The Ultimate Real Parrallel Universe

There is an increasing amount of interest in Parallel Universes, especially in the field of science, and specifically, theoretical physics. As I mentioned in my last post (11/13), a lot of this is due to the uncertainty principal advanced in quantum mechanics. The History Channel had a recent episode of The Universe called "Parallel Universe." In it, physicist talked about 4 levels of theoretical Parallel Universes based on 11 different dimensions of reality. The webpage for the show is: http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=373152 You can watch parts of the episode on You Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_vpEyE6rug

However, there is a very real and ultimate parallel universe that most of us know as the spiritual world. I believe this dimension provides the basis for why we want to find a parallel universe. All cultures acknowledge this spiritual reality. Modern science rejects it, but only because science is a means of knowledge limited by the requirements of the scientific method, which clearly does not apply to such a realm. However, it is fascinating to watch scientists explore and theorize about parallel universes we have as yet no physical evidence for.

The spiritual world preceded the physical world, and in a sense is more real, as well as more enduring. It is limitless, yet it is immediately next to us, all around us, and within us. People sense this all the time, and long to understand it. On the other hand, since people do not understand it that well, they tend to be wary and cautious of the spiritual realm.

There is a great deal of activity all the time in the spiritual world. It affects us in all kinds of ways every moment of the day. There are campaigns, battles, interventions, messages, and endless activity. We only catch a glimpse of it. Sometimes, it dawns on us that we are in the midst of such activity, often when there are things going on around us that we do not understand. Most often, we are oblivious to this activity.

Literature explores this realm, including Milton's Lost Paradise, or Dante's Divine Comedy. Some would assign this concept to the realm of fairy tales. But Tolkien, who rescued fairy tales from the nursery room, pointed out that the spiritual realm is the ultimate basis for stories from the realm of Faire. culminating in the ultimate, joyous story of the Gospel. As you read through his Lord of the Rings Trilogy, his adult fairy tale, there are glimpses of the spiritual world throughout.

The Bible gives us accurate information about the spiritual realm and its relation to the physical world and our lives. In particular, the final Book of Revelations, opens up for us in apocalyptic language, an understanding of what, from our perspective, is going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm. It deserves serious consideration from the most rational minds, especially in a time when science is urging us to seriously consider parallel universes.

Quantum Mechanics & Parallel Universes

Quantum mechanics physics essentially states in very simple terms that on the atomic, and especially the sub-atomic level, nothing is predictable, and everything seems completely random. (At least for specific positions - it can predict "probability distributions" where a group of particles will probably be distributed.) In part this is because such extremely tiny matter sometimes behave as particles and sometimes as a wave. Einstein rejected this conclusion of complete randomness by famously saying "God does not play dice with the universe."

Einstein strove for the latter half of his life to find a unified theory that would explain this anamoly. However, he did not reach this goal before he died. Others continue in this work, but still have not reached this goal, though string theory (and now membrane theory) is thought to possibly provide an answer. As he strove on, Einstein was seen as increasingly irrevelant as quantum mechanics was used in many applications such as electronics and the transistor. My own feeling is that there are matters here that we do not yet understand, but will in time. Many matters in science remained unresolved for long periods of time in history before an answer was found, and I tend to believe eventually one will be found that will explain what now seems to us as uncertainty and randomness at the atomic and subatomic level.

However, in the meantime, many physicists and thinkers believed everything is essentially uncertain because of the implications of quantum mechanics. Along comes Hugh Everett III, a bright physicist student at Princeton in 1957, who wrote a dissertation, "The Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics." Basically, Hugh Everett proposed that the problem was in assuming only one observer, and that a solution would be to think of parallel universes at each point when a particle was there and then was not. If taken to its extreme, this could mean at every instant, a new parrallel universe is spun off, doing exactly the opposite. At first, Hugh Everett was isolated in the scientific community. Over time, his theory gained ground, at first with people who loved the concept of parallel universes, and then much later in the scientific community. However, the initial rejection devastated Hugh Everett, and he died in 1982 of a heart attack, still mostly unrecognized.

Hugh Everett had a son, Mark Oliver Everett, and bought him a toy set drums when he was 6. Eventually, Mark became the lead singer for the Eels, an alternative rock band whose music was featured in the Shrek soundtrack. Mark felt distanced from his father, and only started finding out about his father recently. That search is documented in a recent Nova program, "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." The website for the show is at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/. The show not only explores Mark Everett's search to find out more about his father, but explores and explains his father's ideas.

Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenbury, did a famous show that explored the whole concept of a parallel universe, "Mirror, Mirror," which aired on October 6, 1967 as Episode 4 of Season 2. In it, the major characters of the show have evil counterparts in a parallel universe. Kirk, Uhura, Scotty, and McCoy accidentally swap with these counterparts, and all sorts of confusions begin. Many other writers have explored parallel universes in other settings, and C. S. Lewis uses them in the "Chronicle of Narnia."

For a Christian the uncertainty posed by quantum mechanics does not need be troubling. God created an orderly universe with certain predictible laws. This premise is the foundation for modern science in the West. Discovering God's laws in science was the impetus for scientists in the West to test theory with observations and experiments to discover how the universe God created worked. I believe eventually, though I don't know how long it will take, we will come to understand how what now seems to us to be random and unpredictable at the atomic and subatomic level actually works.

The Comedy of Errors

The Comedy of Errors revolves around two sets of twins, and the comedic situations that arise from mistaken identities. To top this situation, one set of twins are masters to the other set of twins, who are their slaves. And to further this confusing situation, each set of twins have the same names. Neither set of twins has ever seen the other set of twins and knows nothing about them. Almost no one in the play knows that either set has an identical twin with an identical name. It does not take much imagination to see how the resulting confusion can be terribly comedic, and on the verge of tragic unless the confusion and mistaken identities are clear up, which of course happens just in time before the end of the play.

Whether Shakespeare intended it or not, he touched on a profound matter that is vital to our existence. Each of us depend daily on people recognizing us, remembering what we have said or done, as well as what we have said we are going to do. It frustrates us to no end when people cannot remember this, or worse, do not believe us. The same applies when people deny what we clearly remember what they have done or said, or what they said they were going to do. The frustration moves to rage when we believe others are deliberating changing these matters to simply advantage themselves and disadvantage us.

In fact, we might feel we are going insane if people did not recognize us or remember what we or they had said or done. It would be worse if they attributed to us an entire identity that in fact did not belong to us. Can you imagine if this happened, and you could not convince people otherwise, no matter how hard or how often you tried? On the other hand, we might actually like the new identity attributed to us, and simply go along with it. as happens for a while in the play.

We might even feel we have entered into a parallel universe if such a series of events happened to us. Parallel universes are currently a serious topic of discussion in our modern world due to certain anomalies within quantum physics. I will talk about the curious theories of parallel universes in another post. The point here is the uncertainty that would result from falling into a parallel universe where we could be confused for a twin version of ourselves over there. This concept was explored in a facinating Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror."

Usually, and thankfully, most of the time, people recognize us, remember what we have said and done, as well as what we said we were going to do, and we reciprocate. When that goes wrong, it can give rise to comedy as Shakespeare shows us, or sometimes it can go worse, which I will explore in another post.

One final note, the BBC produced a television version of the Comedy of Errors play in 1983/1984, as part of a Complete Works of William Shakespeare series. I was surprised to see Roger Daltry of the Who play the part of the twin Dromios (at times with trick photography). I would have never imagined Roger Daltry as a Shakesperean actor, and he turned in a rather good performance.