Tag Archives: Flatland

New research by Raphael Bousso of the University of California, Berkeley suggests that a multiple-universe interpretation of the cosmos actually simplifies our understanding of dark matter, vacuum energy, and other mysterious topics (New Scientist, 6 March, 2010). Bousso and others argue that this isn’t just a theoretical discussion but an empirical one. By working with formulas that incorporate a multiverse approach, a so-called “causal patch” approach, actually fits real data better than the Einsteinian perspective which has trouble dealing with the temporal frame of each observer. The possibility of many universes, all existing simultaneously, actually does away with the time paradox.

The implications of this approach are straight out of Flatland. It follows from the multiverse approach that higher dimensional universes sometimes impinge upon our own, just as a three-dimensional looking hologram is imprinted on a two-dimensional surface. In this way, different bubble universes can interact with each other: By leaving imprints at each others boundaries.