# Is there an activity that'll allow me to see another universe instead of my own surroundings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322 "2013-02-25T05:35:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ac05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@ac05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ac05)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/1 "2013-02-25T05:35:22Z")
Is there an activity where I won’t be seeing my own surroundings, but rather another universe/world/reality instead? ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/2 "2013-02-25T05:36:21Z")
Television ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/3 "2013-02-25T05:58:31Z")
I’ll have what the OP is having. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/4 "2013-02-25T06:12:20Z")
> [@ac05](#): > > another universe/world/reality If you can provide a suitably lame definition for this, there might be. Taking it at face value, no, and it isn’t even clear what it would mean: If you can see something, it’s a real part of this reality to the extent it affects your perceptions, even if it’s only a hallucination, a dream, or your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/5 "2013-02-25T06:14:56Z")
Sure: dreaming. Or reading. Or hallucinogens. In no case is the “other universe” real – there’s no evidence that such alternate reality universes (in the sense you’re asking about) exist at all. Even if another real universe co-existed with ours, and you could somehow see into it, you’d be 99.9999999% likely to just be seeing empty space (assuming it’s matter/space ratio is the same as ours). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/6 "2013-02-25T06:19:40Z")
Repeat after me: LSD. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/7 "2013-02-25T06:39:01Z")
Suicide. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/8 "2013-02-25T06:46:25Z")
Salvia Divinorum. Shorter lasting than LSD so if you don’t like the next universe you can soon try another one! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/9 "2013-02-25T06:54:49Z")
It can be argued (and has been quite well by others here and elsewhere) that we not only do not experience (or ‘see’ as you said) our surroundings completely, but we are inherently incapable of doing so. Most of the time, when you perceive the world, you place yourself within the scene you’re watching. You move and your perspective changes. The world appears to have reliable rules that make sense because you have become accustomed to them. You feel like now you might actually understand something useful about people of the opposite sex. Life appears to be good. But, until you encounter another being and communicate with them about the world that you perceive to be true, you can’t verify the validity of your own reality. A world made up of just a single mind is a trap both sterile and long-lastingly torturous. All heaven and hell, right there at your fingertips. Nothing but what you concieve could be true to you, but that nothing that you failed to realize could easily take your world and turn it upside down. The world of any being’s sensorium is limited by the functionality of the interface between data and mind. Some people have learned to recognize this, and some people have not yet done do. * * * Or, alternatively, your question might be about whether you might be able to see another universe by which I must assume for the sake of this exposition to mean another time-space continuum. Given that, I believe that my colleagues and I at the Mystical College of Interdimensional Transmogrifications can meet your requirements quite well. MCIT is my alma mater, after all. Go GREYS! We all look forward to meeting you as soon as you have met with the monetary requirements as laid out in the attached documents. GtI, Fglargernthal Solicitor ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/10 "2013-02-25T06:55:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Repeat after me: LSD. With a PCP chaser. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/11 "2013-02-25T07:41:17Z")
Reading something good and speculative. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/12 "2013-02-25T07:49:53Z")
Rural Arkansas? ---
**Author:** ![ac05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@ac05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ac05)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/13 "2013-02-25T09:13:57Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > If you can provide a suitably lame definition for this, there might be. Taking it at face value, no, and it isn’t even clear what it would mean: If you can see something, it’s a real part of this reality to the extent it affects your perceptions, even if it’s only a hallucination, a dream, or your imagination. What I mean is: is there anything other than hallucinations and dreams that’ll allow me to see A FANTASY ENVIRONMENT (A FANTASY WORLD) AROUND ME? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/14 "2013-02-25T09:21:14Z")
Lobotomy. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/15 "2013-02-25T09:32:26Z")
> [@ac05](#): > > What I mean is: is there anything other than hallucinations and dreams that’ll allow me to see A FANTASY ENVIRONMENT (A FANTASY WORLD) AROUND ME? I’ve heard of people having visual hallucinations from sensory deprivation chambers. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/16 "2013-02-25T09:33:55Z")
> [@ac05](#): > > What I mean is: is there anything other than hallucinations and dreams that’ll allow me to see A FANTASY ENVIRONMENT (A FANTASY WORLD) AROUND ME? Well I could slip on my French maid’s outfit, but it really doesn’t fit that well. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/17 "2013-02-25T09:37:03Z")
Are you asking about virtual reality or holosuite technology? ---
**Author:** ![ac05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecb155/32.png) [@ac05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ac05)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/18 "2013-02-25T09:46:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Are you asking about virtual reality or holosuite technology? What do you mean by “holosuite technology”? I’ve never heard of that before. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/19 "2013-02-25T09:51:42Z")
In theory I understand that another universe could impinge on our own, and you could see it that way. Assuming that such an event isn’t so violent that it kills us all before we can observe it that is. > [@ac05](#): > > What do you mean by “holosuite technology”? I’ve never heard of that before. It’s a [Star Trek term](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Holosuite). ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322/20 "2013-02-25T10:03:02Z")
> [@ac05](#): > > What I mean is: is there anything other than hallucinations and dreams that’ll allow me to see A FANTASY ENVIRONMENT (A FANTASY WORLD) AROUND ME? No. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-activity-thatll-allow-me-to-see-another-universe-instead-of-my-own-surroundings/651322.md?page=2)