Specifically, Max Tegmark’s “Mathematical Universe Hypothesis” (cf the book Our Mathematical Universe), that “physical and mathematical existence are the same thing, and that what we call “the physical world” is simply one more mathematical structure, alongside the dodecahedron and so forth.” His analysis is worth the read; he says,
Briefly, I think it’s a superb piece of popular science writing—stuffed to the gills with thought-provoking arguments, entertaining anecdotes, and fascinating facts. I think everyone interested in math, science, or philosophy should buy the book and read it. And I still think the MUH is basically devoid of content, as it stands.
His observation captures the spirit of the current drive to make the multiverse exist in our minds, if not in reality. It is to be believed without content because, well, it’s just so beautiful, it makes so much sense, all the right people believe it …
In short, for every reason except evidence. The multiverse is a war against the idea that evidence rules in science, and it will be most interesting to see who lines up on which side and why.
See also: The Science Fictions series at your fingertips (cosmology) for a brief explanation of how multiverse thinking took hold, also:
Nature offers a feature on a mediaeval concept of the multiverse (Actually, the evidence presented, that Grosseteste thought that way, is pretty weak)
Gravitational waves strengthen case for multiverse, Nature article claims (Critics say the idea “would be untestable”? But so what? And what wouldn’t strengthen the case for a multiverse, for its believers?)
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