# Would the discovery of infinite parallel universes cause an existential crisis **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 17, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986 "2020-04-17T16:00:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/21 "2020-04-19T02:26:22Z")
Just about what I came here to write. In another universe, having made different choices and led a completely different life, in what way are this you and that you, both you? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/22 "2020-04-19T02:45:02Z")
So what I think you’re saying is… CORRECT! This box contains our own universe! ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/23 "2020-04-19T03:22:11Z")
Isn’t this largely the reason Rick Sanchez is such a nihilist? If there’s an infinite number of your family members running around do the ones in your universe matter? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/24 "2020-04-19T03:41:42Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Isn’t this largely the reason Rick Sanchez is such a nihilist? If there’s an infinite number of your family members running around do the ones in your universe matter? No, but moving to a new universe is a real pain in the ass. That’s why you don’t mess with squirrels. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/25 "2020-04-19T05:32:44Z")
[Max Tegmark defines four very](https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0302131.pdf) different [levels of ‘multiverse.’](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse) Discussion ends up as oranges-vs-apples when these very different levels are conflated. I’d focus on ‘Level 3 - The Many Worlds of Quantum Physics,’ arguably quite plausible. It is in this Multiverse that the concept of Quantum Immortality (and other ‘existential crises’) arise. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/26 "2020-04-19T08:05:09Z")
Mods, could you please close this thread? It is a duplicate of a thread (right down to the same title and opening post) I started on Earth 23. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/27 "2020-04-19T13:38:24Z")
Hey! I got banned in that thread! What the– ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/28 "2020-04-19T14:00:49Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > If there is an “alternate universe” for which we can prove the existence of and which we communicate with, then, by the definition of universe, wouldn’t this “alternate universe” be in fact be part of our universe. I presume it’s not an alternative universe if we can make physical contact with it which should preclude any form of communication we know of. Physical contact would include the ability to sense radiation or anything else that exists in an alternate universe. I don’t know how communication without such physical interface could occur, but without it the question in the OP is illogical. Now if there was such a way to communicate, then I think existential crises would arise, everyone would be desperate to find answers to problems from other universes, and we know what kind of Monkey’s Paw results will ensue. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/29 "2020-04-19T14:57:12Z")
My thought that parallel universes would offer infinite teaching moments for the solution of our many problems appears to be considered a naive one. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/30 "2020-04-19T15:23:46Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > My thought that parallel universes would offer infinite teaching moments for the solution of our many problems appears to be considered a naive one. Different people see different problems, and consider different solutions to be valid for said problems. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/31 "2020-04-19T23:20:05Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > If the “number” of universes is aleph-0 and the “number” of variations is aleph-1 or larger, there could easily be no other universes at all like ours. I am probably misunderstanding but if the number of variations is aleph-1 or larger wouldn’t the “number of universes” be necessarily at least as large? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/32 "2020-04-19T23:24:29Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I am probably misunderstanding but if the number of variations is aleph-1 wouldn’t the “number of universes” be necessarily at least as large? He means “If the actual number of alternate universes is much smaller than the number of conceivable universes” (so that not all conceivable variations actually cause an alternate universe to be spawned) - I misunderstood, initially and thought he was saying “If the number of universes similar enough that I’m in them is much smaller than the total number of universes” ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/33 "2020-04-20T02:34:08Z")
If I discovered an alt.universe without attorneys, would it implode? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986/34 "2020-04-20T22:05:55Z")
In order to make this at all worthwhile you would need to have a rather sophisticated search engine to plug you into an alternate world of interest. Much of the discussion is revolving around the alternative versions of me. But actually, that vast majority of such universes wouldn’t have any version of you. A pretty sizable chunk wouldn’t have intelligent life or even any life at all on earth. I suppose there could be some sort of metric that would define the overall distance between realities. Something involving the number of changes quantum states with the time of the change factored in exponentially, but basically its going to be a pot luck of random selections, as you channel surf through reality not sure if you want to stick with the one you are currently investigating for fear that there is a more interesting one just a few clicks away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-the-discovery-of-infinite-parallel-universes-cause-an-existential-crisis/851986.md?page=1)