Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Soap Bubbles and Umbilical Cords

Watch this interview - http://www.wimp.com/bigtheory/

It is by far and away one of the most interesting interviews I have ever seen in my life. It's an interview with Michio Kaku where he talks about the scientific possibilities of parallel universes and wormholes. Thankfully he explains it all in easily understandable terms. To summarize, he basically says that the soap bubble of our universe may not be the only soap bubble out there and that our little soap bubble may be connected to other soap bubbles by umbilical cords - sliders anyone?

And he explains how parallel universes exist in our very own living rooms - that they're pretty much hovering above us but that they are invisible because the light of our sun goes underneath them - so we cannot see them.

And I love how he comes to terms with the conflicts in his two religions - Christianity and Buddhism. He says that "Genesis takes place continually in an ocean of Nirvana" - such a beautiful image. He explains that Nirvana is timeless - no beginning or end as compared to the "let their be light" Genesis, but that this timeless Nirvana is continually giving birth to multiple Genesises, multiple soap bubbles.

The other thing that's pretty cool about this interview is that he pretty much answers that childhood question: where does the stuff that gets sucked into a black hole go? - where does all that matter go? And his answer fits in seamlessly with the rest of the theories he proposes. The matter comes out the other end of the black hole through what is called a white hole - and white holes expand very rapidly .... like the big bang .... or Genesis. "Let there be light!" and poof! there's all this stuff.

But what I really love about this interview is the grand possibilities of what he proposes - of these parallel worlds. I grew up on fantasy literature, myths and fairy tales. I spent my youth looking for Narnia in the back of closets and searching for hobbits around every other tree. This is what fascinates me most - that all of these things - all of these different worlds and different creatures are possible, they can exist somewhere, even if they may not exist in this world. I always believed this to be true, but now there's the science to back me up. So I will leave you with some lines from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses:

Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
....

Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.

1 comment:

  1. For someone new to blogging, you're doing a bang-up job! You requested to be interviewed in a comment to my own blog meme (a meme is a post, often a set of questions, that makes the rounds in digital land). Here are five questions for you…

    1. If you could land your dream job, what would it be?
    2. What one person (living or not) has most influenced your life and how?
    3. What are your own thoughts on alternate universes?
    4. What goals and aspirations do you have for the next ten years?
    5. If, as a requisite for your upcoming graduation, you had to write an inspiring speech, what would be your subject and why?

    ReplyDelete