Why I capitalize the word Universe and why William James can sod off.

This is why I much prefer the term "dimensions" when it comes to all this alternate/multiple universe stuff. Universe = everything ever. Dimension= a version of reality within the Universe, ie. what people usually term as a parrallel universe. Well, to me that' the definitions, at least.

Funnily enough, I was going to go off about how Alternate Dimensions are a load of shit too.


I might do them in a different blog post, though.

Its interesting how people's views vary, but I agree with Nemo in that something which exists IS in the universe, therefore anything outside the universe doesn't exist because it isn't IN the universe.

This philosophy business is vastly too clever for my limited mind, so I shall sit here and play with myself instead.

ABM

When we are bandying about words such as "existance" in this context, no, it is not true that a parallel universe physically "exists". "Physically exists" uses the essential quantifier physically, ie physcis. Everything that physically exists means: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. The reality of another universe transcends all concepts of space and time etc, because those are inclusive as part of each individual universe. You can't say that the other uiverse is on a particular side of this one, point in the direction of it from inside this one, neither can we talk about what might be going on inside another universe at this precise moment because this precise moment doesn't exist in another universe! It will have its own timeline, its own seperate time dimension or several (if any at all), and all ways we have of visualising anything are wrong and useless when it comes to transcending the level of universe. You can be absolutely correct when you say that anything that is not part of this universe does not exist, but at the same time, due to the nuances of the word "existance", this does not preclude the existance of other universes. From the point of view of another universe, we do not physically exist either, yet here we are. You are running afoul of the inadequacies of the colloquial English language. That is why we use scientific language to deal with scientific concepts.

Look, here's you using your Internet-assembled philosophy to pooh-pooh complex mathematical and astrophysical theories based on your personal interpretation of a word in English. Seriously, do you expect to be making any ground breaking assertions? Are you labouring under the belief that when it comes to matters of science and math, all opinions are equal? That is simply not true. You are basing you definition of a concise scientific term on the average definition you might get on the street, when you yourself admit that it varies greatly from person to person. Can you not see the crippling error in your working?

I don't want to sound elitist, or make science sound elitist, because it is not: everyone is free to do science, it's not hard to do, and everyone is free to learn about science proper and get involved. But you have made zero effort whatsoever, and consider yourself capable of making apt criticisms of its more difficult concepts. You're doing it wrong.

If it does not physically exist, then it does not exist.

If you can go on about how an alternate Universe is real without physically existing without seeming crazy, then I can go on about how the unicorn talking to me with my dreams is real without physically existing, and have as much evidence as you.


Which is absolutely none.

BM, who was that directed at?

If it was aimed at me I was just making a little statement...

ABM

I don't mean to make myself look like I know what I'm talking about.


I honestly don't.


If a parallel Universe does exist, then it is part of the Universe. If it doesn't physically exist, then it is no more real than Spongebob.



Except that Spongebob actually has footage of himself existing.

No, it was all directed at Nemo.

Nemo, if you are going to use scientific terminology, the least you can do is actually learn what those words mean. I just told you: everything that physically exists, operate word being physically, is the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. This does not apply to other universes, and I think I will ave to break this down for you to understand.

The entirety of space and time: other universes have different sets of dimensions, so the dimensions of our own universe do not apply.

All forms of matter, energy and momentum: matter is contained within the dimensions that host it, matter plays host to various quantities of energy (and indeed one can be converted to another), and momentum is simply the product of the mass and velocity of any quantity of matter. All of these are self-contained within an individual universe, they are discrete from that of other universes, indeed, other universes are not obliged to have all three, and may have others.

The physical laws and constants that govern them: the physical laws of each universe need not be the same, since universes are so discrete and seperate from one another as to have little or nothing to do with the internal operations of each other.

The statement "everything that physically exists" is equal to the statement "everything that physically exists within this universe," which as you will notice specifically excludes everything to do with other universes. We must specify when we want want to transcend these boundaries in conversation in order to discuss other universes because the English language has no words prepared to deal with the subject matter, as you may well appreciate. We have to alter the agreed upon meanings of words such as "existance," just as we have to do the same thing to discuss different kinds of infinities in mathematics.

Exist: To have an actual being.



If you want, I can look up "Actual" and "Being" as well.


And, I dunno, maybe "Have," too.

You used the conditional adjective "physically". Don't move the goalposts.

I'm honestly not sure what you mean by that.

Maybe you can use Psionics to figure it out.

Philosophy solves everybody's problems again.

Does it? How?

Man, what a dick.

By creating more elaborate problems, eventually everyone tires of these questions except for seasoned academics and they are forgotten or taken for granted.

What, the dick thing? We will never forget.

Man, what a dick.

Thatta boy.

"Everything you imagine is real."
-Picasso

But not material. I imagine a story that I modify and simulate over and over again in my head and then it gives me many of the same sensations that material things do. IMO, it's real. It's not tangible, though, therefore it's immaterial. Just like leptons and quarks (BM will so kill me for this), we cannot measure them directly because they're smaller than the means we have for measuring them, but we know they're there by the effects they have on the particles around them that we are able to measure.