world you want but you'll find people ALL OVER the internet say "maths" - stack overflow seems to have more uses of the term with an s than without.
Americans are NOT the ones I'd ask for authority on any math-related subjects (although IMHO they earned the right to be masters of the English language).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @11:29PM
Then why are the math departments in the US filled with foreign students? Maths must be pretty bad where you come from.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday September 04 2015, @12:19AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Touché) by wonkey_monkey on Friday September 04 2015, @07:27AM
Maybe if someone proved me wrong on the actual facts of the matter
Priove yourself right, first. Whether it's a mass noun or a bizarre pluralization is meaningless. It's called "maths" by a lot of the world. That's what it makes it a valid word.
after all there are lots of stupid nonsensical words in dictionaries
And you know what? They are all still valid words.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk