Here are a few telling quotes from a recent exchange on the Internet:
Emily: “I have this theory about the universe. It's infinitely big right? So anything you can possibly imagine can exist. Like another planet just like ours with people exactly like us sitting here having the exact same conversation.”
Frank: “Wait, that means you can also have a planet where penguins kick field goals. That is totally awesome. I love this theory.”
This exchange has special meaning for me. Before doing the research for “The Ten Assumptions of Science” and TSW, I was involved in a similar conversation. I still think that the universe is infinitely large, but commensurate with my assumption that it also infinite in the microcosmic direction, I can evaluate the remainder of the exchange with aplomb. It is not true that INFINITY means that anything you can possibly imagine can exist. It actually means just the opposite. INFINITY makes the assumption of RELATIVISM possible. RELATIVISM assumes that “All things have characteristics that make them similar to all other things as well as characteristics that make them dissimilar to all other things.” In other words, INFINITY makes identities impossible. I once thought, just like Emily, that there could be another Glenn Borchardt exactly like me on another planet. No more.
In an infinite universe, each microcosm is part of a unique univironment. So there will never be another Glenn Borchardt who writes TSW all over again, or another Emily who asks idealistic philosophical questions, or another Frank, who imagines penguins kicking field goals. It is not true that anything anyone can possibly imagine can exist. It is true that there are an infinite number of possibilities, but it also is true that there are no impossibilities.
Emily: “I have this theory about the universe. It's infinitely big right? So anything you can possibly imagine can exist. Like another planet just like ours with people exactly like us sitting here having the exact same conversation.”
Frank: “Wait, that means you can also have a planet where penguins kick field goals. That is totally awesome. I love this theory.”
This exchange has special meaning for me. Before doing the research for “The Ten Assumptions of Science” and TSW, I was involved in a similar conversation. I still think that the universe is infinitely large, but commensurate with my assumption that it also infinite in the microcosmic direction, I can evaluate the remainder of the exchange with aplomb. It is not true that INFINITY means that anything you can possibly imagine can exist. It actually means just the opposite. INFINITY makes the assumption of RELATIVISM possible. RELATIVISM assumes that “All things have characteristics that make them similar to all other things as well as characteristics that make them dissimilar to all other things.” In other words, INFINITY makes identities impossible. I once thought, just like Emily, that there could be another Glenn Borchardt exactly like me on another planet. No more.
In an infinite universe, each microcosm is part of a unique univironment. So there will never be another Glenn Borchardt who writes TSW all over again, or another Emily who asks idealistic philosophical questions, or another Frank, who imagines penguins kicking field goals. It is not true that anything anyone can possibly imagine can exist. It is true that there are an infinite number of possibilities, but it also is true that there are no impossibilities.