vexikron@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
This does not make any sense.
If there are an infinite number of fractions between 1 and 2, all you are doing is naming a set of universes with a constricted naming convention, and the set of universes is still infinite, thus contains any possible universe including an infinite number with an exact replica of you, an infinite number with a slightly different version of you, and an infinite number where you do not exist.
Just because constrained infinities of certain kinds of numbers can be nested within other infinities of unconstrained, or less constrained infinities of universes does not mean that somehow this has applications to multiverse theory.
If the given assumption is ‘there are an infinite number of alternate universes’ then the fact that fractions between 1 and 2 are an infinite set has literally no logical ability to mandate that this would somehow constrain the nature of previously established infinity of universes.
The possibilities of an infinite set of universes would be ultimately constrained by all possible sets of the laws of physics that allow any kind of universe to exist.
We already know that we live in a universe where humans exist, so, again, there will thus be an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of variations of you exist, and and infinite number where you do not exist.
You made me realize that we always think of infinity as an immensely large number, but it can be an immensely small number (0.0(infinite)1).
So thanks for making me realize infinity stretches in both the inifinitely large and the infinitely small. Wasn’t expecting to get a ride on the total perspective vortex from showerthoughts today.
Very good, what you described is called an Infinitesimal, and it is a building block of Calculus.
I feel like you’ve completely missed the point. I feel like OP is implying that just because there are infinite universes, it doesn’t mean you’re the leader of the world in any of them. Not all things are possible, even with an infinite number of universes.
This doesn’t make sense. OP just provided an example of “infinite universes” that even tho they are infinite, they do not contain all possibilities. Because we can’t see all universes at the same time, we cannot know if they have any constraints at all. For instance, all universes might only have me being born in some odd day for some weird reason for all we know.
OP assumes that the multiverse has constraints. The person you replied to is saying that OP is wrong because we don’t know whether the multiverse has constraints, so OP is wrong.
As you said, existence is constrained by laws of physics of this universe and by potentially different laws/constraints in other universes that we can’t possibly know. Because we lack the ability to observe the infinite expanse of universes as a whole, we can’t know what the constraints are (if any) so we can only understand them as infinite possibilities without constraints, but this doesn’t mean that there are not constraints that we’re just incapable of observing, and I feel like this was OPs point with this post. We don’t know what we don’t know.
I was going to post more or less similar rant, but hey thanks for doing it. I second this @OP you hear this? This post just sounds like you don’t understand infinity that well.
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 5 months ago
The point is that people tend to claim the opposite, that an infinite amount of universes means everything and anything is happening in some universe somewhere. Which can’t be true, as a universe where someone creates some device that destroys all universes does not exist (as proven by our own existence).
Therefore it follows that there must be some constraints, though what those constraints actually are is obviously a very difficult problem.
The “infinite fractions between 1 and 2 which are not 3” is an example that shows that infinite =/= everything.
vexikron@lemmy.zip 5 months ago
I agree with you up to the last sentence.
I would say it is an analogy that is clumsy at best, and definitely not proof of anything about possible or impossible universes, as the OP presented it.
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 5 months ago
It’s not a proof of possible/impossible universes, it’s a counterexample to the argument that infinite universes must necessarily mean that there’s a universe with anything in it. It disproves that there must be a universe with X in it because there are infinite universes. It does not disprove that there isn’t a universe with X in it.
It makes no claims that the multiverse must necessarily be constrained, but it does show that you can’t simply assume that the multiverse must be unconstrained. That needs to be proven first. And there are compelling arguments to assume that said constraints do exist (in some way).
CrayonRosary@lemmy.world 5 months ago
All analogies are clumsy. It’s an analogy, not a paper.